LOS ANGELES | Downtown Project Rundown 4.0

[BrandonJXN]

I'm surprised that more people are not talking about this. Or are even aware that this is going to happen.

LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- The 2015 Special Olympics World Summer Games will be held in Los Angeles, injecting an estimated $415 million into the local economy.

Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa made the announcement Thursday during the Los Angeles Unified School District-run Special Olympics basketball finals at the Roybal Education Complex Gymnasium.

"The world games are attended by hundreds of thousands of visitors and participants and it is watched around the world," Villaraigosa said. "And we're particularly excited to have them here in L.A. because L.A. is a city of dreamers."

According to a study commissioned by the Los Angeles Tourism and Convention Board, an estimated 7,000 athletes from 170 countries will compete. The event is expected to draw 500,000 spectators and members of the news media.

The 2015 games will be the largest single event staged in the city since the 1984 Olympic Games.

http://abclocal.go.com/kabc/story?section=news/sports&id=8994389

[Illithid Dude]

Originally Posted by HunterK

I have that same feeling.. The tower seems extremely far fetched..

? I think you mean . This is Barry Shy we are talking about here. The chance of his tower being anything worthwhile is extremely slim.

[Mojeda101]

^^^^^^^

Interesting! Hopefully AEG and the final bidders will take note and realize the benefit of having a stadium in the heart of downtown. We need to nail a team next year, it'll be the best thing to happen to the city.

HunterK, since you asked, do me a favor and check out the Courtyard for me please =D

[blackcat23]

Originally Posted by Illithid Dude

? I think you mean . This is Barry Shy we are talking about here. The chance of his tower being anything worthwhile is extremely slim.

In fairness, we haven't seen what his proposal actually looks like. Then again, based on what he did with the tower at 6th and Spring, I wouldn't be expecting much lol. Maybe some below ground floor retail with 5 foot tall doors? It would be tall at least (probably in the 450-500 foot range).

The plans he had would have needed revision, anyway. You aren't allowed to build on a corner lot without any retail.

[ConstructDTLA]

Originally Posted by Illithid Dude

? I think you mean . This is Barry Shy we are talking about here. The chance of his tower being anything worthwhile is extremely slim.

I agree with that. But how long until someone else is willing to put a tower there..? Could be years and years.


I don't know if anyone else was in DTLA last night. But it was pretty crazy with Valentines & ArtWalk. Every single restaurant was bustling, most having a 30 minute wait at least. It almost felt like a real downtown! I was at Artisan House, which was great, but they took away their amazing pretzel bread for some reason :-/.

[ConstructDTLA]

Originally Posted by Mojeda101

^^^^^^^

Interesting! Hopefully AEG and the final bidders will take note and realize the benefit of having a stadium in the heart of downtown. We need to nail a team next year, it'll be the best thing to happen to the city.

HunterK, since you asked, do me a favor and check out the Courtyard for me please =D

Did you see the pics I posted of it yesterday? Those were taken at lunch time on Thursday, February 14th, 2013. If theres something specific you want to see I could go back over.

[citywatch]

Originally Posted by Mojeda101

Hopefully AEG and the final bidders will take note and realize the benefit of having a stadium in the heart of downtown. We need to nail a team next year, it'll be the best thing to happen to the city.

HunterK, since you asked, do me a favor and check out the Courtyard for me please =D

the stadium next to LA live has the potential to be the next big story in the upcoming months.....hopefully sooner rather than later. even more so when next yr's super bowl, for the first time ever....or something like that....will be held outdoors in a cold weather stadium.

since the marriott proj has its own webcam, I'm a wee bit less curious & anxious about seeing new photo updates of that. same with the broad museum. but any & all new pics are always a good thing here.

barry shy has such a long, strange history of negative press around him, that it's impossible to know exactly how realistic his plans are for a new apt tower across from the PE bldg....even more so since it has been reported he hasn't even gotten some type of zoning approval for the proj. But I hope this is one instance when he really knows what he's doing & can be taken at his word.

Originally Posted by HunterK

But it was pretty crazy with Valentines & ArtWalk. Every single restaurant was bustling, most having a 30 minute wait at least. It almost felt like a real downtown! I was at Artisan House, which was great, but they took away their amazing pretzel bread for some reason

oh, darn! that's what I'd love to have seen pics of....the way that restaurants, stores, & ppl strolling around in dt look like, esp on a busy night! but whatever pics you do post here are always welcome....always helpful to keeping this thread alive.

[blackcat23]

Farmer's Field will be waiting at least one more year, since (as expected) no teams applied for relocation to Los Angeles for the 2013 season.

There will be more clarity as to the future of the Rams/Chargers in St. Louis/San Diego a year's time.

[jamesinclair]

Originally Posted by ThreeHundred

Somebody call Darrel Gates! The unmitigated GALL of them to sell newspapers and magazines on the sidewalk to those that want them. Society is crumbling before our very eyes.

I really dont get the attitude some people in this forum have.

"if they dont sell $500 watches that I want to buy, then it shouldnt exist!"

IE: See the way people talk about the Broadway stores? Whats the vacancy? Why must every store cater to YOUR tastes?


(you not being ThreeHundred but those who complain ad nausea that the retail establishment doesnt meet their standards of excellency).



Edit: Just noticed I was not the only one pointing this out and there was a 3 page discussion. I posted before seeing that.

[Dale]

Being a poor person, at least by Southern Californian standards, I'm happy for a Broadway. Fits the budget. Don't know what I'd do with a waist-trimmer, offhand. But they were selling them for $4.99 in one of those little hovels in the Broadway Arcade.

[ConstructDTLA]

Originally Posted by jamesinclair

I really dont get the attitude some people in this forum have.

"if they dont sell $500 watches that I want to buy, then it shouldnt exist!"

IE: See the way people talk about the Broadway stores? Whats the vacancy? Why must every store cater to YOUR tastes?


(you not being ThreeHundred but those who complain ad nausea that the retail establishment doesnt meet their standards of excellency).



Edit: Just noticed I was not the only one pointing this out and there was a 3 page discussion. I posted before seeing that.

Originally Posted by Dale

Being a poor person, at least by Southern Californian standards, I'm happy for a Broadway. Fits the budget. Don't know what I'd do with a waist-trimmer, offhand. But they were selling them for $4.99 in one of those little hovels in the Broadway Arcade.

This thread is about downtown development. What you are referring to is the opposite.

Affordable retailers can and will have their place.. See Ross on Broadway?

[Dale]

Originally Posted by HunterK

This thread is about downtown development. What you are referring to is the opposite.

Affordable retailers can and will have their place.. See Ross on Broadway?

I frankly don't understand what you're getting at. Broadway is downtown development. Different strokes for different folks is downtown development.

[ConstructDTLA]

Originally Posted by Dale

I frankly don't understand what you're getting at. Broadway is downtown development. Different strokes for different folks is downtown development.

Correct, Ross is development. LA Brewery. Umami. Ace Hotel. Etc.. Jose Huizar and his team are doing a great job. The swap meet shops, etc, have no place in a development conversation. They are exactly what downtown needs to (and is) steer away from.

[Dale]

You're certainly welcome to your opinion.

[ConstructDTLA]

Dale, there must be some extreme miscommunication happening here. Because I know you want a better downtown, and a better downtown includes the revitalization of the Broadway theater/shopping district. With retailers that tourist and others will travel to and spend their money at.

You can not prefer the after to any of these pics.. That would be legally insane.

I invite you to read this; http://bringingbackbroadway.com/About/OVERVIEW/index.htm

[ConstructDTLA]

Todays lunchtime round.







Coco lunch crowd. I could be imagining it, but there seems to be a few more people here week by week. I hope they do very well.



I <3 restorations.




Handing materials up to guy on 2nd floor, back of Cliftons


Bonus. Rowan.

[Illithid Dude]

The Chester Williams building is pure sex. The story behind it is funny too. The owner of the building, and the guy doing the remodel, is this australian guy from Melbourne who has been accused, in the past, of not being very conscientious to historic architecture. He tried to knock down some old theaters on Broadway in the 90s, and put that green marble tile on the Spring Arcade building. The Chester Williams building is his way of showing the haters that he can not only respect historic architecture, but preserve it better then anyone else. Yay, hubris!

[DJM19]

Are they using real gold leaf on that building or is it just paint?

[Quixote]

Love that Spring Street, with the addition of the bike sharrow, now only has two traffic lanes. I agree with Hunter that they might as well go the extra mile and extend the sidewalk into the parking lane.

[Muji]

If the Walgreens going into the Chester Williams Building looks anything like the new one they opened at Sunset and Vine, we're in for a real treat. There are a few pictures on Racked from when it opened, but I was far more impressed when I was there in person for the first time last week.