LOS ANGELES | Downtown Project Rundown 4.0

[SoCalKid]

Originally Posted by HunterK

Theres gotta be something...

Chetrit could stop being a bunch of shiteheads and maybe come through on Hotel Clark and Empire Hotel (Trinity Auditorium) suddenly? But ground-up nothing is supposed to break ground this year is there?

I feel like a bunch of residential projects are going to get announced soon, and if the market continues to improve a lot of them will get built. With something like 98% occupancy and rents increasing substantially each year, it just wouldn't make sense for more housing to not get built. I know a lot of units will enter the market when the projects currently under construction are completed, but I doubt they will bring the supply anywhere near in line with the demand. I'm very optimistic for the future of downtown. With the residential population increasing quickly, other types of projects will be more likely.

[citywatch]

Originally Posted by gerryberry

does anybody know anything about this project from laeroc investmens? it sounds like the onni tower. i´m sorry if you guys discussed it earlier in this forum.

I'm glad you posted that link cuz it answers what will be built on the side facing Hill st.....a parking structure. I originally thought maybe the tower was going to be L shaped, with one side of it wrapping around the old Coast federal bldg.

Originally Posted by HunterK

Chetrit could stop being a bunch of shiteheads and maybe come through on Hotel Clark and Empire Hotel (Trinity Auditorium) suddenly?

chetrit must be a very underfunded company, considering how slow, slow, slow their renovation work has been. I'm worried that if they eventually do get around to opening their bldgs as hotels, unless there are guests lined up around the block, the hotels could easily become slumlord type of operations. I hope not!

there's another hotel in dt that sadly has been in the news recently..... the cecil hotel on main st. What appears to be a grisly murder occurred there a few wks ago.....the body of a guest from Canada was found in the rooftop water tank.



you-are-here.com


this vid is like a scene out of a whodunit novel or a TV show. It shows the poor guest on camera, with both her & the elevator acting mysteriously.....


• Video Link


^ that adds to the tragic lore of the hotel & the skid row side of LA.

I hope the news story isn't too much of an additional roadblock the cecil hotel is forced to deal with. A little less than a yr ago, they already were being held up in their efforts to clean up the bldg....in terms of its condition & image.

For many people in Downtown Los Angeles, the Cecil Hotel is a forgotten property. If the Main Street building is known at all, it’s probably for the curious youth hostel squashed into the otherwise low-income residential hotel, or the also curious 2010 incident in which a paramedic was stabbed in the structure.

Built in 1927, the Cecil Hotel stands on Main between Sixth and Seventh streets. When it opened it was one of the largest hotels in the city and was aimed at travelers who had business in the Financial District.

Herb Chase, managing partner for Main Street Hotel Management, which is now operating the property at 640 S. Main St., said permits have been pulled to update the electrical system so the heat in the 85-year-old building can be fixed.

Like the nearby Alexandria and King Edward hotels, the Cecil faded over time, becoming a home for low-income residents and people with addiction and mental health issues. Although it has undergone some upgrades since 2003, it remains largely a place for budget travelers and low-income residents.

In 2007, a team headed by Fred Cordova purchased the property for $26.5 million. The new owners soon announced a five-year, $7 million renovation to transform the entire 15-story building into an affordable tourist hotel.

The plans have been on hold since 2008, when the hotel owners sued the city after the building was designated a residential hotel under an ordinance that protects it against demolition or conversion. That is part of a citywide moratorium that prevents low-income housing units from being turned into market-rate residences.

Hotel officials at the time said the renovations would be placed on hold until the issue was settled, although a boutique hostel called Stay, and a coffee shop called Marty, opened at the Cecil. Stay has a separate entrance.
.
Chase said all upgrades to the hotel are on hold due to the economy. Currently the 299 hotel rooms are available for guests.

“Right now there are no specific long-term plans rather than just to operate it the best possible way to service the tenants and the hotel guests,” he said.

I hope they've managed to get around all the previous obstacles. I don't know if these pics from their website indicate they have. They did surprise me, but I'm not sure if they're overly staged, or represent only a tiny portion of the whole bldg.







thececilhotel.com


thececilhotel.com


thececilhotel.com


thececilhotel.com


thececilhotel.com


thececilhotel.com

however, they do have a pic like this on their website.....


thececilhotel.com

^ which is probably typical of most rooms in the hotel....although it could be worse, especially for a budget hotel on main St.

[ConstructDTLA]

Originally Posted by colemonkee

^ Yes, that's the Onni Tower at 9th and Olive, though that article offers a little more insight into the set up of the tower. That's a lot of parking for the area, but my guess is that the additional parking is for the Chase Tower next door, which Onni also owns. I just hope they integrate some retail into the Hill street side of the parking garage, which it doesn't appear that they are from the article.

That'd be great, though we both know they won't.

I cant wait to see what this part of the hood looks like when the tower is done. If it were completed today it'd be so out of place. We need more developers like Onni taking chances like this!

Originally Posted by SoCalKid

I feel like a bunch of residential projects are going to get announced soon, and if the market continues to improve a lot of them will get built. With something like 98% occupancy and rents increasing substantially each year, it just wouldn't make sense for more housing to not get built. I know a lot of units will enter the market when the projects currently under construction are completed, but I doubt they will bring the supply anywhere near in line with the demand. I'm very optimistic for the future of downtown. With the residential population increasing quickly, other types of projects will be more likely.

The thing is it can only increase as quickly as new units are put on the market. Not enough are being built quickly enough.. There are so many vacant historic structures just ripe for conversions.

Originally Posted by citywatch

this vid is like a scene out of a whodunit novel or a TV show. It shows the poor guest on camera, with both her & the elevator acting mysteriously.....

That video is super creepy... I'm particularly heartbroken about this story. So upsetting.

[brudy]

Originally Posted by SoCalKid

I feel like a bunch of residential projects are going to get announced soon, and if the market continues to improve a lot of them will get built. With something like 98% occupancy and rents increasing substantially each year, it just wouldn't make sense for more housing to not get built. I know a lot of units will enter the market when the projects currently under construction are completed, but I doubt they will bring the supply anywhere near in line with the demand. I'm very optimistic for the future of downtown. With the residential population increasing quickly, other types of projects will be more likely.

Agreed. The occupancy rate is tough right now. My wife works downtown (she has a two block commute!) and several of her coworkers have moved downtown in the last year and others of all kinds of backgrounds are trying but having difficulty finding a place. It's a mixture of availability and price. With nothing substantial coming online this year or even early next year, it's going to be a long wait. I'm figuring we'll be priced out late this year when our lease is up and it's going to be tough to find another.

[DistrictDirt]

Originally Posted by brudy

Agreed. The occupancy rate is tough right now. My wife works downtown (she has a two block commute!) and several of her coworkers have moved downtown in the last year and others of all kinds of backgrounds are trying but having difficulty finding a place. It's a mixture of availability and price. With nothing substantial coming online this year or even early next year, it's going to be a long wait. I'm figuring we'll be priced out late this year when our lease is up and it's going to be tough to find another.

K-town is only an 8 minute metro ride away

[gerryberry]

Originally Posted by colemonkee

^ Yes, that's the Onni Tower at 9th and Olive, though that article offers a little more insight into the set up of the tower. That's a lot of parking for the area, but my guess is that the additional parking is for the Chase Tower next door, which Onni also owns. I just hope they integrate some retail into the Hill street side of the parking garage, which it doesn't appear that they are from the article.

thank you for the info! i am also excited about the conversion of the gerry building, which is mentioned in the article.

[brudy]

Originally Posted by DistrictDirt

K-town is only an 8 minute metro ride away

That's true, and we're also thinking about Los Feliz, if we could find something close to the metro stop there. I just hate the idea of moving for a year and then coming back downtown once some more stuff opens up. I'm kind of holding out for the Ava in Little Tokyo. I like that area a lot. Quieter than where we are now, lots of grassy areas for our dog (who's very particular), and very walkable on the whole. And my wife can still walk to work.

[BrandonJXN]

Little Tokyo is very cool. And is only going to get better with the arrival of Ava. That and One Santa Fe are really going to have an effect in that area. And with the eventual arrival of the Regional Connector, it won't be long until we finally see a project proposed for that huge parking lot on First and Alameda.

[Easy]

Originally Posted by brudy

That's true, and we're also thinking about Los Feliz, if we could find something close to the metro stop there. I just hate the idea of moving for a year and then coming back downtown once some more stuff opens up. I'm kind of holding out for the Ava in Little Tokyo. I like that area a lot. Quieter than where we are now, lots of grassy areas for our dog (who's very particular), and very walkable on the whole. And my wife can still walk to work.

Whatever that building is called in city west will open soon too. Also the Lorenzo is opening in phases. Phase 1 is already open. Its not really "downtown" but it should cause a migration of some students further south and that will free up some spaces in various buildings.

[LAofAnaheim]

Originally Posted by Easy

Whatever that building is called in city west will open soon too. Also the Lorenzo is opening in phases. Phase 1 is already open. Its not really "downtown" but it should cause a migration of some students further south and that will free up some spaces in various buildings.

City West plays an important role in the revitalization of downtown. A lot of these people who dine on the "other side of the bridge" take cabs and enjoy the urban life of downtown. As most of us downtowners call it.......the New Jersey of Downtown LA.

If Metro were to build a new infill station, a stop at Wilshire/Union would be a great location. There is a 1.5 mile gap between 7th/Metro and MacArthur Park station. For an urban environment, there should be a closer stop to our "New Jersey" patrons...and Wilshire/Union is .6 mile west of 7th/Metro. Good location and lots of nearby housing popping up.

[LAofAnaheim]

Originally Posted by StethJeff

This 4th/Broadway news is huge! I'll take a transformative Broadway development over 3 new South Park towers any day. DTLA's boom and reemergence is meaningless if Broadway remains an abandoned theater flea market. My guess is that a tower likes this never sees the light of day without Bringing Back Broadway. With this tower (hopefully) and the Ace Hotel, we'll have two massive projects anchoring the ends of LA's most neglected street.

Can't wait to see this tower one day along my weekly walk to Bäco.

I don't think one over the other is more important. The continued revitalization opens up new blocks of activity that Broadway cannot replicate. And that's a good thing. The last thing I want downtown LA to become is a singular street focused urban area (a la 3rd Street Promenade in Santa Monica, Colorado blvd in Pasadena, Hollywood Blvd in Hollywood, etc...). Downtown currently has 7th street, Spring St, Main St, and portions of 4th, 5th, 6th and 8th that have restaurants/bars of activity. That's the downtown we want. A whole urban environment. We don't want everything to revolve in/out of Broadway. A great urban environment is blocks and blocks of activity.........not everything focused on 1 pedestrianized corridor. Those are good for small towns.....not a city that should be serviced by millions of people on a daily basis. Downtown LA needs to be our urban center and each district (Financial District, South Park, Historic Core, Little Tokyo, Bunker Hill, etc...) should be a thriving entertainment scene with seamless connections to developed neighborhoods.

[Easy]

Originally Posted by LAofAnaheim

If Metro were to build a new infill station, a stop at Wilshire/Union would be a great location. There is a 1.5 mile gap between 7th/Metro and MacArthur Park station. For an urban environment, there should be a closer stop to our "New Jersey" patrons...and Wilshire/Union is .6 mile west of 7th/Metro. Good location and lots of nearby housing popping up.

If metro were to build an infill station it would probably be the first ever added to a deep bore tunnel with no contingency for a station. Assuming that its even feasible the red and purple lines would likely need to be shut down for years during construction.

[blackcat23]

Originally Posted by Easy

If metro were to build an infill station it would probably be the first ever added to a deep bore tunnel with no contingency for a station. Assuming that its even feasible the red and purple lines would likely need to be shut down for years during construction.

I know the Regional Connector is being built with pocket tracks at 5th/Flower to allow for a station to be built there in the future if funds ever become available. I'm assuming this would allow for construction without major service disruptions.

Not sure where the pocket tracks are on the Red/Purple lines.

[StethJeff]

Originally Posted by LAofAnaheim

City West plays an important role in the revitalization of downtown. A lot of these people who dine on the "other side of the bridge" take cabs and enjoy the urban life of downtown. As most of us downtowners call it.......the New Jersey of Downtown LA.

If Metro were to build a new infill station, a stop at Wilshire/Union would be a great location. There is a 1.5 mile gap between 7th/Metro and MacArthur Park station. For an urban environment, there should be a closer stop to our "New Jersey" patrons...and Wilshire/Union is .6 mile west of 7th/Metro. Good location and lots of nearby housing popping up.

Barf.

City West isn't our Jersey.
LA Live isn't our Times Square.
And Mexicans aren't our Puerto Ricans.
LA isn't NYC.

[StethJeff]

Originally Posted by LAofAnaheim

I don't think one over the other is more important. The continued revitalization opens up new blocks of activity that Broadway cannot replicate. And that's a good thing. The last thing I want downtown LA to become is a singular street focused urban area (a la 3rd Street Promenade in Santa Monica, Colorado blvd in Pasadena, Hollywood Blvd in Hollywood, etc...). Downtown currently has 7th street, Spring St, Main St, and portions of 4th, 5th, 6th and 8th that have restaurants/bars of activity. That's the downtown we want. A whole urban environment. We don't want everything to revolve in/out of Broadway. A great urban environment is blocks and blocks of activity.........not everything focused on 1 pedestrianized corridor. Those are good for small towns.....not a city that should be serviced by millions of people on a daily basis. Downtown LA needs to be our urban center and each district (Financial District, South Park, Historic Core, Little Tokyo, Bunker Hill, etc...) should be a thriving entertainment scene with seamless connections to developed neighborhoods.

I'm pretty sure we all want the same thing here. A big three dimensional thriving urban core. IMO, DTLA is totally incomplete if Broadway doesn't become one of those thriving streets. Preserving our history, our identity, and our architectural gems means infinitely more to me than a half-dozen asymmetric condo towers near Olympic. If the the Temple/Fig/7th/LA corridor is brought to its full potential and grandeur, Little Tokyo, Arts District, South Park, and City West should all fall into place.

I love development regardless where it's built, I simply prefer those projects that help create the most cohesive and dynamic core possible.

[Easy]

Originally Posted by blackcat23

I know the Regional Connector is being built with pocket tracks at 5th/Flower to allow for a station to be built there in the future if funds ever become available. I'm assuming this would allow for construction without major service disruptions.

Not sure where the pocket tracks are on the Red/Purple lines.

That bit isn't a tunnel anyway, it's cut and cover unless the businesses win their lawsuit. And pocket tracks are to do things like short turn trains and park extra trains overnight or at rush hour. Not for a potential station.

I don't recall that there were any contingencies made for station infill anywhere on the red and purple lines. I've heard that there were a few contingencies to add additional entrances at a few stations, like at Hollywood/Highland.

[ThomJames]

Quote:
Originally Posted by colemonkee
^ Yes, that's the Onni Tower at 9th and Olive, though that article offers a little more insight into the set up of the tower. That's a lot of parking for the area, but my guess is that the additional parking is for the Chase Tower next door, which Onni also owns. I just hope they integrate some retail into the Hill street side of the parking garage, which it doesn't appear that they are from the article.
That'd be great, though we both know they won't.

I cant wait to see what this part of the hood looks like when the tower is done. If it were completed today it'd be so out of place. We need more developers like Onni taking chances like this!


As far as I know, the City of Los Angeles has had an ordinance requiring retail on all ground floors of parking garages since the early 2000's. They made sure it was included in the LAPD parking garage on Main and 3rd and the parking garage on Hope directly behind Ralph's as an example. So there SHOULD be retail on the Onni project facing Hill.

[blackcat23]

Here's an article from the Downtown News about Palmer's Broadway development, WITH a rendering. No resemblance to his freeway adjacent buildings. It's just a preliminary rendering, but I think it looks good.

Unfortunately, the dude still has a boner for pedestrian bridges and intends to build one to connect the two buildings.

http://www.ladowntownnews.com/news/geoff...3f06e42-7d15-11e2-b9c4-001a4bcf887a.html

Geoff Palmer Planning Two Huge Broadway Buildings



by Ryan Vaillancourt

Developer Geoff Palmer has built more Central City apartments than anyone else, but the man behind the Tuscan villa-inspired complexes such as the Medici and Orsini has stayed on the outskirts of Downtown.

Until now.

Palmer, who heads the firm G.H. Palmer Associates, has partnered with parking lot giant L&R Group on a plan to develop a massive, two-building complex that would straddle Olympic Boulevard at Broadway. Part of the project calls for a 10-story, 439-unit apartment building on what is now a surface parking lot between Broadway and Main Street, just north of Olympic. It would rise directly across from the future Ace Hotel, which is under construction inside the United Artists Theater building.

The second edifice is envisioned as a six-story, 247-unit structure that would rise on the lot on Broadway just south of Olympic Boulevard. It would require the demolition of a small building that now fronts Olympic Boulevard. Palmer intends to connect the two addresses via an elevated pedestrian bridge, a design element common in his other projects, according to plans filed with the city.

Word of the plan initially had some Broadway stakeholders on edge. While most area property owners support creating more housing, they worried that Palmer’s signature faux Italian Renaissance design would stick out in the historic district.

“There was absolutely a concern,” said Steve Needleman, the owner of the Orpheum Theater and Anjac Fashion, which controls several Broadway area buildings. “It was a quiet talk of our little neighborhood.”

However, those concerns have been largely assuaged. Early designs for the project appear to take inspiration from the district’s older stone buildings. They depict structures clad in a red brick veneer, with off-white colored podiums and crowns. The street-level podiums include the type of columns common in old bank buildings.

“I’m very excited,” Needleman said. “Is every project exactly what you want? Not necessarily. It’s maybe a little larger to scale than what I might want, but overall I’m excited.”

[BrandonJXN]

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[ConstructDTLA]

Awesome!

It's not amazing, but its nice. If he builds that I will withdraw my negative opinion of him.