LOS ANGELES | Downtown Project Rundown 4.0

[alki]

Originally Posted by brudy

It's only out of the way for the next few years I think. Long term we're stuck with another short, but large mass building. While I'm glad it's not stucco, it's not spectacular either. I like the street level retail, but there's something about the design of this one (and many others recently) that doesn't imply urbanity or downtown. It's too monolithic, a horizontal skyscraper as it were. All these large block projects have this air of separateness and lack architectural differentiation. It doesn't feel like a city with these single block-sized buildings, at least as these have been designed. One of the great things about cities is the variety you get, and this one just brings homogenization.

You hit it. I couldn't put my finger on why these developments were not doing it for me. They almost feel like strip malls, fronting on the street instead of set back. Maybe TCA is the problem.

I think something that makes new bldgs look more urbane.......canopies [not awnings] that jut out over retail........like with this bldg:

[alki]

Originally Posted by Muji

Nice news about 888 Hope St. Fun fact: that corner has been used as surface parking since the Great Depression. Either way, in a couple of years Hope Street will probably be the best pedestrian connection between South Park and the Financial District.

That was always the intent......even back in the 90s.

[alki]

Originally Posted by DistrictDirt

540 Main St renderings, from the DLANC PDF Gram3000 posted:

Main Street side

DLANC

[/URL]

Definitely a hot bldg but what's with no retail on the Main St. side. I hope that's a problem with the rendering and will not be the reality.

[Illithid Dude]

Originally Posted by alki

Definitely a hot bldg but what's with no retail on the Main St. side. I hope that's a problem with the rendering and will not be the reality.

? There is pretty clearly retail on the bottom floor.

Originally Posted by alki

Wow. Great to see so many people using the park so soon after its opening. Clearly, the need is there.

Well done, LA!

My friends and I went downtown the other day and hung out at the park for almost an hour. It was such a pleasant experience, and the park was filled with downtowners. The best part is, they all picked up after their dogs!

[colemonkee]

That design isn't half bad. Certainly a step up from TCA. Kind of a shame that it's the same exact color palette as the New Genesis apartments one block north, though. A little variety never killed anyone. Anyone that I know, anyway.

[StethJeff]

Originally Posted by brudy

Yeah, those two will do great things to 6th and Main. Main between 5th and 6th is still pretty crappy. It will also be interesting to see what retail takes the Los Angeles St spaces and if it will spur more development on that side of the block.

I can't imagine that side will have anything good. It's basically skid row. Los Angeles Street is a shithole.

[alki]

Originally Posted by Illithid Dude

? There is pretty clearly retail on the bottom floor.

Not to be argumentative but it doesn't look like it to me......it looks like a single office user. Could be just the rendering though.


[QUOTE]My friends and I went downtown the other day and hung out at the park for almost an hour. It was such a pleasant experience, and the park was filled with downtowners. The best part is, they all picked up after their dogs![/QUOTE]

Yeah. Usually it takes a while for parks to get active. Not this one. To be frank, I thought the city was going a little gung ho with all the new parks going up or proposed DT but clearly I was wrong.

[ConstructDTLA]

Originally Posted by StethJeff

I can't imagine that side will have anything good. It's basically skid row. Los Angeles Street is a shithole.

I always love your input because you are one of the few people who actually tells it straight-forward, and how it is. You're 100% correct on the Los Angeles street side. It's a shame that street is mostly lost (to at least our generation), so many great pieces of architecture..


On (southern) Broadway:
-Ace Hotel took down the scaffolding around the main part of the building, the structure is now dirtier than it was before they put the scaffolding up (I take before/after pics of everything).
-A small structure directly to the left of Ross is being worked on as we speak. It'll be several large apartments I hear..
-The beautiful & historic Tower Theater will likely be the first theater to kick off Broadways worst idea. A nightclub district.
-It looks like the shit tenants of Rialto have closed up shop. Should be any day that we see Urban Outfitters working away on the space.

-Nordstrom Rack will be taking up the majority of the ground floor space of the old May Company building. A hotel will be above. This is worse news than Ross, since it will almost certainly commit Broadway to being the outlet street.

[Valyrian Steel]

Originally Posted by StethJeff

I can't imagine that side will have anything good. It's basically skid row. Los Angeles Street is a shithole.

Originally Posted by StethJeff

That's a terribly defeatist attitude.

.

[Suffice]

Originally Posted by HunterK

-Nordstrom Rack will be taking up the majority of the ground floor space of the old May Company building. A hotel will be above. This is worse news than Ross, since it will almost certainly commit Broadway to being the outlet street.

Hunter, ever been to Union Sq. in Manhattan?

[Illithid Dude]

Originally Posted by HunterK

-Nordstrom Rack will be taking up the majority of the ground floor space of the old May Company building. A hotel will be above. This is worse news than Ross, since it will almost certainly commit Broadway to being the outlet street.

I don't think that's bad at all. It's a good step up from Ross, or Macys, and can easily be converted into a full fledged Nordstroms when the time is right. Just curious, though, where did you hear this? As far as I know, nothing has been announced for that building.

Oh, and a Umami Burger is coming to the Arts District, so there's that.

[Valyrian Steel]

Well, Hunter wants all of Broadway to go from discount jewelry and clothing shops to super upscale retail and fine dining. Talk about being realistic about downtown...

The saying "beggars can't be choosers" comes to mind.

[BrandonJXN]

This thread is not fun anymore.

*Goes back to lurking*

[blackcat23]

Originally Posted by HunterK

Nordstrom Rack will be taking up the majority of the ground floor space of the old May Company building. A hotel will be above. This is worse news than Ross, since it will almost certainly commit Broadway to being the outlet street.

Source?

And if this is the case, it's good news (although I guess not to Hunter). Nice to see progress slowly making it's way north up Broadway.

[brudy]

Originally Posted by StethJeff

I can't imagine that side will have anything good. It's basically skid row. Los Angeles Street is a shithole.

I guess I see it as the last step before shitholedom, and possibly the first step towards getting rid of shitholedom. Los Angeles St is the invisible wall between the historic core and skid row. Eventually something will have to give on the eastern side of the the core for downtown to continue to grow. Maybe this could start to get people thinking about this side of the block.

[colemonkee]

I for one welcome a Nordstrom Rack and plan to shop there.

[brudy]

Originally Posted by blackcat23

Source?

And if this is the case, it's good news (although I guess not to Hunter). Nice to see progress slowly making it's way north up Broadway.

From what I've heard an announcement should be made in the next few weeks. Info was minimal - large dept store (appears Hunter confirms it's a Nordstrom Rack), hotel, other retail. Pretty exciting.

I also think that the Nordstrom Rack can coexist with other more upscale stores. Union Sq is a good example, the Bloomingdales on Lower Broadway is another. And NR isn't exactly Ross, either.

In 5 years, downtown as a series of microhoods will be an outdated way of thinking. If you have to walk 8 blocks to go to a higher end store, that's nothing. It's so patchy now, but as buildings go up and more stores and residents arrive, this will feel more like Manhattan in many ways.

[blackcat23]

Here's something that doesn't happen everyday: news about LA Central.

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-06-21...or-downtown-los-angeles-real-estate.html

Moinian Seeks Buyer for Downtown Los Angeles Real Estate

by Nadja Brandt

New York developer Joseph Moinian is marketing downtown Los Angeles land planned for a high-end retail, hotel and residential project.

Moinian Group, which bought the 4.5-acre (1.8-hectare) property in 2006 for $80 million from Anschutz Entertainment Group, has about 10 bidders and will choose within 30 to 60 days, according to a person with knowledge of the situation. The offers are for about $180 million, said the person, who asked not to be identified because the talks are private.

So the property should have a new owner by the end of summer. Maybe even groundbreaking by late 2013/early 2014?

Also noted within the article, 85% of the Ritz Carlton branded residences at LA Live have now sold.

[LAofAnaheim]

What is wrong with Nordstrom Rack? This is a huge step up for Broadway and should not be discounted (pun intended) as an insignificant achievement.

On a side note, making snide negative comments does not make this message board fun. A department store, a chain, or a 6 story building is all good news for downtown development; considering where we were 8 years ago when you couldn't find a decent place to eat dinner on a Sunday evening outside of Pantry, iHop or a Subway in downtown.

[ThomJames]

Originally Posted by HunterK

I always love your input because you are one of the few people who actually tells it straight-forward, and how it is. You're 100% correct on the Los Angeles street side. It's a shame that street is mostly lost (to at least our generation), so many great pieces of architecture..


On (southern) Broadway:
-Ace Hotel took down the scaffolding around the main part of the building, the structure is now dirtier than it was before they put the scaffolding up (I take before/after pics of everything).
-A small structure directly to the left of Ross is being worked on as we speak. It'll be several large apartments I hear..
-The beautiful & historic Tower Theater will likely be the first theater to kick off Broadways worst idea. A nightclub district.
-It looks like the shit tenants of Rialto have closed up shop. Should be any day that we see Urban Outfitters working away on the space.

-Nordstrom Rack will be taking up the majority of the ground floor space of the old May Company building. A hotel will be above. This is worse news than Ross, since it will almost certainly commit Broadway to being the outlet street.

Totally disagree about Nordstrom Rack ruining Broadway. Market Street in San Francisco has a Ross AND a Marshall's and there is also a Bloomingdale's and Nordstrom. Broadway is a long street. I think there's room for a variety.