LOS ANGELES | Downtown Project Rundown 4.0

[blackcat23]

And supposedly Angels Knoll & all that nice park land there (been closed for a couple weeks) by Angels Flight is being sold off.

Goodbye best park in downtown...

Angel's Knoll is a nice park, albeit somewhat isolated. As some of us have mentioned at other points in this thread, the park was intended only as a placeholder until the Cal Plaza 3 parcel could be developed. The land isn't even zoned for green space.

Should be interesting to see what winds up going there.

[brudy]

Originally Posted by blackcat23

Angel's Knoll is a nice park, albeit somewhat isolated. As some of us have mentioned at other points in this thread, the park was intended only as a placeholder until the Cal Plaza 3 parcel could be developed. The land isn't even zoned for green space.

Should be interesting to see what winds up going there.

Are you sure that's the whole property? I thought that only the lower half was temporary?

I live very close to there and I'm very very disappointed. It's the only mature park in downtown and also quite the tourist attraction. I'm becoming less and less thrilled about spring st. park It's overdesigned, shadeless, and the grassy patch is tiny. Angel's Knoll was a place where you felt like you weren't in downtown anymore, and afforded spectacular views. The jacaranda on the hilltop is magnificent. Makes me kinda sick to think of it being developed, especially when we're park poor. They should rezone that for a park and keep it that way.

[inSaeculaSaeculorum]

angels knoll is a perfect park at this point. a great respite in bunker hill. i actually like it much better than spring street park lol.

[Illithid Dude]

I'm disappointed about Angels Knoll closing, but the park was always supposed to be temporary, so I'm happy that it lasted as long as it did.

[citywatch]

thanks for the photo updates, wonderlandpark & hunterK.

the broad museum's facade is taking longer to install than I thought would be the case some time ago. The huge pit where the apt bldg at 8th & grand is going up...& where the whole Foods mkt is to be located....also is taking longer to move to the next phase than I thought would be evident by now.

as for the figaro restaurant & hunter's comments about it, yikes, talk about a tough customer. I sympathize with the owners of figaro, who must be struggling with lots of unpaid bills and a volume of business on broadway that probably isn't making them exactly thrilled they're a pioneer in the effort to rejuvenate the street. That's likely why they can't afford more than a temporary sign out front....which does look quite sad....although I like the way they've tried to make the sidewalk dining area more appealing....& the new awnings could have been nicer in design, but the owner at least earns an A for effort. the neighboring relit signs of the Palace theater are another boost to the street, although I notice a part of one of the signs still isn't working correctly.

when the CRA was shut down earlier this yr, I believe all their assets had to be sold, including the land they've controlled since the 1960s where the 3rd phase of Calif plaza was supposed to have been built. I wonder if the city still will have enough control after the land is sold so that the new owner is required to keep the park. since the demand for new office space still is weak, I don't think the addition of a 3rd office tower makes much sense right now & won't for some time into the future, so there's no reason the space can't remain as an active park.

[blackcat23]

Originally Posted by brudy

Are you sure that's the whole property? I thought that only the lower half was temporary?

If I recall correctly, the park and the plaza were both temporary.

Zimas still lists the land as government owned, with the parcel last changing hands in December of 2012.

I suppose we'll have to wait and see. If the Angel's Knoll site is destined for development, office is unlikely for obvious reasons. I do believe the site is zoned to allow residential, though.

[Mojeda101]

Originally Posted by blackcat23

I suppose we'll have to wait and see. If the Angel's Knoll site is destined for development, office is unlikely for obvious reasons. I do believe the site is zoned to allow residential, though.

Would they do that if anything?

[Illithid Dude]

clearly, they are gearing up for the announcement that Zen is now two towers, one on either side of the street

[202_Cyclist]

Originally Posted by Illithid Dude

clearly, they are gearing up for the announcement that Zen is now two towers, one on either side of the street

I appreciate your enthusiasm for sharing LA news. What time is it, 4:30 AM, in CA?

[citywatch]

Originally Posted by Illithid Dude

clearly, they are gearing up for the announcement that Zen is now two towers, one on either side of the street

not sure if you're just pulling our leg.

meanwhile....


lamag.com

Earlier this week, Whole Foods market announced that they would be building a store in Downtown Los Angeles. The new grocery will be located inside a future high rise where Bottega Louie’s parking lot currently stands, but that project is still several years down the road. Urban Outfitters is way ahead of them. Three months ago, the funky store announced their new downtown location would be open before the end of the year.

I was skeptical of the deadline, considering that their new home, the 1917 Rialto Theatre on Broadway, had been gutted in 1987 and needed a complete makeover. Check out that photo above and you'll see how quickly they're progressing. Downtown has some of the most beautiful buildings in the city. Things are changing so rapidly, and historic details hidden for decades seem to emerge every week. There have been many transformative moments on Broadway since the Bringing Back Broadway initiative launched in 2008, but this combination of national chain in a historic space will become the simplest way to explain downtown’s transformation to people that still don’t get it.

[simms3_redux]

8th and Hope - I have some free time to walk around a bit now, and maybe I'll get some "real" pics with a real camera...

[JDRCRASH]

Originally Posted by bmfarley

The large park in the image included ball fields and such. A large railroad operation sits there. I don't see how it would be feasible to have recreational fields in the that location. Someone would need to go. If the RR goes.... Someone would need to pay for that, and, that will not be cheap. Billions of $.

http://archpaper.com/uploads/piggyback_yards_05.jpg

You could always move the rail operations underground. Given the Alameda Corridor and ACE are already trenched, it doesn't really seem all that farfetched to take this approach one step further and put the LATC railyard underground.

It's not like there hasn't been any precedent for putting rail underground and putting development and/or parks over it. Millennium Park? Hudson Yards?

Think about it... having a large majority of the United States rail freight operations through Los Angeles out of sight to it's residents and tourists!!

[Illithid Dude]

Originally Posted by 202_Cyclist

I appreciate your enthusiasm for sharing LA news. What time is it, 4:30 AM, in CA?

It was, unfortunately.

[LA/OCman]

Originally Posted by Illithid Dude

I'm disappointed about Angels Knoll closing, but the park was always supposed to be temporary, so I'm happy that it lasted as long as it did.

I contacted the Councilman's office and they said "Angel's Knoll is closed during the pending transfer from the CRA to a successor property owner".

That is all I know!

[Valyrian Steel]

Pending Deal Could Jumpstart ‘Metropolis’ Megaproject

DOWNTOWN LOS ANGELES – The developer of a long-stalled South Park mega-project has a deal in place with a Chinese investor that would allow the $1 billion project to finally proceed. Finally is the operative word, as the project has been floated in one form or another for more than two decades.

Shanghai Greenland Group Co. is in final negotiations with Metropolis developer IDS Real Estate and its financial partner CalSTRS, said Patrick Spillane, IDS senior vice president.

IDS has had several false starts and plan revisions for a multi-building, mixed-use development with hotels, residential units and office space along Francisco Street between Eighth and Ninth streets. The 6.3-acre site is entitled for up to five buildings, which could include multiple hotel and residential towers, along with one office tower.

CalSTRS, the state teachers retirement fund, was long expected to help finance construction of the project, Spillane said.

CalSTRS, which is in the process of selling some of its long-term holdings to reinvest in new projects, was looking to sell its interest.

With CalSTRS aiming to exit the project, IDS put Metropolis on the market in March. The company was open to an outright sale, or merely selling a stake in the project, said Spillane.

Shanghai Greenland Group Co. was one of several suitors, Spillane said.
While some media reports stated that Shanghai had already invested in the project, Spillane said the deal is not finished.

“There’s an agreement for Greenland to come in as an investor in the Metropolis project with the objective of going vertical immediately,” Spillane said. “We’re very excited that they have selected Los Angeles and the Metropolis project to be their initial investment in the United States.”

Reports that Shanghai bought the project for $1 billion are untrue, Spillane said. Instead, the company’s pending investment would help realize a project that is valued at $1 billion, he said.

...

http://www.ladowntownnews.com/news/pendi...7896626-fe17-11e2-a3e5-001a4bcf887a.html

[RuFFy]

On my iPhone so I won't post the mobile link but there is a pic of the cleaning of the exterior of the Ace Hotel/Tower Theater on curbed.

[ConstructDTLA]

Originally Posted by RuFFy

On my iPhone so I won't post the mobile link but there is a pic of the cleaning of the exterior of the Ace Hotel/Tower Theater on curbed.

A different picture posted a few days ago shows the tower - now painted a different color than the rest of the building.

Also a few pages back someone asked about the Alexandria. Earlier this afternoon someone jumped out a window, created a lot of commotion on Spring while they closed down some lanes.

A man jumped to his death from the Alexandria Hotel in downtown Los Angeles this afternoon.
Los Angeles Police Department Det. Gus Villanueva told LAist that the man jumped at 3:55 pm. City Fire Department spokesman Brian Humphrey told us that at 3:58 pm, fire department responders arrived and found the man already dead at the corner of 5th and Spring.

http://laist.com/2013/08/05/man_jumped_to_death_from_alexandria.php

[alki]

Originally Posted by RuFFy

On my iPhone so I won't post the mobile link but there is a pic of the cleaning of the exterior of the Ace Hotel/Tower Theater on curbed.

Wow. The cleaned portion is almost white. That's going to be an incredible bldg when they finish.



Here's the before:

[ConstructDTLA]

Originally Posted by alki

Wow. The cleaned portion is almost white. That's going to be an incredible bldg when they finish.

It's white because they painted it so. They had scaffolding around the entire building a few months ago and took it down without cleaning or painting so I have to assume only the tower portion will be that off-white.

[Muji]

It's a little strange that they're only painting the top portion of the UA tower, but I personally don't mind the way the building looks as it is. I'm actually staying at the Ace Hotel in Portland right now, and it's lived up to the hype IMO. They really made it a point to bring in high quality food and drink businesses to their ground floor spaces, and the lobby is always a bustling hangout. If they can pull it off in LA, it'll be a game changer for the area. In less than a year, the block between 8th, Broadway, 9th, and Spring could very well be the coolest part of downtown.