LOS ANGELES | Downtown Project Rundown 4.0

[Corwinstephen]

For what it's worth, I found the guy in charge's email: [email protected]

Considering these developers never live where they're developing, I suppose it's possible he just doesn't even know that everyone hates that type of construction. We should tell him!

[Valyrian Steel]

Really wish the new design guidelines could go into effect already.

[blackcat23]

Originally Posted by Corwinstephen

For what it's worth, I found the guy in charge's email: [email protected]

Considering these developers never live where they're developing, I suppose it's possible he just doesn't even know that everyone hates that type of construction. We should tell him!

Craig Lawson is a consulting firm that I'm assuming the actual owner hired to move it through the city's permitting/approval process. I suppose it couldn't hurt to e-mail the contact man for the project, but the developer is probably more concerned about his bottom line than what the neighbors like.

Although I'd love it if the city declined to approve the project. Time to stop wasting prime entitled land on this kind of crap.

[brudy]

Emailing the developer isn't going to do anything. They only care about money. If it mattered at all to them, they'd be building something else. Probably the only way to get this to change would be to email anybody who has any say on the city side. Huizar?

As an aside, and I can't believe I'm going to say this, but downtown needs a neighborhood group to promote smart urban development and density. Something that wraps together and promotes higher density, walkability, public transportation, bike infrastructure, parks, and quality architecture.

[blackcat23]

Originally Posted by brudy

As an aside, and I can't believe I'm going to say this, but downtown needs a neighborhood group to promote smart urban development and density. Something that wraps together and promotes higher density, walkability, public transportation, bike infrastructure, parks, and quality architecture.

I'd like to think the Downtown LA neighborhood council would do something like this.

[Corwinstephen]

We should start calling these things "iPartments". Or how about "iClones"?

[LosAngelesSportsFan]

Originally Posted by Kingofthehill

Can we issue a moratorium on 7-story/wood frame/type 5 construction? Since nobody using this building criteria ever builds anything memorable, I figure it might as well be banned. It seems as if Type 5 construction in LA proper almost guarantees a crappy, ugly-looking building.

The city is actually on it regarding this. they would like to make some changes to encourage building to the full entitlements, at least in dt la. i spoke to the head of planning about this last month and they are not happy with all these 6 - 8 story buildings in downtown.

[brudy]

Originally Posted by LosAngelesSportsFan

The city is actually on it regarding this. they would like to make some changes to encourage building to the full entitlements, at least in dt la. i spoke to the head of planning about this last month and they are not happy with all these 6 - 8 story buildings in downtown.

Are they in the position to reject buildings based on design and size alone?

[blackcat23]

Updates on some projects taller than 7 stories to lighten the mood.

Parcel M Tower



888 Olive



8th and Hope

[Easy]

Thanks blackcat23 for getting it back on track! Good to see some progress. Weird how far 9th/Olive is ahead of 8th/Grand when they broke ground like a week apart.

[alki]

Originally Posted by brudy

Emailing the developer isn't going to do anything. They only care about money. If it mattered at all to them, they'd be building something else. Probably the only way to get this to change would be to email anybody who has any say on the city side. Huizar?

As an aside, and I can't believe I'm going to say this, but downtown needs a neighborhood group to promote smart urban development and density. Something that wraps together and promotes higher density, walkability, public transportation, bike infrastructure, parks, and quality architecture.

That's a great idea..........lots of work.......but worth it in the end if it results in change.

[Mojeda101]

Originally Posted by Easy

Thanks blackcat23 for getting it back on track! Good to see some progress. Weird how far 9th/Olive is ahead of 8th/Grand when they broke ground like a week apart.

You can't compare the two. 9th and Olive has MUCH less space to work with. 8th and Grand is so wide, i hate it so much. With a passion. Multiple towers could have occupied that area

[citywatch]

Originally Posted by blackcat23

to lighten the mood.

speaking of which, I don't know about the ppl who live in dt or spend lots of time there....either as workers or visitors....feeling unhappy about new projs that in their opinion are too short or aren't suitable to them due to some nitpicky reason, but I'm fairly certain that most other ppl don't have problems with the hood for those same reasons. I'm quite certain that such ppl....the average person....have far more problems with aspects of dt like this....



maps.google.com


^ there are still a zillion parcels throughout dt that desperately need to be filled in. we're talking about an amt of land that likely won't be fully cleaned or fixed up....assuming that big companies in NYC or chicago, or sf, don't all start moving en masse to dtla, or the burbs or hoods like Samo...or cities like seattle....don't start totally emptying out of ppl due to them relocating to dtla....before many of us are old & gray.

[citywatch]

Originally Posted by brudy

Emailing the developer isn't going to do anything. They only care about money. If it mattered at all to them, they'd be building something else.

it's humorous that devlprs in other parts of town often run into nimbys who complain that a proposed proj, due to the owner wanting to make big money, is planning something that's too big or too tall, while at least in this forum, or among various ppl in dt, the complaint is that a devlpr, due to his desire for $$, is favoring projs that are too small.

The Apex apt tower at 9th & fig has filled up at an okay pace, but it still has 20% of its units looking for tenants. I bet if such projs leased up almost overnight....& better yet had a waiting list....devlprs would be fully aware of that & would be so confident in the hood's ability to absorb new residents, that they'd happily increase the size of their proposed projs.

[112597jorge]

LA should really do something about all these 7 story shitboxes, we should be getting at least.. At least some decent ( tall with ok design ) developments, not this, these 7 story buildings should be going up in La Brea avenue, etc.

[BrandonJXN]

^ Even those going up on La Brea are not all that great.

[Wilcal]

Originally Posted by Mojeda101

You can't compare the two. 9th and Olive has MUCH less space to work with. 8th and Grand is so wide, i hate it so much. With a passion. Multiple towers could have occupied that area

You are right. No matter how well designed (which based upon early renderings, this project is not), this 7 storied building will be a massive slab turned on its side, taking up a lot of space. I would think that those who do live downtown and who are interested in its development should approach Huizar. Get to know him, and find out what his thoughts are.

[Easy]

Originally Posted by Mojeda101

You can't compare the two. 9th and Olive has MUCH less space to work with. 8th and Grand is so wide, i hate it so much. With a passion. Multiple towers could have occupied that area

I actually like 8th/Grand ok. But I do agree that the size of the property is a little scary. I recall that Astani had planned to break up the block with a pedestrian only street between Grand and Olive, but I guess that was never included in the plans of Carmel. I think that was a huge loss given how long the blocks are.

[inSaeculaSaeculorum]

8th/Grand not so great when you consider what it was originally supposed to look like. It had a taller tower but even the shorter part of the original render, with its undulating facade, showed that you can really do 5-8 story buildings with elegance. But I can't really think of a wood framed project that size that has gone up in past decade that hasn't been mediocre or fugly. The snowball is rolling now and we are beyond begging for scraps.

[blackcat23]

For those of us still curious about how tall they might build on the Metropolis site, I had a look at the revised tract map that was approved earlier this year. The height limit for the lot is 456 feet above grade.