LOS ANGELES | Central City Project Rundown 5.0

[ConstructDTLA]

AT&T Center 1150 South Olive Street by HunterKerhart.com, on Flickr

View Down Olympic from Main by HunterKerhart.com, on Flickr

1051 South Broadway Restoration by HunterKerhart.com, on Flickr

9th & Olive by HunterKerhart.com, on Flickr

Pitchoun Bakery by HunterKerhart.com, on Flickr

Broadway / Spring Arcade Building by HunterKerhart.com, on Flickr

For those who think the Arcade Renovation is nice I invite you to look at what an arcade should look like, the Ferry Building in San Francisco:

[colemonkee]

I agree with DTLADenizen on this one. There are two parking structures on the block kitty-corner from this. You can throw a rock from this property and hit both of them. And one block away there is a pretty new Walgreen's store across the street from a Rite Aid. How many parking garages and pharmacies do we need in a 2-block radius? Better yet, who put this business plan together? I have a bridge in Brooklyn to sell them...

[brudy]

Yeah, that's a lot of parking/drug stores in a tiny area. This could have been great.

[Docjalby]

Alrighty, I'll be the dissenter here. There is lots of parking in the area but we are about to run out of useable parking in dtla. The DLANC just listed the number of new residents coming on top of parking lots in Southpark, so for me, building a multistory parking structure, even one next to other structures, is still needed. At some point we will have a streetcar and people will park here and get to the rest of the downtown.

[ThomJames]

Originally Posted by Docjalby

Alrighty, I'll be the dissenter here. There is lots of parking in the area but we are about to run out of useable parking in dtla. The DLANC just listed the number of new residents coming on top of parking lots in Southpark, so for me, building a multistory parking structure, even one next to other structures, is still needed. At some point we will have a streetcar and people will park here and get to the rest of the downtown.

Yeah, I don't love the CVS parking lot either, but we've probably lost a few thousand parking spaces recently with all of the surface lots going left and right. So it'll probably needed in the long run.

[citywatch]

Originally Posted by DTLAdenizen

For those who think the Arcade Renovation is nice I invite you to look at what an arcade should look like

the lesson in all this?





Dtla lost so many ppl with $$....inc shoppers, tourists, office workers & 24/7 residents, which dt never had much to begin with, starting over 60 yrs ago, that it has been an uphill battle ever since then.

that's why there is something quaint...& naive too....about the way we in LA...or the way the recently reelected city council member representing dtla....become up in arms about new apt devlpt not being tall enough instead of whether that new proj will fill up fast enough....fast enough to keep investors very happy & confident. Or what should always be the #1 goal....& not so much whether architecture or urban ideals will be respected by devlprs throughout dtla to suit the most picky or esoteric of tastes....or will be tall enough to thrill the most demanding fans of skyscrapers.... but whether the hood's population is growing fast enough or will ever reach a truly big city dimension.

the problem with bldgs like the spring arcade bldg is that dtla in general still doesn't have enough of this...


• Video Link


I was reading a blogger whose page focuses on Los Angeles & he said a few months ago that whenever he needed to buy something, instead of sticking with the hoods in the western sections of LA, he headed to macys in dtla cuz the number of customers was always modest & he could get in & out fairly quickly. When the macys at the bloc is remodeled & unveiled, & even if they offer a $300 gift certificate to the first 30,000 customers, would a turnout even 1/2 or 1/4, or even 1/10, or 1/100 as ridiculously large as captured in that vid be guaranteed?

[JDRCRASH]

Sorry, but i just had to respond to this nonsense:

Originally Posted by citywatch

When the macys at the bloc is remodeled & unveiled, & even if they offer a $300 gift certificate to the first 30,000 customers, would a turnout even 1/2 or 1/4, or even 1/10, or 1/100 as ridiculously large as captured in that vid be guaranteed?

You've had an incessant habit of exaggerating in the past, but now you seriously have no idea of what you're talking about...

1/10th? Or even 1/2????? If anything such an essentially free-money event would probably generate TEN TIMES that crowd you showed in that video (15,000? that's it?? lol).

Seriously, if they were to advertise the BLOC's grand opening (presumably during the holiday season?) offering $300 gift certificate to the first 30,000 customers, DTLA and the vicinities will be log-jammed with HUNDREDS, yes HUNDREDS, of thousands of people all the way from Sylmar and Ontario JUST to get that certificate. GUARANTEED. In fact, they might wanna have the whole LAPD force on hand, because that kind of event is just asking for mass fights and hysteria.

Especially when you consider most of these customers likely would consist of the lower-class (half of LA) and illegal crowds that are struggling financially.

P.S.: Don't bother responding with smilies and "I wanna agree with you but this parking lot is irritating me!"/"this article said LA is unattractive for businesses and residents"/"this video shows this visitor to LA having a bad experience"-type of posts... I'll just ignore it.

K?

[blackcat23]

http://urbanize.la/post/grand-central-market-getting-tall-neighbor

33-story tower planned at 4th/Hill, next to Grand Central Market and above an entrance to Pershing Square Station. 428 apartments, 2,900 sq. ft. of retail, 433 parking spaces.

[colemonkee]

Wow, that's excellent news, and unexpected. Let's hope developments like this kick start some stalled projects like the Kawada Group's Zen Tower at 3rd and Hill. With the Regional Connector on the way, the area bounded by Olive, 4th, Spring, and 1st should be rezoned or allowed for density credits, as it will be a virtual, 3-block transit hub, with direct access to all major rail lines.

[BrandonJXN]

It's about time something was proposed on that lot.

[brudy]

That is awesome news and can't happen soon enough. This project alone will be huge for the northern end of downtown and help clean up a totally derelict corner. It's about time my part of town gets some love...

[elcoronel]

This is absolutely fantastic. This is one area that I really believe can be transformed for the better. If only Angel's Park would reopen.

[Allnatural85]

I don;t think this has been posted yet.

Take a peek at Tom Wiscombe's "underground" Old Bank District Museum scheme for L.A.

http://archinect.com/news/article/122304...-old-bank-district-museum-scheme-for-l-a

[citywatch]

Originally Posted by JDRCRASH

You've had an incessant habit of exaggerating in the past, but now you seriously have no idea of what you're talking about...

Especially when you consider most of these customers likely would consist of the lower-class (half of LA) and illegal crowds that are struggling financially.

speaking of a scene evocative of the "lower class"....



mapsgoogle.com

Originally Posted by blackcat23

33-story tower planned at 4th/Hill, next to Grand Central Market and above an entrance to Pershing Square Station.

^ that huge gap of the taco house & parking lots surrounding it is a perfect example of the many sections in dtla that still desperately need to be filled in & lots of TLC.

I can't count the number of times thru the yrs I've gone past that area, caught sight of what has long been there, & at that moment lost a good bit of whatever optimism I had going in. So I hope the owner of that land is very serious about putting up a new apt tower & won't have a timeline stretching into the next century.

getting back to the issue of stores & customers, more than a few ppl, such as various LA forumers, really lose sight of current reality when they think a devlpr of an apt or condo, or office, tower in dtla should be required to have stores on the 1st level....the more the merrier....thinking that....ta-da!!! & voila!!!....enough customers will somehow magically appear & allow those stores to rake in enough money to boom or thrive. of course, I'm not talking about swapmeet type stores, like the ones on broadway.

Ppl forget that the size of dtla's population, even though it's growing & is larger today than it was 10, 20 or more yrs ago....referring to the parts of it made up of residents or visitors who have lots of credit cards & plenty of cash on hand, still isn't large enough to allow the addition of any & all stores galore throughout dt....at least nice smaller stores, much less a mega sized store like macys, near where that annual parade is held.

[Mojeda101]

Citywatch when was the last time you've even been to Downtown? The 90s?

Anyways, as for your mention on retail, I think the demand just isn't there. We have retail stalls that have remained dormant for years. From Little Tokyo's AVA to dozens of buildings in South Park. I've walked down Broadway and I can see several "retail space available" signs all along the corridor but still no imminent retailers. Hopefully the new developments help bring more life into these empty spots but until then we just have to accept that we can't exactly susstain all this retail space with our current population. I'm not saying to stop having retail space in buildings but we have a ton as is. Don't you think it's odd that those haven't filled up yet first?

[citywatch]

Originally Posted by Mojeda101

Citywatch when was the last time you've even been to Downtown? The 90s?

mojeda, if I had said that dt's nicer stores in 2015 were all booming, packed with customers....cash registers jingling constantly throughout the day....& that demand was so overwhelming more nice stores should be added to the hood, & all the new bldgs should have stores on their main level....& that devlprs would be crazy to not include stores on their first floor, the question you might want to ask me is....when was the last time you've been to dtla? the 1920s?

this is broadway over 80 yrs ago....



losangelespast.com/lapl.org


btw, those crowds of shoppers don't look like they'd have been full of fans of swap meets, even 1920s versions of swap meets.

When I see a new apt or condo proj being proposed for dt, or finally completed & opened, the first thing that enters my mind is not whether its architecture is good enough, or whether it will have stores on the 1st floor, or whether it will be...or should have been...more than 7 stories tall. No, the first thing I think of is how many new residents will that bldg bring to the hood?

That's one reason why I appreciate the addition of as many new housing projs as possible....if only to help bring in as many new potential customers as possible to all the nicer stores that dt has long lacked or will have to open in the hood if devlprs are expected to have them on the main level of their bldgs, or if the vacant spaces you mention are to finally be leased.

[alki]

Originally Posted by Mojeda101

Citywatch when was the last time you've even been to Downtown? The 90s?

Anyways, as for your mention on retail, I think the demand just isn't there. We have retail stalls that have remained dormant for years. From Little Tokyo's AVA to dozens of buildings in South Park. I've walked down Broadway and I can see several "retail space available" signs all along the corridor but still no imminent retailers. Hopefully the new developments help bring more life into these empty spots but until then we just have to accept that we can't exactly susstain all this retail space with our current population. I'm not saying to stop having retail space in buildings but we have a ton as is. Don't you think it's odd that those haven't filled up yet first?

As of second quarter, 2014, overall vacancies for retail in DTLA were around 7%:

http://www.charlesdunn.com/wp-content/uploads/2014-2Q-Retail.pdf

That's higher than most submarkets; the regional average of 5% and West LA's 4% vacancy rate. However, its not a significantly high rate and I suspect its gone down during the past year as DTLA's construction boom has picked up the pace.

The report makes this comment about DTLA:

Demand for retail space in burgeoning submarkets like Downtown Los Angeles continues to skyrocket thanks to the ongoing urban renaissance that
is rapidly transforming the area and drawing a new population of young, affluent residents.

You have to remember retail is still a so so proposition on Broadway so you're going to see more vacancies there. The number of vacancies in the Arcade of which denizen posted a photo recently may be due to an owner's greed.....asking rents higher than the market can bear. So I wouldn't generalize too much about market conditions DT. I definitely think the DT submarket is in the ascendancy and retail will rent......albeit maybe slower than we like.

[blackcat23]

http://urbanize.la/post/mid-rise-apartment-complex-breaks-ground-broadway

Parking lot at 928 Broadway is torn up. Palmer's 10-story development is underway.

[retina]

I really wish there was a mid-range apartment complex coming on-line, much of the vibrant young community cannot pay upwards of 2300/month for a 1 bedroom. We need dense complexes with a price point of 1500-2500 for a 1 to 2 bedroom. Hopefully, some of these new 7 story buildings will come down to earth and welcome a whole group of people waiting to live downtown. Only then can we expect a wider range of food/retail options, until then it's Danny's Tacos or Faith and Flower with little else in between.

[Wally West]

Curbed just posted a rendering of the Grand Central Market Tower that blackcat posted yesterday.


Curbed's article

The VP of Development for Equity Residential tells Curbed that the 428 units in the building will be rentals, and that residents will enjoy a ninth-floor amenity deck (pool, spa, barbecue, outdoor communal space), as well as a "sky lounge" on floor 33.

That light emanating off the top of the building, referred to in renderings simply as 4th & Hill, is a "beacon" that should be visible from "all over LA." On the ground floor, the existing Metro subway entrance will remain, and the building will "hover" over it; the ground level will also have a modest amount of space (about 2,900 square feet) for retail, though Equity says it's too early to say whether that will go to one tenant or multiple.

The soonest the project would begin construction would be early 2016, and from there work would probably take about two years.