LOS ANGELES | Downtown Project Rundown 6.0

[NSMP]

Originally Posted by scania

I totally disagree. Bunker Hill Towers are really starting to look good and up to date. The balconies do a lot for the exterior look. I've heard nothing but compliments on the renovation. As far as balconies, people use balconies in apartments all the time. Whether people or smoking, having drinks, etc. it adds another element to be able to do that outside on a balcony. Also, especially being in the city, people love to go outside on the balcony and take in the views.

Agreed.

[StethJeff]

Loved Skyspace on Saturday. I'd always wanted to go up LAs signature scraper and finally get a view of the whole city from DTLA (albeit under some very thick smog that day). The slide was fun, the 360-view was satisfying, and the outdoor spaces were nice.

That being said, OUE sorta mailed it in. Library Tower obviously isn't the same draw that Taipei 101, Skytree, or SWFC are. Nonetheless, the 70th floor is about as bare bones as you can get with white walls, no informational signs, no interactive stuff for kids, or even pictures pointing out distant landmarks. The bar wasn't ready. And they haven't really figured out a good system for cycling the slide carpets from the 69th floor back up to the 70th floor to keep it stocked. In fact, the crush of people waiting in line for the slide, employees pushing a heavy metal cart with dozens of carpets, and people walking around the floor immediately next to the main elevators where tons of people flow in and out looks like it'll be a huge cluster fuck on busy days.

[Mojeda101]

Speaking of skyspace, I went today! It's perfect for a date night but i wish it was a bit cheaper. 33 dollars for tickets and a 1 time ride on the slide sucks. I would prefer if it was unlimited rides on the slide. That would make it more worth it. Here's some photos.

Untitled by mojeda101, on Flickr

Untitled by mojeda101, on Flickr

Untitled by mojeda101, on Flickr

Untitled by mojeda101, on Flickr

Untitled by mojeda101, on Flickr

[blackcat23]

http://urbanize.la/post/historic-buildings-become-modern-offices-and-retail

As some have notice, the 99-year-old formerly Villa de Paris department store at 7th and Olive has scaffolding up for its office transformation.

[Quixote]

^ That looks great! DTLA now has nearly 3 million square feet of new Class A office space under construction, which represents an approximately 10% increase in supply. Boom?



Edit: Harris Building will still be Class B.

[ChargerCarl]

Downtown streetcar will go 6mph:

http://la.curbed.com/2016/6/28/12055560/downtown-streetcar-speed-slow

Can we please cancel this boondoggle?

[202_Cyclist]

Originally Posted by ChargerCarl

Downtown streetcar will go 6mph:

http://la.curbed.com/2016/6/28/12055560/downtown-streetcar-speed-slow

Can we please cancel this boondoggle?

Streetcars aren't designed to go fast. The purpose of streetcars is to connect destinations separated by relatively short distances within urban areas and also to help spur development.

[caligrad]

Originally Posted by Mojeda101

Speaking of skyspace, I went today! It's perfect for a date night but i wish it was a bit cheaper. 33 dollars for tickets and a 1 time ride on the slide sucks. I would prefer if it was unlimited rides on the slide. That would make it more worth it. Here's some photos.

Untitled by mojeda101, on Flickr

I really hate that they did this to the Twins , Paul Hasting tower to be exact, I saw it for the first time completed the other day and it really broke my freaking heart. The 2 buildings in LA that were fine as is. Whoever designed this face lift shouldn't be allowed to touch another building EVER.

So much history with these 2 in their short lives.

.Worlds first modern twins.
.Worlds tallest twins when completed.
.New design elements implemented that became the standard after their completion. (seismic tech)
.Countless movies and ETC.

I hope this doesn't become the norm for LAs buildings (towers).

People go crazy when a developer mentions they might have to destroy a Victorian or non distinct 2 story brick building on Broadway that literally contributed nothing to LAs history besides being "really old". Yet we applaud crap like this and the addition of an adult sized slide on the side of our tallest and most prominent building

I haven't made it to skyspace yet but I plan on going for the observation deck and bar. I have two friends that went the other day. Their take on the slide was one word. "Lawsuits". Apparently when they went, it was shutdown for a brief period of time...When some woman reached the bottom of the slide, she face-planted hard causing her nose to bleed heavily, they thought it was broken. That with two complaints of broken phones and a broken pair of sunglasses occurring while my friends were there.

[caligrad]

Originally Posted by Quixote

^ That looks great! DTLA now has nearly 3 million square feet of new Class A office space under construction, which represents an approximately 10% increase in supply. Boom?



Edit: Harris Building will still be Class B.

Becareful. Some people might attack your post and say that office demand in LA is dead by pointing out the stats of the bunker hill towers, even though county wide we are building/adaptive reusing more office space than any other time since the boom of the 80s.

*waiting for those people to post the stats of bunker hill, all while ignoring the reason why bunker hill is the way it is and ignoring every other square inch of this city*

Originally Posted by ChargerCarl

Downtown streetcar will go 6mph:

http://la.curbed.com/2016/6/28/12055560/downtown-streetcar-speed-slow

Can we please cancel this boondoggle?

As someone else said, they are meant to go slow. Hell I'm surprised its going 6mph haha that's pretty fast lol.

I've grown to like/hate OUR street car plan. The route kills it for me. Not to mention it will be a one way loop. Imagine working in Bunker Hill and trying to grab lunch on Broadway or south park. Better off getting an uber HAHA. Especially since that 6mph doesn't include red lights and street traffic.

[Muji]

I agree about the Paul Hastings tower. It's just horrible that someone even dreamed up altering such a landmark building like that.

[Valyrian Steel]

Originally Posted by 202_Cyclist

Streetcars aren't designed to go fast. The purpose of streetcars is to connect destinations separated by relatively short distances within urban areas and also to help spur development.

Lol. It would probably be faster to use one of those hoverboards.

[ChargerCarl]

Originally Posted by caligrad

As someone else said, they are meant to go slow.

If transit isn't actually useful as transit, then what good is it for?

And sorry, I don't buy the development angle. Alon Levy has pointed out on his blog why this doesn't hold for western cities.

[202_Cyclist]

Originally Posted by ChargerCarl

If transit isn't actually useful as transit, then what good is it for?

And sorry, I don't buy the development angle. Alon Levy has pointed out on his blog why this doesn't hold for western cities.

What is the average speed for buses along this route? The development angle is a very real part of the advantage of streetcars. Along the H Street corridor here in Washington, there has been $1B -$2B in investment along the corridor and more than 1,000 new units of housing either completed or under construction.

[ChargerCarl]

Originally Posted by 202_Cyclist

Streetcars aren't designed to go fast. The purpose of streetcars is to connect destinations separated by relatively short distances within urban areas and also to help spur development.

You're thinking of buses...

[bobcat]

The Streetcar has taken so long to get off the ground I wonder if, like the Grand Avenue Project, it's lost much of its relevance. Development has already spread to all corners of DTLA and to get around many folks use Uber. Bike share with protected lanes will also be available soon. Will driverless taxis arrive before the Streetcar opens?

[ChargerCarl]

Originally Posted by 202_Cyclist

Along the H Street corridor here in Washington, there has been $1B -$2B in investment along the corridor and more than 1,000 new units of housing either completed or under construction.

So why do we need to waste a large amount of money on a useless streetcar?

[Wally West]

I lost interest in the streetcar when I found out it's a one way system. Doesn't seem quite practical if it's going to be severely limited.

And I like bobcat's comparison to Related's Grand Avenue Project. Both project appear to have lost their relevance considering DTLA has entered an unprecedented development boom without their help. The streetcar seems like a nice project but it really doesn't seem like a must have for DTLA anymore.

[Jun]

The Hastings tower wouldn't have looked so bad if they used black /tinted glass.

[SD_Phil]

Originally Posted by Wally West

I lost interest in the streetcar when I found out it's a one way system. Doesn't seem quite practical if it's going to be severely limited.

And I like bobcat's comparison to Related's Grand Avenue Project. Both project appear to have lost their relevance considering DTLA has entered an unprecedented development boom without their help. The streetcar seems like a nice project but it really doesn't seem like a must have for DTLA anymore.

I think this sounds about right to me. The current streetcar layout isn't really needed, though a new route (which is not happening) might help speed along development in the arts and warehouse districts. I think I'd be much more positive about a streetcar that headed thaddaway.

[citywatch]

Originally Posted by Mojeda101

Untitled by mojeda101, on Flickr

There’s no particular reason for Alan Kosaka to come to Little Tokyo. The La Palma resident can buy Japanese groceries in Costa Mesa. He can connect with other Japanese Americans at sports, cultural and volunteer events in Orange County. So why has he worked for so many years to build a Little Tokyo sports facility? Legacy, says this 55-year-old son of a Japanese gardener and seamstress.

That’s why Kosaka, who is the vice president of engineering for a security company, is heading efforts to raise the $24 million needed for the gymnasium project. He and many others see it as the best way to pull the region’s younger Japanese Americans back to their community's historic heart.

After two decades of work, he and other gym backers have raised or identified more than 90% of the needed money. They’re pinning down final design details for the 24,000-square-foot center on city-owned land on Los Angeles and 2nd streets. And they’ve secured the support of Los Angeles Councilman Jose Huizar, who represents the area, to extend a deadline that required organizers to break ground by Thursday. Now, they say, they’ll begin construction next spring and expect to finish in 2018.

The Los Angeles City Council is set to vote Friday on Huizar’s motion to extend the construction deadline by two more years under the 50-year lease with the project’s sponsor, the Little Tokyo Service Center. Called Budokan of Los Angeles, the gym will include four multipurpose courts, a 63-car parking area and a side garden.

The community also will share the space with the broader public. Its motto will be “Home Court for All.”

To raise the remaining $2 million, organizers have turned to old-fashioned community fundraising with dances, bowl-a-thons and a raffle of a 2017 Toyota Highlander Hybrid donated by Toyota Motor Corp.

Kosaka’s son, Aidan, has helped with the fundraisers. The 14-year-old said he wants to do his part to keep Little Tokyo’s cultural footprint from shrinking more, threatening the future of century-old businesses such as Fugetsudo, maker of sweet rice mochi treats.

“With the gym there, oh man, we’d be going to Little Tokyo once a week if we could practice there,” Aidan said. “It would be far for us Orange County guys, but it’d be worth it just to eat. Ramen, soba, sushi, California rolls — amazing.”