LOS ANGELES | Downtown Project Rundown 6.0

[Resident]

Originally Posted by ocman

South Park has been a lost cause since LA Live. But the good thing about it is at least they’re all contained next to each other within this small area and on the edge of downtown next to the 101 freeway. It’s not like downtown density is going to jump across the freeway anyway. At least probably not for the next 50 years. South Park will end up being one of those areas that tourists visit but actual residents stay the fk away from. They envisioned Times Square, and at least they got that part of it down pat, unintentionally.

You sound like someone who doesn't actually live in DTLA (or visit???). I see the changes in south park weekly and with all the new residents it is becoming a better and better place.

[Mojeda101]

CIM 34 story has finally broken ground. Urbanize just released an article. Hurray.

[Easy]

Originally Posted by Resident

You sound like someone who doesn't actually live in DTLA (or visit???). I see the changes in south park weekly and with all the new residents it is becoming a better and better place.

I agree. I don't fault anyone for having an opinion but as a South Park resident I strongly disagree with him. I guess that I don't completely disagree since I do tend to avoid LA Live. But on the whole I know many current downtown residents that would love to move to South Park.

[a9l8e7n]

Link please

Originally Posted by Mojeda101

CIM 34 story has finally broken ground. Urbanize just released an article. Hurray.

[Jun]

Originally Posted by Mojeda101

CIM 34 story has finally broken ground. Urbanize just released an article. Hurray.

you mean from last month?

[citywatch]

Originally Posted by Mojeda101

They made a HUGE mistake firing off the fireworks behind City hall this year. I saw several people complaining about it.

I'm always puzzled whenever a very basic decision appears to be really poor, very ill advised. The fireworks were shot off last yr from the top of the Music Center, so why the planners moved the display to the other side of the mall & east of city hall makes no sense.

Such planning reminds me of the ppl who redid the top floor of the city national bank towers & ruined the dignity of the former twin bldgs. I saw them on Saturday as I was driving by on the fwy, & that plain glass insert looks very clumsy & improvised.

That theme was reflected in musical acts featured at Grand Park’s celebration, which included influences from Japan, Ghana, East Africa, Mexico, Cuba, Brazil and beyond. Julia Diamond, the Music Center’s programming director for Grand Park, said she deliberately sought out an eclectic mix of musicians and artists to reflect both the park’s open access to all and the diversity of Los Angeles.

“This is a contemporary Fourth of July, which reflects the America we live in today,” Diamond said. “Los Angeles in particular is an incredibly rich tapestry of people with such diverse, blended backgrounds.”

The event drew a record-setting crowd of 38,000 people to the park, which is owned by L.A. County and managed by the Music Center. Sprawled throughout three city blocks from Spring Street to Grand Avenue, they ate, danced, played soccer, splashed in water fountains and enjoyed a fireworks display featuring 755 shells shot 400 feet in the air.

For at least one family, L.A.’s dazzling diversity was a new experience. Brandon Nicklas, a 22-year-old engineering consultant who recently moved here from a rural town near Pittsburgh, said he usually celebrated the holiday with farm shows featuring pigs, cows and other livestock, school bus races, country music and pie-eating contests.

As they stood in line to get free red, white and blue bandannas, his sister, Alyssa, looked around. “It’s really different here — a lot more cultures,” she said. “You guys don't have farm shows around here?”

I see the first images in this vid & am reminded all over again of just how bad the old macy's plaza really was. Hundreds of thousands of ppl....locals & tourists alike....have visited that place through the yrs, & experiencing that all by itself must have put a really major damper on their impression of dtla. The old mall had all the appeal & charm of the type of shopping ctr that ppl will find in a place like San bernardino or fresno.


• Video Link

[Mojeda101]

Originally Posted by Jun

you mean from last month?

Lol, my mistake. Hunter went to the site earlier this morning and talked with the site manager. He said the tower is a go. They're supposedly digging today. And the facade for the parking structure is happening as planned. He posted a photo of it on FB

https://m.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10...516099&set=gm.1052451554839151&source=57

I assumed the article was new because it was posted in the comment section. I thought the two were linked. Regardless, it's happening

[ChelseaFC]

Quite a few nuggets in this latest article...

Looks like the Apple to Tower may be on again after all.

Apple began scouting for space in the area months ago and is in the process of securing retail space in the historic Tower Theatre at 800 S. Broadway, according to sources familiar with the transaction. Terms of the deal under discussion could not be determined, but the property offers about 7,500 square feet of theater space and another 7,500 square feet of basement space.

An Apple spokeswoman said the company has not made any announcements about a store at that location. Cohen said RKF, which is representing Apple, declined to comment.

Adidas apparently looking at the Singer Sewing Building.

Adidas is considering the space next door, between the theater and Urban Outfitters, according to a source familiar with the deal.

Guess and Nike also trying to get in on Broadway.

Guess is said to be looking at space on the 700 block of Broadway, while Nike is contemplating space farther north. And Cos, a brand from clothing giant H&M, has already nabbed space at the former Olympic Theatre on Eighth off Broadway. Its sister company, & Other Stories, is also in the market for space.

Sounds like the Merritt Building sold, which is going to make the Broadway Trade Center intersection quite the happening place.

The Merritt Building at Broadway and Eighth is under contract, according to a source familiar with the deal, with the buyer planning a major renovation. The broker marketing the site, Michael Condon Jr. of Cushman & Wakefield, would not comment on the possibility of a sale except to say the marketing process is moving forward.

http://www.labusinessjournal.com/news/2016/jul/01/broadways-next-stage/?page=1&

[Folks3000]

Originally Posted by Mojeda101

They made a HUGE mistake firing off the fireworks behind City hall this year. I saw several people complaining about it. I wish they could've done the Bank tower display again.

Yea I went to Grand Park, and while the music was decent, the fireworks show itself was one of the worst I have ever seen! Seriously, even aside from the fact it City Hall was blocking it, it was a terrible show. I have seen better shows in tiny 3,000-person towns where I grew up, and that statement is 100% not hyperbolic. It was so disappointing! Is NYE fireworks there any better? Agreed on the US Bank tower, that was actually pretty cool.

I mean I get that I could go pay whatever for the show in Pasadena, but c'mon. The second largest city in the country out to be able to outdo its own suburbs! Besides, having to pay for a fireworks show not even held in a public space on the 4th of July is Un-American!

[cesar90]

• Video Link

[Illithid Dude]

Originally Posted by King Kill 'em

And still some of Ocenawide's stores will face the street. If anything it will have a better pedestrian experience than circa or metropolis because it's garage entrances are less obstructive and its podium is less massive and overbearing.

The issue isn't that "some" retail will face the street, but that besides a few stores, the majority of the retail will be in a massive, indoor mall. Imagine, instead, that all the retail not facing the street instead lined Main, or Broadway, or Olive. By placing retail inside malls, you create a glut of retail and remove the demand for more commercial space. Every store that moves in to LA Central is a store that could have been in a street-facing retail space. Malls like that which are planned in LA Central or Metropolis consolidate retail in to small islands around downtown that one can drive in and out of without ever venturing in the rest of the city. Retail shouldn't be isolated to a few dense spots, but instead distributed evenly across a neighborhood. That is how a walkable neighborhood forms.

Moreover, the very idea of creating a "tourist district" is silly. Tourism is a natural process. A city can't force tourism in one area. Tourists visit Times Square because of what that neighborhood represents within culture as a whole, not just because there are big flashing screens. Why should Tourists come visit South Park? To see smaller, flashing screens and some parking lots? How is South Park supposed to draw tourists by being a cheap pastiche of Times Square. A city should build neighborhoods to be lived in. Tourism is a natural byproduct of that. Take SoHo for instance. SoHo became a tourist destination because it was a hip, desirable, and livable neighborhood first. Tourists wanted a piece of what residents had. Or, more locally, consider downtown Santa Monica and The Pier. I've lived in Santa Monica my entire life. Sure, there were always tourists at The Pier, but the majority of downtown Santa Monica was for locals. There was local retail. Prices were cheap. Crowds not as dense. Tourism increased over time not because the city deemed The Pier to be a tourist attraction, but because The Pier, and downtown Santa Monica, was a fully formed local draw. The same needs to happen to the rest of downtown, let alone South Park.

[Resident]

Originally Posted by Illithid Dude

The issue isn't that "some" retail will face the street, but that besides a few stores, the majority of the retail will be in a massive, indoor mall. Imagine, instead, that all the retail not facing the street instead lined Main, or Broadway, or Olive. By placing retail inside malls, you create a glut of retail and remove the demand for more commercial space. Every store that moves in to LA Central is a store that could have been in a street-facing retail space. Malls like that which are planned in LA Central or Metropolis consolidate retail in to small islands around downtown that one can drive in and out of without ever venturing in the rest of the city. Retail shouldn't be isolated to a few dense spots, but instead distributed evenly across a neighborhood. That is how a walkable neighborhood forms.

Moreover, the very idea of creating a "tourist district" is silly. Tourism is a natural process. A city can't force tourism in one area. Tourists visit Times Square because of what that neighborhood represents within culture as a whole, not just because there are big flashing screens. Why should Tourists come visit South Park? To see smaller, flashing screens and some parking lots? How is South Park supposed to draw tourists by being a cheap pastiche of Times Square. A city should build neighborhoods to be lived in. Tourism is a natural byproduct of that. Take SoHo for instance. SoHo became a tourist destination because it was a hip, desirable, and livable neighborhood first. Tourists wanted a piece of what residents had. Or, more locally, consider downtown Santa Monica and The Pier. I've lived in Santa Monica my entire life. Sure, there were always tourists at The Pier, but the majority of downtown Santa Monica was for locals. There was local retail. Prices were cheap. Crowds not as dense. Tourism increased over time not because the city deemed The Pier to be a tourist attraction, but because The Pier, and downtown Santa Monica, was a fully formed local draw. The same needs to happen to the rest of downtown, let alone South Park.

1. Who says you can't build neighborhoods with tourists in mind?? LA Live has actually succeeded quite well at doing that. It is filled almost all the time. I'll bet money Oceanwide will be the same.

2. 100% of Fig will have retail facing it. 50% of 11th st will have retail. 30% of Flower will be retail. 90% of 12th will be retail. This is better than every other building in Los Angeles. It might have indoor stores, but you cannot complain that it doesn't have street facing retail.


Some people seem to have issues with South Parks existence at all. Whats funny is that it is one of the most desirable places to live in DTLA.

[scania]

Originally Posted by Resident

1. Who says you can't build neighborhoods with tourists in mind?? LA Live has actually succeeded quite well at doing that. It is filled almost all the time. I'll bet money Oceanwide will be the same.

2. 100% of Fig will have retail facing it. 50% of 11th st will have retail. 30% of Flower will be retail. 90% of 12th will be retail. This is better than every other building in Los Angeles. It might have indoor stores, but you cannot complain that it doesn't have street facing retail.


Some people seem to have issues with South Parks existence at all. Whats funny is that it is one of the most desirable places to live in DTLA.

I AGREE...though I do prefer Bunker Hill. Mainly for the connectivity to certain spots in the Historic core and Financial District. I wish there were a couple of South Park towers going up in Bunker Hill.

[ocman]

Originally Posted by Illithid Dude

The issue isn't that "some" retail will face the street, but that besides a few stores, the majority of the retail will be in a massive, indoor mall. Imagine, instead, that all the retail not facing the street instead lined Main, or Broadway, or Olive. By placing retail inside malls, you create a glut of retail and remove the demand for more commercial space. Every store that moves in to LA Central is a store that could have been in a street-facing retail space. Malls like that which are planned in LA Central or Metropolis consolidate retail in to small islands around downtown that one can drive in and out of without ever venturing in the rest of the city. Retail shouldn't be isolated to a few dense spots, but instead distributed evenly across a neighborhood. That is how a walkable neighborhood forms.

Absolutely correct. They hoard customers to the detriment of the rest of the neighborhood, turning their backs on important streets that have potential. We're talking possibly a whopping 200(?) retailers hoarded in a singular building, and consequently the customers for those 200 retailers. There's so very little room to keep making these mistakes and excuses. With hotel developments (which are already anti-pedestrian by nature of it's size), it doesn't seem there are any projects that can change this trajectory. It's still following the LA tradition of creating enclaves. It'll succeed as an events and programming destination, but not as a place integrated in the day-to-day for the average person. The best we can hope for is that after an E3 convention, the crowds will only have a few streets to walk towards in order to "experience" a thriving downtown, as long as they can overcome the anti-pedestrian immediate barriers that make it so easy to say "fuck it" and walk back to the parking garage.

[hughfb3]

Speaking of South Park go visit urbanize LA's website. Some exciting news for us

[citywatch]

Originally Posted by Resident

You sound like someone who doesn't actually live in DTLA (or visit???).

that's an important qualifier to make when anyone is expressing certain conclusions about dt or critiquing it.

I notice my own impressions of the hood are almost always different when I'm actually in the area, right there live & direct. Assumptions, either good or bad, that I make from a distance have a way of changing dramatically when I'm seeing things up close & in person.

I cannot add up all the times I've entered dt in a certain mood, generally optimistic & hopeful, & leave with mixed emotions. I notice my frequently ending the day with feelings of ambivalence or.....this is a biggie....impatience. That contrast in reactions used to be quite dramatic several yrs ago. But now the optimism I have when first arriving isn't as chipped away at the end of a visit as it once was.

Some of the things that are nitpicked about in this thread do influence me when I first drop by dt. But they have a way of receding.....of seeming less important or totally unimportant....at the end of a visit.

It's also interesting how anyone of us may fuss over the pros & cons of dtla even if we don't live or spend lots of time there. I'm guilty of that as much as various other LA forumers are. so mea culpa!

Grand Central Market is an open-air food hall in historic downtown Los Angeles that occupies the block between Hill and Broadway. The market’s allure used to be affordable food and the rich cultural environment, but now the atmosphere has veered into the lane of fancy eateries and events.

Over the past few years, several trendy, new food vendors sprouted at Grand Central Market: Belcampo Meat Co., Wexler’s Deli, DTLA Cheese, G&B Coffee and EggSlut are just a few of the many crowd-pleasers that have situated themselves there.

“[Grand Central Market] has changed a lot. It’s much more upscale now,” said Joseph Hernandez, an employee at Roast To Go. “We don’t get the same kinds of customers, but since they started serving beer and staying open later, business is still good.”

“The only thing that hasn’t changed is the neon signs,” said Paul, a 66-year-old Philadelphia native who moved to Los Angeles when he was 19. Each food vendor is required by lease agreements to have at least one neon sign.

“Some of my old customers have complained to me that the new restaurants are too expensive. It’s no one’s fault,” said Ivan Carmona, 52, a manager at La Huerta’s candy.

“It’s not just the food options that have changed; it’s the entire vibe of the place” said Gabriela Lloris, 24.

There is also a noticeable absence of the Latino families who once frequented the market. This is a product of Grand Central Market’s shift from being a community marketplace to a buzzing downtown destination.

“At the end of the day, people just want to spend their money somewhere they feel like it’s worth it.” said Randall Baker, 41. “I like trying new foods, so that’s why I still come to Grand Central.”

Adele Yellin’s vision to revitalize the market after the passing of her husband, and former owner of the building, Ira Yellin, resulted in the influx of newcomers. In a 2014 interview with LA Weekly, Yellin acknowledges she would be criticized for the changes, but remains confident she’s doing what is best for the market.

Yellin points to the recession as a catalyst for the market’s transformation. She has stated that after many vendors left the market due to economic hardships, GCM suffered, and the only way to keep it afloat was to cater to the new demographic that began to occupy downtown during its urban resurgence.

“You used to be able to eat here and shop on the weekends with your family,” said Yasmin Lozada, a 34-year-old downtown native. “But now it’s so packed with hipsters you can’t even find a seat.”

[losangelesnative]

According to Urbanize tenants of the 1212 flower office building have been told their parking has been relocated. http://urbanize.la/post/two-tower-development-rise-near-staples-center

[NSMP]

@citywatch- that last bolded quote really highlights the problem with people's nostalgic perspectives. She liked it better when it was so empty that she could patronize the market once a week or less and still find a table with ease. That sounds like a failing business to me. Also a "34 year old downtown native" sounds a mite suspicious

[losangelesnative]

71 Above opens July 15th, http://la.eater.com/2016/7/1/12082468/71-above-open-date-july-15

[Mojeda101]

Originally Posted by losangelesnative

According to Urbanize tenants of the 1212 flower office building have been told their parking has been relocated. http://urbanize.la/post/two-tower-development-rise-near-staples-center

Can someone investigate and see if they filed any plans with the city for digging or shoring? Two more towers breaking ground in one week is huge news.