LOS ANGELES | Downtown Project Rundown 6.0

[caligrad]

^^^ If youre talking about the spire, I think somebody on the WG page said this weekend. But I imagine all of the glass and paneling is going to take a little longer.

[bobcat]

Originally Posted by black_crow

Most important Downtown has over 500000 daily commuter and the number is growing.
That's nearly 10 times more than the population.

These people like to go out after work and they spend money.. a lot of it.

Downtown has been a large employment center for decades, yet higher end retail is only beginning to take off now. To me that says these types of retailers are interested in other numbers besides employment. Most likely these downtown workers have comparable or better shopping options closer to home

[black_crow]

Originally Posted by bobcat

Downtown has been a large employment center for decades, yet higher end retail is only beginning to take off now. To me that says these types of retailers are interested in other numbers besides employment. Most likely these downtown workers have comparable or better shopping options closer to home

I don't think that this was the only problem.
Downtown had a bad reputation for decades and that changed with all these new investments. People are going to Downtown because it's hip.

These people bring new retail, bars and restaurants. People come to Downtown or they stay after work. Tourist are becoming more important too.
It not only about the population even so Downtown will grow a big time over the next 2-3 years.

But even then.. what's 80.000 compared to nearly 600000 commuter in 2018? Compared to the tourists and the people like me, people that travel to Downtown even without working there..

[scania]

Originally Posted by caligrad

I figured somebody would get extremely butt hurt fairly quick.

The REAL tragedy though is how my entire statement went RIGHT over your head. Not understanding the definition of hyperbole or sarcasm and being able to peep it out in a conversation as you read, or not understanding my character, as everyone else on here knows, I'm VERY light hearted and sarcastic with the things I say until somebody comes at me the wrong way.

RE-read what I said and try not to pull at your own heart strings when doing so. You'll understand what I was doing and saying (being VERY sarcastic). If you're still puzzled after that, its ok, some of us tend to struggle with interpreting written (typed) words. Maybe we need to give lessons on this thread about Sarcasm and Hyperboles since people need their hands held with detailed explanations a lot lately

And dismiss me with the "narrow mindset" BS. 29 and Dominican, I'm not old and I grew up in the REAL culture of the 80s and 90s and not this garbage that people are idolizing today.

Seriously, I'm not Butt hurt at all. I speak my opinion and you can speak yours.

I never get upset with people and their opinions. As a successful Morehouse graduate, these forums and blogs are for information and entertainment.

[Folks3000]

Originally Posted by scania

The point he/she was making is that it doesn't kill a neighborhood.

I wouldn't call the area around South Coast Plaza a "neighborhood" haha. Sprawlville.

[citywatch]

The incredible revitalisation of Downtown Los Angeles takes us back to the city’s Golden Age


abroad.theaureview.com

There’s a scene in Woody Allen’s Midnight in Paris, when Gil, played by Owen Wilson, is reminiscing about a time he never lived in; “Imagine this town in the ’20s,” he said of Paris. There was something forlorn about it, a regret that he was living now instead of then. Though Allen portrays this romanticisation as an unnecessary human characteristic, there was something we could all relate to in the thought. Who hasn’t sat somewhere in the world and imagined life there 100 years ago?

While some places have certainly improved vastly since the 1920s, others have been met with disrepair and poor management, resulting in a destination that makes a forlorn reflection on a better past a worthy endeavour. For a long time, Downtown Los Angeles was one of those places. When I lived in California in the 1990s, you never went Downtown in Los Angeles unless you were working by day or seeing a show at the Ahmanson Theatre by night. It was what you’d consider a “get in and get the hell out of there” destination. Though surrounded by skyscrapers, the few that lived there were among the poorest in Los Angeles, and the few that worked there couldn’t leave quickly enough. Buildings that were once considered architectural marvels had been left in disrepair, and most businesses that may have once enticed people to the area had closed up shop or moved elsewhere.

As the 1990s progressed, however, several major projects came into play that would go on to change the region forever. For some, the intent was clear, but it would take some fifteen years before the changes that corporations and government made to the area started to see the benefits they had intended of it. Over this period, the population has doubled, the median income of the area has increased by more than six times, and the median age of its residents has dropped drastically. After decades of disrepair and mismanagement, Downtown LA is now one of the most sought after destinations in the city, with million dollar apartments going up in a region that used to struggle to occupy as low income housing.

So, what led these changes? Much of it was simply allowing the city to move back towards its former glory. In the 1920s, Downtown Los Angeles rivaled New York City in terms of its rail transit, banking operations, shopping and cultural experiences. With a vibrant potpourri of theatres, cinemas, grand hotels, bars and restaurants, it was the place to be. But by the time I first encountered the area in the early 90s, it was a ghost town. These beautiful, heritage buildings sat closed and locked up – that’s if they hadn’t been knocked down and replaced with a car park. Cinemas and theatres that were once the envy of the Western world were run down and barely operating – if at all.

Then in 1999, came the Staples Center. It’s an arena that has famously sat as the home of the NBA’s Lakers and the Clippers, and the NHL’s Kings since its launch. Sitting right next to the LA Convention Centre, it’s also used for some of Los Angeles’ most high profile concerts, such as Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band, who opened the venue in October ’99. Its addition to the area proved to be the catalyst for change that the area sorely needed, while directly permitting the birth of the adjacent L.A. Live entertainment complex, which opened 8 years after the Center.

And this is just the tip of the iceberg for nightlife in the city. By the time Bottega Louie (700 S Grand Ave) opened in the historic Brockman Building and helped start a new “Restaurant Row” downtown in 2009, the city has seemed unstoppable in its growth, with new, highly acclaimed restaurants, diners, bars and cafes seeming to pop up weekly. But when it comes to food, there have always been some great options if you knew where to look. Little Tokyo, for instance, has some of the best Japanese food you’ll find in the country.

My memories of arts and culture in Downtown Los Angeles in the 90s is solely represented by the Ahmanson Theatre, which held a great deal of the Broadway productions that would come to the city – when they didn’t play the Pantages in Hollywood. In the 1920s, however, the area was a vibrant and bustling intersection for the arts, and in 2016, whether its one of the live music venues mentioned earlier, or a range of newer buildings, Downtown Los Angeles feels more vibrant in its artistic expression than ever before. Right across the road from the Ahmanson now sits the iconic Walt Disney Concert Hall, which opened in 2003 after more than 15 years of development. And across the street from it is The Broad (221 S Grand Ave), which itself is across the street from the Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA), all together forming an enviable arts and entertainment district.

The changes to Downtown Los Angeles will continue into the foreseeable future, as more and more buildings are erected, while others are revitalised. Every time I visit the city it’s filled with more incredible attractions, amongst a bigger population and cleaner streets. Meanwhile, the Metro network still has a lot of additions still to come. The major one for the purposes of this article will be a light rail system through Downtown LA that will make it even easier to connect between the various rail lines that terminate Downtown (Blue, Gold and Expo Lines). This is expected to be completed by 2020.

The revitalisation of Downtown Los Angeles is one of the most impressive to take place in the Western World in the least twenty years – though in many ways it was simply the case of a city looking at what had worked for it in the earlier parts of the 20th Century: good public transport options, excellent culture, impressive hotels. All things that DTLA used to have in droves. How it took them 60 years to figure that out is anyone’s guess, but the benefit is ours, because it’s now an essential destination for any traveller to the region, and perhaps entering a new Golden Age of its own merit. And if Woody Allen thinks that “nostalgia is denial – denial of the painful present” (as uttered by Michael Sheen’s Paul in Midnight in Paris), then more cities should embrace that denial. Sometimes we have to look back to move forward.


The author feasts on the array of dishes that the market offers, including a dish from Sticky Rice and a Grilled Cheese from DTLA. Photo taken begrudgingly mid-bite.

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[Folks3000]

Originally Posted by black_crow

I don't think that this was the only problem.
Downtown had a bad reputation for decades and that changed with all these new investments. People are going to Downtown because it's hip.

These people bring new retail, bars and restaurants. People come to Downtown or they stay after work. Tourist are becoming more important too.
It not only about the population even so Downtown will grow a big time over the next 2-3 years.

But even then.. what's 80.000 compared to nearly 600000 commuter in 2018? Compared to the tourists and the people like me, people that travel to Downtown even without working there..

I do think the strong residential base is necessary to support the retail base, the commuter population has been around for awhile. Most employment-only Downtowns aren't that successful and become places that go dark at 5pm. Commuters might be hanging around later nowadays, but it was only after the growing residential (and to a lesser extent hotel) base started sustaining more local retail. It really was the adaptive reuse ordinance and the Metro that brought DTLA back to life as a true urban destination.

Not saying more employment would be a bad thing, I just think the residential base is a bigger anchor that is turning DTLA into a big destination. (Though one could make the argument that the big employment base is what is creating high local residential demand).

[cesar90]

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[black_crow]

@cesar90

Really top-quality video. Thumbs up!

[citywatch]

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[Mojeda101]

^ Nobody throw a match because those stucco boxes are flammable as fuck.

[Lalaland]

Also, they're apartments, not condos.

[RuFFy]

Metro has played a huge role in bringing people back to downtown and I can imagine that the regional connector is going to have a huge impact as well.

[Mojeda101]

Wilshire Grand has officially topped out this morning at 1,100 feet.

Photos from the highly active DTLA Development page on Facebook.

Photo courtesy of Ernie Pearl.


Photos courtesy of Fred Chang and Hunter.












And there we have it.





All things considered it was a rather big jump. The spire is A LOT taller than I thought it would be. And it looks like they've finished cladding as well! Congratulations LA, you have a new tallest

[Wilcal]

Originally Posted by citywatch

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This Saturday morning I can't even stand to watch more than one minute of this video for fear of vomiting up my breakfast. Yes, I am one of many in this forum who find this (as well as most of Palmer's project

designs) to be awful if not downright offensive to say the least. I'm still upset that the State or county sold this land for this type of development because of the fact that it truly ruined one of the most memorable

vistas that I had when approaching downtown traveling south on the 110 fwy from the mid-1960's to the mid-1980's. This was especially when the DWP building was so beautifully lit at dusk such that at various

angles the setting sun would bathe the music center and then the mall (now Grand Park), plus the buildings straddling the mall in an incredible light all the way to city hall. It was a tremendous sight when I was younger

and I'm positive that it was to anyone entering downtown in that era. Sadly, that sight will be forever ruined by this forever Fuckmeister Palmer and his incredibly bad taste. The irony is apparent in this video in that

given what Palmer spends on superfluous fake grand entrances complete with fountains, urns and narrow stairways (which no one would ever climb), he could have actually hired better designers and created a project

of good enduring design that would be appealing to all; and yes they would lease up just as fast given all of the weird fuckass amenities he peddles to his ravenous post-adolescent clientele (usually to the incredibly spoiled USC

student whose mommy and daddy pay the credit card statements). Maybe I being just an old nudge, but the saddest part of all is that this is not just one project--a true anomaly for downtown. Rather Palmer, his

company have left their defecant all over the west side (and south) downtown. Save for the project on Broadway, I still thank God that the city planning department had the balls to tell him what do.

PS By the way, in my medical opinion the young lady in the very bottom video is either have a seizure or stroke--probably occurring after touring one of Palmer's apartment projects

[Wilcal]

Originally Posted by RuFFy

Metro has played a huge role in bringing people back to downtown and I can imagine that the regional connector is going to have a huge impact as well.

I hope so. It's going to be a very expensive impact (and the project is already over budget and not yet completed). I say this not out of cynicism, but one wonders if the 1.8 billion dollar cost could not have been spent elsewhere on the Metro system, such as converting the Orange line to light rail (or better yet buying more rail cars). Exactly how many minutes are saved by someone traveling from Pasadena through DTLA to Long Beach who in the future will not have to transfer? Or transferring to go to Santa Monica and now having to wait for trains and when boarding will probably have to stand due to over crowding. Is it really worth it? My sense is the the regional connector will have little if any effect on DTLA since it would be both a point of departure and a point of destination.

[Wilcal]

I noticed that the helipad on the WG tower is still visible from the ground in one of Cesar's video's. Question: given all of the design work and cost of conforming to the newly relaxed LAFD fire safety skyscraper requirement why did AC Martin still include a small helipad which would be totally useless to all of the thousands of office workers and hotel guests in the event of a major fire. I'm guessing it was just to appease the LAFD's bureaucratic stupidity.

[ChelseaFC]

Workers Place Spire, Take Picture Atop Wilshire Grand as Tower Becomes Tallest on the West Coast

http://ktla.com/2016/09/03/workers-place...tower-becomes-tallest-on-the-west-coast/

[citywatch]

Originally Posted by Wilcal

This was especially when the DWP building was so beautifully lit at dusk such that at various angles the setting sun would bathe the music center and then the mall (now Grand Park), plus the buildings straddling the mall in an incredible light all the way to city hall.

I wonder when was the last time the bldg was fully floodlit at night? Perhaps over 40 yrs ago?


waterandpower.org

Few public bldgs in LA have water fountains as dramatic as the dwp, which regrettably aren't switched on most hours of the day.


waterandpower.org


my biggest problem with palmer's apt bldgs is that each & every one of them is a clone of the other. The owner must be strangely obsessive compulsive to make his architects not alter the exteriors of any of his psuedo tuscan or italian bldgs. however, I've read some ppl saying that few to no other devlpr would have been interested in buying minor parcels next to noisy, smoggy fwys the way he has done through the yrs, much less installing large apt bldgs on them.

I do recall in the past driving by the part of dtla where his newest completed apt bldgs are now located. At those moments I generally had forgetten the existence of such sites unless I was actually in the hood....seeing things up close. It was then that dt would hit me as an overly sketchy or desolate place. So I'll sidestep the issue of bad architecture....& tenants living right next to noisy, smoggy fwys....& feel at least relieved that two more parking lots have waved bye bye.



mapsgoogle.com


mapsgoogle.com




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[LDVArch]

Originally Posted by ocman

I don't see the point being made here. South Coast Plaza is the highest sales grossing center in the country and arguably the most attractive location in CA for high-end retailers to set up shop. How does that make a case that a retailer like Gucci would be interested in DTLA?

I wasn't making that case.

I was agreeing with your other post on the subject. It does't kill a neighborhood or make a neighborhood.