LOS ANGELES | Downtown Project Rundown 6.0

[citywatch]

Originally Posted by LAisthePlace

In your photo, that site along 8th st to the right & nearer to the camera is another proj of Mitsui that I can hardly wait to see underway:



whatsnowlosangeles.com

Originally Posted by edale

from that hideous part of Glendale Blvd in Echo Park.

Your comment made me curious enough to get into the google map car & see what may be affecting your opinion. When ppl like complaining about new bldgs in dtla now being taller or new devlpt not being better designed...or not having better architecture....I wish that were the biggest issue facing LA....when the google mobile drove by, at least homeless encampments weren't visible on this street...



google.com

[Zapatan]

When is Mitsui supposed to break ground? Love that one. Imagine that, Onni and 1111 S. Hill all rising in unison. Maybe even throw 1045 Olive in there.

[LosAngelesSportsFan]

Originally Posted by craigs

And one more skyline photo, taken by the Army Corps of Engineers with a solid telephoto lens. Brookfield is a surprisingly visible tower from several vantages including this one:



source

This has always been my favorite angle of the skyline. The flyover from the 105 to the 110 north has a great vantage point similar to this shot as does the area near USC. Gonna be real nice to see the left side of this picture fill in big time

[LosAngelesSportsFan]

Originally Posted by citywatch

In your photo, that site along 8th st to the right & nearer to the camera is another proj of Mitsui that I can hardly wait to see underway:



whatsnowlosangeles.com





Your comment made me curious enough to get into the google map car & see what may be affecting your opinion. When ppl like complaining about new bldgs in dtla now being taller or new devlpt not being better designed...or not having better architecture....I wish that were the biggest issue facing LA....when the google mobile drove by, at least homeless encampments weren't visible on this street...



google.com

Agreed. LA's biggest problem city planning wise is the complete lack of improvement on our main arteries. Underground the wires, add protected bike lanes, new trees, lighting and maintain it like every other damn city in the world. Imagine the improvements to South LA if Figueroa, Main, Hoover, etc were all improved like Inglewood has been doing to its streets. The residential areas are nice and clean and then you get to the main streets and its a disaster.

In regards to Glendale Blvd and homeless. There are about 10 encampments at the terminus of the 2 freeway and 3 along the medians but none at the park or near it anymore.

[citywatch]

Originally Posted by LosAngelesSportsFan

Agreed. LA's biggest problem city planning wise is the complete lack of improvement on our main arteries.

When ppl go on & on about new projs in dtla not being tall enough or new devlpt not having better architecture, I get some of that. But when negative feedback is set against the backdrop of LA in general, that makes me think of ppl with a bad case of cancer complaining their shoes aren't fancy enough.

But LA is still better today than it was in the past. I recall when this bldg was an abandoned mess, on the other side of little tokyo, & hadn't been cleaned up for decades. I believe this forum's admin used to live there too. It looks like they're doing some renovation work on its north facing exterior.

DTLA was in very bad shape not that long ago. So its newer bldgs not being tall enough or proposed projs not looking nicer seem like the least of all the city's worries.


• Video Link

[citywatch]

Originally Posted by Zapatan

When is Mitsui supposed to break ground?

Generally, proposed projs take longer instead of sooner to break ground. But if Mitsui sticks to a completion date around 2024, that will be fairly quick...


https://urbanize.city/la/post/taller-terraced-design-unveiled-8th-and-hope-tower

According to an initial study published last week by the Department of City Planning, construction of the 8th and Hope tower is anticipated to occur over approximately 36 months, with a project debut expected in 2024.

[hughfb3]

Originally Posted by colemonkee

Quixote, you totally opened up a can of worms with that one. citywatch, no diatribes about above ground power lines, please. We don't need to resurrect 2005-2012...

Sometimes I can also get caught up in "off topic" chatter and have to remember the space that this is... a Skyscraper Forum. Sometimes I have opinions about things that I've voiced and it takes the thread in another direction. At times I wish there was a forum for other things development because I dont always want to talk skyscrapers and many times, I dont think a skyscraper is the best answer... even though I am a skyscraper fan. Let's all remember that this is a skyscraper forum about development and...

Does anyone know of any other forums that are about general development without skyscraper being in the background of all the listening?

[IMG]Untitled by Hugh B, on Flickr[/IMG]

[colemonkee]

^ You are in luck. There is a City Discussions sub-forum a few miles back down the road that way: https://skyscraperpage.com/forum/forumdisplay.php?s=&daysprune=&f=24

citywatch, I often lament that my shoes are not fancy enough, but that is for another forum...

[citywatch]

Originally Posted by colemonkee

I often lament that my shoes are not fancy enough

lol...I did like when you were living in the higgins bldg because that meant you had a 24/7/365 direct view of dtla. Ppl based in dt itself tend to be the most reliable gauges of what dt needs or doesn't need.

I think knowing where LA has been & where it's going is crucial to understanding all its angles. Some have claimed that dtla went downhill decades ago mainly because of the devlpt of fwys or a lack of subways....or because it's not next to a scenic waterfront...I strongly disagree.

I think dt really fell apart because it was never attractive enough in the first place....I bet if more of LA's streets & older hoods had been consistently nicer from over 90 yrs ago, dtla would have held up better. However, the gritty arts district showing some amazing new life in today's culture & economy also means predictions....or assumptions....don't always follow a predictable path.


• Video Link

[craigs]

Originally Posted by hughfb3

Sometimes I can also get caught up in "off topic" chatter and have to remember the space that this is... a Skyscraper Forum. Sometimes I have opinions about things that I've voiced and it takes the thread in another direction. At times I wish there was a forum for other things development because I dont always want to talk skyscrapers and many times, I dont think a skyscraper is the best answer... even though I am a skyscraper fan. Let's all remember that this is a skyscraper forum about development and...

Does anyone know of any other forums that are about general development without skyscraper being in the background of all the listening?

This forum has sections for City Discussions and also non-skyscraper General Development construction.

Untitled by Hugh B, on Flickr

Excellent shot! Look how skinny and tall Brookfield is up close and personal!

[Quixote]

Originally Posted by colemonkee

Quixote, you totally opened up a can of worms with that one. citywatch, no diatribes about above ground power lines, please. We don't need to resurrect 2005-2012...

I understand, but we discuss urbanism writ large here. Burying power lines should be seen as streetscape improvements in the same vein as road diets, widened sidewalks, bike sharrows, continental crosswalks, bulb-out corners, etc.

[bhunsberger]

I can't speak for others, but I personally feel a little bummed when a shorter development is in a particular location that a skyscraper would be so much better in for many reasons. An example is the Whole Foods building. It's massive and only 7 stories tall. Nonetheless, it contributes greatly to the fabric of Downtown just like the many other similar buildings built in recent years. Any new development will most likely be around for a very long time so you can't expect it to be redeveloped anytime soon. There are many other lots that would be a much better investment that wouldn't require demolition of a several story building that is less than 20 years old. I like that the concentration of towers in Downtown are mainly clustered in the 'west' near the 110. Much better than having them spread far apart like little islands from Fig to the LA River. The taller & closer together, the better. Buildings like 'Whole Foods' create gaps in that tall & dense vision.

[Blesha13]

Originally Posted by craigs

This forum has sections for City Discussions and also non-skyscraper General Development construction.


Excellent shot! Look how skinny and tall Brookfield is up close and personal!

Imagine a 1400’ tower that skinny in our city

[craigs]

Originally Posted by Blesha13

Imagine a 1400’ tower that skinny in our city

I mean, it would be interesting I suppose--and I would never argue against such a tower. But personally I'm really not a fan of Manhattan-style pencil towers. They look aesthetically weird and insubstantial to me. I appreciate the fact that all of downtown LA's skyscrapers are more proportional in terms of height and width.

[38 Geary]

Originally Posted by bhunsberger

I can't speak for others, but I personally feel a little bummed when a shorter development is in a particular location that a skyscraper would be so much better in for many reasons. An example is the Whole Foods building. It's massive and only 7 stories tall. Nonetheless, it contributes greatly to the fabric of Downtown just like the many other similar buildings built in recent years. Any new development will most likely be around for a very long time so you can't expect it to be redeveloped anytime soon. There are many other lots that would be a much better investment that wouldn't require demolition of a several story building that is less than 20 years old. I like that the concentration of towers in Downtown are mainly clustered in the 'west' near the 110. Much better than having them spread far apart like little islands from Fig to the LA River. The taller & closer together, the better. Buildings like 'Whole Foods' create gaps in that tall & dense vision.

As a skyscraper fan, I can see where you're coming from. Generally, taller = better. But from an urbanist standpoint, I think downtowns in general are more pleasant when there are buildings of varying heights. Not every street needs to be a wall to wall skyscraper canyon. That can be awe inspiring, but also intimidating to walk through. As you say, a shorter midrise building with a Whole Foods is going to do more to activate the street than say a 50 story office tower, and is more human scaled. Even in NYC, there are plenty of shorter buildings.

https://goo.gl/maps/UUn8UP4RxDuzkZ1y7

Also, DTLA still has plenty of surface lots that could be turned into towers to contribute to the skyscraper density you're looking for and fill in those gaps.

[bhunsberger]

Originally Posted by homebucket

Not every street needs to be a wall to wall skyscraper canyon. That can be awe inspiring, but also intimidating to walk through.

Also, DTLA still has plenty of surface lots that could be turned into towers to contribute to the skyscraper density you're looking for and fill in those gaps.

I can agree with that. Having some shorter buildings does give a little breathing room and an opportunity to actually be able to view the taller buildings a bit more clearly.

[BaldwinDPB]

Originally Posted by craigs

This forum has sections for City Discussions and also non-skyscraper General Development construction.


Excellent shot! Look how skinny and tall Brookfield is up close and personal!

Brookfield is going to be a nice tall building. I like the way it brings balance back to the tapering effect of the Wilshire Grand. A tall building was needed in this exact spot to bring symmetry back to the row of buildings to the right.

[ahealy]

Anyone else getting OG Park Fifth vibes with that Mitsui? Ugh, I was such a fan back in the day!

[colemonkee]

^ Yeah, Park Fifth is a major bummer of a loss, as is the original proposal for the Whole Foods block at 8th and Grand, which included a 40-story tower on Grand on the northern portion of the lot, a 15-story building on the Olive side on the north, and a 8-10 story building along 8th Street, with a mid-block paseo bisecting the block east-west, parallel to 8th Street. What we got is not bad, per se, but could have been better. And still would have had variance in height to allow for both sunlight and view corridors, which I feel is very important. I agree that not every block should be full of 30+ story buildings.

[LAisthePlace]

Today's scene from Onni's Olympic + Hill. Looks like most if not all the surface parking lot is torn up. Someone with more knowledge may be able to say what phase comes next, but I'm enjoying neighborhood walks to check it out in real time!