LOS ANGELES | Downtown Project Rundown 6.0

[Radio5]

Anybody know what's going on to the building at Broadway and Ord in Chinatown. Looks like a full renovation. Always thought that could have been a cool hotel, creative office space.

[Blesha13]

Excuse my ignorance, but is 8th and Fig halfway built already?

[citywatch]

I was just in the arts dist today & both enthused & relieved to see an area that I recall as being an overly gritty part of dtla yrs ago really coming alive. I noticed parking was at a premium, which wasn't as much the case in the past when the area was all industrial & mostly avoided by outsiders.

Some streets were closed off & being worked on...not sure what that was all about...that may have been just basic work on sewer lines or repaving. The city could do better in hiding all the phone lines, but new devlpt or renovated bldgs were visible throughout the district.

What's interesting is that from certain angles, the homeless problem & graffiti aren't too noticeable. I'm sure that's true of other cities too....so overly bad news reports about a place can paint an overly negative impression.

DT used to be top heavy to the west & weak in the east...now better balance is being created.

I forgot to mention in my last post that I can hardly wait for the connector line & extension of the subway down Wilshire to be completed asap.

therealdeal.com


A local developer has revised plans for a creative office tower in the Arts District in Downtown Los Angeles. Legendary Group, based in Pasadena, has filed plans to build an 18-story, 328,000-square-foot, mixed-use tower at 411 South Hewitt St., which would incorporate the former A+D Museum, Urbanize Los Angeles reported. The museum closed in June 2020.

Construction is set to begin in the middle of next year and be completed by 2026.

“Of the 4 million square feet of new inquiries we have seen over the last 12 months in the Arts District,” she said, “over 25 percent of these requirements have included a need for high-clear space, and Above has been designed to meet the demands of the market.”

The Arts District has been transformed from a derelict warehouse district a decade ago to a magnet for creative office development ,with projects ranging from members-only social club Soho House to a 113,000-square-foot office by Related Companies.

“The Arts District has recently seen an emergence of tenants looking for unique creative office space as demand looks to outweigh supply. We received nearly 800,000 square feet in tenant inquiries in Q1 2022,” Gaskill, of Cushman & Wakefield, said. “Tenants’ desire to grow their business here is stronger than ever, exemplified by several recent headquarters relocations into the area by prominent companies in a variety of industries.”

^ I prefer that demand precede new devlpt & that builders don't get trapped by the notion 'of build it & they will come'.


• Video Link

[AndrewK]

Originally Posted by craigs

These skinny brick warehouses are unusual for Southern California. I hope they can remain as the new Arts District begins to take shape. Also, good skyline views from that part of town (from LA Reddit):

Those have already been converted into creative workspaces and an upscale Italian restaurant (www.Breraristorante.com), so I don’t think they are going anywhere.

[craigs]

Originally Posted by AndrewK

Those have already been converted into creative workspaces and an upscale Italian restaurant (www.Breraristorante.com), so I don’t think they are going anywhere.

Good to know--I haven't been to that area in ages.

I must admit that I really like the legacy industrial areas east of downtown proper. I would love to see the entire area retain its industrial base (or the most sensible parts of it, anyway) but also see new construction that can embrace and/or compliment that aesthetic and use.

[dktshb]

They could definitely make that sidewalk wider there and plant some trees and make the pedestrian experience more enjoyable.

[BrandonJXN]

I have LA Noire on my PS4 (which is a great game) and I swear those buildings specifically (or at least something similar) are in the first mission. But I digress.

[citywatch]

After watching the following & thinking of my pet peeves...such as dry fountains or the existence of parking lots....or criticizing new devlpt for not being taller or having better design....I realize I'm missing the forest for the trees. The arts dist for several yrs has been changing very organically, so all my assumptions about what helps or hurts a hood are tossed out.

This same trend is happening to formerly rundown hoods of many cities throughout the country...probably world too....so the one main thing that really seems to count is cost & affordability....& the influence of creative ppl affected by that.


• Video Link


• Video Link

[caligrad]

Originally Posted by BrandonJXN

I have LA Noire on my PS4 (which is a great game) and I swear those buildings specifically (or at least something similar) are in the first mission. But I digress.

I think so. I knew they look familiar. interesting

[craigs]

From LA Reddit, cranes fly high over downtown:



Also, the Beaudry's crown seems perplexing at this stage.

[craigs]

Also, ABC7's coverage of the Summit of the Americas downtown included a short video clip of the now-active jumbotrons wrapping the podium of the new Moxy/AC Marriott complex on Figueroa.

[citywatch]

If the weather in dtla were more like what's found in certain other cities, this would be difficult to create....


• Video Link


however, cities in colder weather locations may be easier to walk around in...I notice I tend to start dripping with perspiration when I've walked around so many hundreds of feet, much less miles. So colder weather may inspire ppl to get out & wander around. But the opposite is true too. Either way, LA would also lose an edge if its weather were too similar to that of cities in the midwest or east.

[ocman]

Originally Posted by citywatch

• Video Link

The streets in the video around Le Labo (still kind of pleasantly shocked that something that high-end would open there), is the appropriate width LA should be developing more of for successful walkable areas. Big complaint is that LA streets are too wide and discourage walkability, and the psychological discomfort that comes with cars going by too quickly. Each are 2 lanes both ways (1 lane essentially with the street parking), and it’s perfect was crossing streets casually at non-cross walks without being overly concerned. It’s downside is that not enough people live there to fully activate the area.

[ocman]

Originally Posted by citywatch

If the weather in dtla were more like what's found in certain other cities, this would be difficult to create....


• Video Link


however, cities in colder weather locations may be easier to walk around in...I notice I tend to start dripping with perspiration when I've walked around so many hundreds of feet, much less miles. So colder weather may inspire ppl to get out & wander around. But the opposite is true too. Either way, LA would also lose an edge if its weather were too similar to that of cities in the midwest or east.

Still not a fan of the tower design, but the Related Gardens has it all over WDCH. Drought-tolerant without looking dry or scorched. Lush and airy without looking desert-y. And just green everywhere. It’s native California, but look a bit like Greece. Palos Verde trees (the ones with the yellow flowering) always succeed at elevating any garden and has a beauty and class that I don’t think the overhyped jacarandas have. Don’t know why we don’t utilitize more of these trees in LA.

The landscape architecture team OJB aren’t local, but it’s always outsiders that bring a fresh perspective to how LA can look. There’s a classicism and order to their designs that we don’t have enough of in our gardens/parks.

[Zapatan]

It seems Brookfield's tower is topped out and is probably 655' judging by comparison to the other buildings, unless the angle distorts things.

Still cool though, that and Mitsui are making a nice impact in the area.



Somebody please for the love of god finish Oceanwide Plaza though...

[citywatch]

Post above has been changed but referred to a store that I didn't know about....a brief shot of its sign was in the vid. I was several blocks south of here the other day. Previously, I thought the arts dist was limited mainly to a few blocks near little tokyo. The most active or accessed section of the hood may still be around there, but it appears to have extended further south since several yrs ago. But I can't say for sure since I've never really followed what's going on there.


google.com


^ I've seen vids of similar arts dists being created in various other cities of the US, so dtla isn't alone. I'm not sure how far behind or ahead it is compared with other arts dists. But alot of my assumptions I've had about what urban areas need or don't need to be energized have gone by the wayside....I still think, however, more of the phone lines of eastern dtla should be buried by the dwp. But artists & other ppl giving life to the arts dist care way more about other things....lol. Like not being priced out.

[ocman]

Originally Posted by ocman

It’s downside is that not enough people live there to fully activate the area.

And that might not be that important as a solution. If you have an apartment complex with 300 people living there, it doesn’t necessarily translate to people walking out of their building around the local neighborhood. If their apartments comes with a parking garage, it’s just as easy to drive outside of the neighborhood and drive back to guaranteed parking. It’s probably not just my observation that they always look empty and deserted, even if they’re probably all occupied.

On the other hand, if you have an office complex in the area with 300 people, half if not the majority will walk out of their building once or twice a work day for lunch or their break. It feeds people more consistently into the street. My guess is it activates the street-life magnitudes more than a residential population on most days. Their excursions outside of the office are forcibly localized to the vicinity.

[colemonkee]

^ Better yet - and this goes back to basic Jane Jacobs city planning - is a mix of residential, retail, commercial, and institutional use within close proximity, and you have an active - and relatively safe - street life. Partsof the Arts District are starting to get there, but there are still a lot of holes to fill in.

[citywatch]

Originally Posted by ocman

Still not a fan of the tower design.

I'm less picky about the design of new projs in dtla than other ppl are, but I've just seen vids of certain newer bldgs in areas like williamsburg east of Manhattan....which is that city's version of a rundown hood being gentrified. Yikes. I know there's also a hotel located down the street from the whitney museum, in the SW part of that island, which opened not too many yrs ago. I don't think I'm changing my personal standards when I go, whoa, those sure have bad architecture.

Other cities like that do have the height & massing....which some GLPers place at the top of their list....but to assume it's all milk & honey overlooks other aspects of newer projs in such cities.

meanwhile, this is still a work in proj....considering how all cities throughout the US & world are also upping their game, this is not a second too soon.


• Video Link

[hughfb3]

So this has been on for over a month at the Moxy... Its funny how they can get this money maker going even before the building is complete

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