LOS ANGELES | Downtown Project Rundown 4.0

[alki]

Originally Posted by StethJeff

I think the idea was to have games (likely games where they'd expect large attendance ) at Farmer's. Maybe trying to emulate what the Sounders are able to do up in Seattle. That or maybe in the hole that would be created when they tear down the Sports Arena - I think I remember seeing some of those photos floating around SSP somewhere.

The Sounders playing in the Seahawks stadium has worked out pretty well. I just don't like standing watching a game.........my friends are too cheap to buy seating tickets.

[alki]

Originally Posted by ChelseaFC

It's only about a two-block tunnel, so I doubt there is any sort of substantial ventilation system. I've never noticed any sort of conspicuous ventilation shafts when I've been at the park.

A former colleague, Bill Fulton, is working to make it happen on the 101 in DT LA. From what I hearing, the amount of capping they are discussing will require some kind of ventilation system.

Here in Seattle, the ventilation system is a major cost of the new tunnel......then again, that tunnel will be 2 miles long. I think we are talking one mile in DTLA.

[dachacon]

Originally Posted by alki

I disagree. The westside vs eastside perception that exists in LA has a lot to do with the current state of DTLA. The whole city is skewed to the west side in a fashion that makes DTLA redundant. When a multi media company like TMZ decides to move because it needs more space, it doesn't consider DTLA. Instead, it moves from Weho to Playa del Vista and doubles its square footage.

The vacancy factor for LA County and DTLA office space currently is around 20%. Its 12% for the Westside due to new users coming into the market pretty regularly this past year. That's not happening in DTLA with the exception of a couple of architectural firms that can't afford the Westside any longer. The vast majority of new users are not considering DTLA......they are looking at commercial nodes on the Westside and maybe the Valley. That means the Westside is a major job engine for LA, not DT. DTLA gets the table scraps.....whatever drops to the floor.

When LA's DT, Century City, started to fill and there was little land for expansion, developers moved over to Playa del Vista. The whole city is tilted 'unnaturally' to the Westside even to the point where what should be the city's Eastside is actually unincorporated LA county. To ignore that issue and not bring it into the discussion is ignoring reality IMO.

The Westside and the Valley have sucked the life out of DTLA, made it irrelevant and stunted its growth. Its left LA with numerous faux hearts and no real heart. Its why LA empitomizes the concept of sprawl. I believe its one of the reasons why metro LA is not the economic juggernaut it was just 20 years ago.

If DTLA is going to regain its rightful place as the heart of the metro area, its going to have to take on the Westside at some point. It might be nice to contemplate when that might happen on this thread.

Agreed with most of your statement, the exceptions are the multimedia companies, that do not use Hi-rise buildings for there offices. I have never seen or heard of media companies using 30 or 40 story buildings for studio uses, maybe the exception is New York with Time Square. but studios need large sprawling campuses. TMZ needs more space for their studios. hard to see them moving in the US Bank Tower or City Plaza.

[pesto]

Originally Posted by alki

I disagree. The westside vs eastside perception that exists in LA has a lot to do with the current state of DTLA. The whole city is skewed to the west side in a fashion that makes DTLA redundant. When a multi media company like TMZ decides to move because it needs more space, it doesn't consider DTLA. Instead, it moves from Weho to Playa del Vista and doubles its square footage.

The vacancy factor for LA County and DTLA office space currently is around 20%. Its 12% for the Westside due to new users coming into the market pretty regularly this past year. That's not happening in DTLA with the exception of a couple of architectural firms that can't afford the Westside any longer. The vast majority of new users are not considering DTLA......they are looking at commercial nodes on the Westside and maybe the Valley. That means the Westside is a major job engine for LA, not DT. DTLA gets the table scraps.....whatever drops to the floor.

When LA's DT, Century City, started to fill and there was little land for expansion, developers moved over to Playa del Vista. The whole city is tilted 'unnaturally' to the Westside even to the point where what should be the city's Eastside is actually unincorporated LA county. To ignore that issue and not bring it into the discussion is ignoring reality IMO.

The Westside and the Valley have sucked the life out of DTLA, made it irrelevant and stunted its growth. Its left LA with numerous faux hearts and no real heart. Its why LA empitomizes the concept of sprawl. I believe its one of the reasons why metro LA is not the economic juggernaut it was just 20 years ago.

If DTLA is going to regain its rightful place as the heart of the metro area, its going to have to take on the Westside at some point. It might be nice to contemplate when that might happen on this thread.

Well, I guess DT could take on the Westside, but why? In any event, what sense would it make unless you are speaking figuratively? The only parts of the westside that would allow high-rise, expanded convention centers, stadia and such are parts of LA, so it would be fighting yourself. If you mean high-end retail, housing and such, it similarly makes no sense since the westside already has it in place and this is just the market going to where the demand is.

You are right that DT is way at one end of the dense part of LA. This is why I always argue not to think of DT and being THE downtown; rather it's one node of a very large downtown. By analogy, look at NY: Wall St. then 3miles to Midtown; then 4 miles to Upper East Side; then 2 miles to Yankee Stadium. This is typical of big cities (NY, London, Paris, etc.). You don't cram everything into the same 10 blocks. Instead, you create ease of transit between the major nodes.

Comparing LA to Indianapolis is just silly. When you see these lists of great world cities, LA is typically around 5-10. Indianapolis is never on the list; even the ones that have a hundred or more cities. Indie may need a Super Bowl every 8 years to make its DT vibrant, but God forbid that LA does.

[alki]

Originally Posted by dachacon

Agreed with most of your statement, the exceptions are the multimedia companies, that do not use Hi-rise buildings for there offices. I have never seen or heard of media companies using 30 or 40 story buildings for studio uses, maybe the exception is New York with Time Square. but studios need large sprawling campuses. TMZ needs more space for their studios. hard to see them moving in the US Bank Tower or City Plaza.

I don't know.......the building they are moving to is a former post office. Don't you think they could have found something doable in great DT LA?

[alki]

Originally Posted by pesto

Well, I guess DT could take on the Westside, but why? In any event, what sense would it make unless you are speaking figuratively? The only parts of the westside that would allow high-rise, expanded convention centers, stadia and such are parts of LA, so it would be fighting yourself. If you mean high-end retail, housing and such, it similarly makes no sense since the westside already has it in place and this is just the market going to where the demand is.

I mean DTLA reclaiming its rightful place as the heart of LA. It will never be like it was back in the first half of the 20th century but it can be a vibrant center that has a growing office, commercial, retail and residential community.

You are right that DT is way at one end of the dense part of LA. This is why I always argue not to think of DT and being THE downtown; rather it's one node of a very large downtown. By analogy, look at NY: Wall St. then 3miles to Midtown; then 4 miles to Upper East Side; then 2 miles to Yankee Stadium. This is typical of big cities (NY, London, Paris, etc.). You don't cram everything into the same 10 blocks. Instead, you create ease of transit between the major nodes.

Sorry, guys, I never bought into that analogy if for no other other reason than the distances between nodes are much greater in LA than Manhattan. Besides, density levels of the two cities are significantly different. Finally, NY/Manhattan is a global city......one of the top 5. IMO you can't compare any other American city to NY.

Comparing LA to Indianapolis is just silly. When you see these lists of great world cities, LA is typically around 5-10. Indianapolis is never on the list; even the ones that have a hundred or more cities. Indie may need a Super Bowl every 8 years to make its DT vibrant, but God forbid that LA does.

I think you misunderstood. I wasn't comparing LA and Indy. What I was saying is that what Indy did.....the ability to host a superbowl successfully........doesn't happen overnite; to whit, see Dallas last year @ Superbowl 45.

[StethJeff]

From what I understand, Lucas Oil is successful because it manages to both be a part of DT Indy without disrupting it. Staying on the fringes, it doesn't sit on a particularly important parcel of land, has easy access to the rest of the city center, and doesn't create a huge void of land (i.e. Macy's Plaza here in LA) that would otherwise disconnect other parts of the city.

The comparison seems to hold with Farmer's Field. The area that the West Hall is located is already the fringe of our downtown. The stadium would sit next to a freeway in an area that would have never really had pedestrian traffic anyway. Sounds like a perfect place to put a stadium.

[dachacon]

Originally Posted by alki

I don't know.......the building they are moving to is a former post office. Don't you think they could have found something doable in great DT LA?

doubt it. LA Center Studios is the only place i can think of. The old distribution center makes a perfect studio location. A cheap very large continuous floor plate. besides it rehabs a building that would other wise sit empty.

[citywatch]

more good news!....

Three downtown Los Angeles hotels are sold to developers

A partnership called Bristol 423 buys the century-old Baltimore, King Edward and Leland hotels at an auction for $9.8 million. The developers hope to make them attractive to young artistic types.


The King Edward Hotel in downtown Los Angeles was sold at a bankruptcy auction. (Madison Partners)

By Roger Vincent, Los Angeles Times
March 5, 2012

A trio of run-down, century-old hotels in downtown Los Angeles was sold to developers who hope to clean them up and make them attractive to young artistic types. A partnership called Bristol 423 bought the Baltimore, King Edward and Leland hotels at a bankruptcy auction for $9.8 million, real estate broker Matt Case of Madison Partners said.

The hotels around 5th and Los Angeles streets were built between 1904 and 1910, when Southern Pacific Railroad's nearby station on Alameda Street was a key point of entry to the city, downtown historian Greg Fischer said.

The single-room-occupancy hotels with a total of 415 rooms will remain low-income housing, said Eric Shomof, a partner in Bristol 423 with Izek Shomof and Naty Saidoff. Their plans call for cosmetic improvements, enhanced security and the addition of ground-floor shops. "We'll try to bring back their original looks as much as possible," while adding lots of lights, Eric Shomof said.

Drawing businesses to 5th Street will improve a part of downtown that has been dodgy for decades, Shomof said. "At night it's very dark, and people are standing around doing drug deals."

Plans call for offering cheap rent to retailers who will open restaurants, dry cleaners and other businesses that serve the neighborhood. The strategy worked close by on Spring Street, where the developers control many of the buildings between 6th and 7th streets, Shomof said. That stretch is thriving now with restaurants, shops and nightclubs, but Shomof said he literally couldn't give away retail space there when he first tried more than a decade ago.

Existing tenants in the three old hotels will not be evicted unless they break the law, he said. "We will not tolerate drug dealing." He does, however, plan to target struggling artists, musicians and actors as future tenants, he said. "Los Angeles is a place where a lot of people come to try to make it."

[citywatch]

Originally Posted by alki

Here's a very abbreviated version of what the city has done to get to where it is.......a successful host of Superbowl 46:

http://www.boston.com/sports/football/pa...polis_has_become_city_that_doesnt_sleep/

that article is another reminder of just how much is going on in the dts of cities all over the country. So what was once exceptional in a few cities is becoming increasingly common everywhere.

I read this about Indianapolis & it sounds not much different from what's been happening in dtla....

Now, the city that had fewer than 500 hotel rooms downtown in 1970 has more than 6,500, and about a dozen new hotels have opened in the past decade, including a 1,000-room JW Marriott. The number of downtown restaurants and bars has doubled to 300 in the past 10 years, and there are more than 200 shops, according to Indianapolis Downtown Inc., the city’s tourism agency.

Thousands of residents have embraced downtown living, and more than 3,200 houses, condominiums, and apartments are expected to be under construction or completed within five years.

^ if any city today isn't getting with the program, it's gonna really be left behind in the dust. maybe that's why what brigham yen (I still remember him from his old ssp name of "los angeles beautiful") posted at his blog site today shouldn't be quite so surprising to me....

Downtown LA’s Umamicatessen Opens with a Bang: The Rebirth of Broadway Begins


brighamyen.com

Saturday was the first day of business for Umamicatessen’s soft opening in Downtown LA. The new flagship location for Umami Burger’s latest culinary concept opened its doors at approximately 11AM for an early lunch crowd. The pent up demand for more dining options in Downtown LA could not be more apparent than the continuous surge of diners that easily filled Umamicatessen’s cavernous space throughout the entire day. In fact, it just got busier and busier as the day progressed into the night.


brighamyen.com

The buzz and excitement over Umamicatessen attracted Angelenos from far and wide. In fact, even Harry Shum (of Glee) was spotted amongst the crowd of happy diners. By the time I left Umamicatessen around 10pm, there was still a waiting list. As people waited outside in front of the restaurant to be seated, the sidewalk was alive and activated with an energy that truly signaled the rebirth of Broadway. What was once empty and dead was now vibrant and exciting. The renaissance along LA’s most grand historic thoroughfare had truly begun.

^ I still remember thinking a few yrs ago that the new ralph's mkt on 9th st would need lots of shoppers from large families around east LA or MacArthur pk in order to survive I remember thinking the planned bottega louie restaurant on 7th st was too big & ambitious for the hood.

More recently, I remember thinking that the planned restaurant next to the orpheum theater on broadway was possibly too far east & too hidden on a street many ppl had long sworn off cuz of all its gritty swapmeets, & therefore wouldn't attract too many customers the way that a restaurant like bottega louie did....since BL was farther west & had more immediate parking

but if cities like NYC, chicago, SF never saw their centers go into a slump the way smaller cities did, or dtla did, & if now many smaller cities like Indianapolis are duplicating alot of what's going on in LA, I really have to start raising my expectations alot higher from the get go

[LosAngelesBeauty]

Sorry haven't checked SSP in awhile so didn't see your post until now!

I really don't know how much it cost to build the freeway cap park in La Canada. I did not see any ventilation system set up at all because I don't think it's wide enough to be a major issue for cars underneath. You zoom by so fast underneath while driving that there's no risk at all for "suffocating."

Downtown LA's 101 freeway cap park would be a lot longer obviously like an actual tunnel for the drivers underneath. But then again, it may be about as wide as the tunnel underneath LAX (right under the runways) and does that tunnel have ventilation???

Originally Posted by alki

Brigham, re. the La Cañada freeway park cap that you show on your blog, do you know how much it cost to build and how many blocks is it? In addition, was it necessary to build a significant ventilation system to get rid of car fumes? Seattle is building a freeway tunnel under its DT and ventilating fumes was a big issue.

I always invisioned building parks over the 101[?] between DT and the MacArthur side of DT and building retail along the existing overpasses that opens to both the street as well as to the park side. I thought development of the retail could offset the cost of building the parks.

[LosAngelesBeauty]

Originally Posted by citywatch

that article is another reminder of just how much is going on in the dts of cities all over the country. So what was once exceptional in a few cities is becoming increasingly common everywhere.

I read this about Indianapolis & it sounds not much different from what's been happening in dtla....




^ if any city today isn't getting with the program, it's gonna really be left behind in the dust. maybe that's why what brigham yen (I still remember him from his old ssp name of "los angeles beautiful") posted at his blog site today shouldn't be quite so surprising to me....




^ I still remember thinking a few yrs ago that the new ralph's mkt on 9th st would need lots of shoppers from large families around east LA or MacArthur pk in order to survive I remember thinking the planned bottega louie restaurant on 7th st was too big & ambitious for the hood.

More recently, I remember thinking that the planned restaurant next to the orpheum theater on broadway was possibly too far east & too hidden on a street many ppl had long sworn off cuz of all its gritty swapmeets, & therefore wouldn't attract too many customers the way that a restaurant like bottega louie did....since BL was farther west & had more immediate parking

but if cities like NYC, chicago, SF never saw their centers go into a slump the way smaller cities did, or dtla did, & if now many smaller cities like Indianapolis are duplicating alot of what's going on in LA, I really have to start raising my expectations alot higher from the get go

Citywatch, don't forget you thought the Regal Theaters would be too far to the west along the 110 freeway for people to make their way over from the rest of LA Live and now it's one of the busiest entertainment venues in DTLA on any weekend night! ;-)

[Illithid Dude]

Originally Posted by citywatch;5615580He does, however, plan to [B

target struggling artists, musicians and actors as future tenants[/B], he said. "Los Angeles is a place where a lot of people come to try to make it."[/I]

And wasn't someone just saying that Downtown will become inhospitable to the poor artists who made it where it is today? Looks like developers got yah covered.

[LosAngelesBeauty]

Originally Posted by Illithid Dude

And wasn't someone just saying that Downtown will become inhospitable to the poor artists who made it where it is today? Looks like developers got yah covered.

Yes, this would go well for Vangelist and his friends who are part of the artistic community in Los Angeles that makes us such a great city!

[Kingofthehill]

The purchase and conversion of those three properties is great news! Downtown LA will becoming even stronger and more robust as more of the areas east of Los Angeles Street come online and are re-activated. Late at night, one can see all sorts of riff-raff and police activity in the area east of 5th/Main. Hell, just waiting for the 720 on the NE corner of 5th/Main, means you can be expect to be accosted, hit up, weird looks, etc. These new projects should put alot more eyes on the street, as well as spending dollars, in a fairly neglected part of Downtown.

[pesto]

Originally Posted by citywatch

more good news!....

Three downtown Los Angeles hotels are sold to developers

A partnership called Bristol 423 buys the century-old Baltimore, King Edward and Leland hotels at an auction for $9.8 million. The developers hope to make them attractive to young artistic types.


The King Edward Hotel in downtown Los Angeles was sold at a bankruptcy auction. (Madison Partners)

By Roger Vincent, Los Angeles Times
March 5, 2012

A trio of run-down, century-old hotels in downtown Los Angeles was sold to developers who hope to clean them up and make them attractive to young artistic types. A partnership called Bristol 423 bought the Baltimore, King Edward and Leland hotels at a bankruptcy auction for $9.8 million, real estate broker Matt Case of Madison Partners said.

The hotels around 5th and Los Angeles streets were built between 1904 and 1910, when Southern Pacific Railroad's nearby station on Alameda Street was a key point of entry to the city, downtown historian Greg Fischer said.

The single-room-occupancy hotels with a total of 415 rooms will remain low-income housing, said Eric Shomof, a partner in Bristol 423 with Izek Shomof and Naty Saidoff. Their plans call for cosmetic improvements, enhanced security and the addition of ground-floor shops. "We'll try to bring back their original looks as much as possible," while adding lots of lights, Eric Shomof said.

Drawing businesses to 5th Street will improve a part of downtown that has been dodgy for decades, Shomof said. "At night it's very dark, and people are standing around doing drug deals."

Plans call for offering cheap rent to retailers who will open restaurants, dry cleaners and other businesses that serve the neighborhood. The strategy worked close by on Spring Street, where the developers control many of the buildings between 6th and 7th streets, Shomof said. That stretch is thriving now with restaurants, shops and nightclubs, but Shomof said he literally couldn't give away retail space there when he first tried more than a decade ago.

Existing tenants in the three old hotels will not be evicted unless they break the law, he said. "We will not tolerate drug dealing." He does, however, plan to target struggling artists, musicians and actors as future tenants, he said. "Los Angeles is a place where a lot of people come to try to make it."

A couple of thoughts:

They won't tolerate drug dealing but they will welcome struggling artists, musicians and actors? They won't be evicted unless they break the law? I suppose that's policy in a lot of apartments, but it's going to set up some interesting situations in this locale.

Many cities have hotel booms in their downtown areas. It looks like LA was getting one as well. But a hotel aimed at long-term SRO is not going to get "artists" is it? Or downmarket tourists. More likely night-howlers and wall pounders.

I'm sympathetic; this is a really bad 'hood. But it's close to some nicer areas. I would hope that they could get it to Spring St. level, but it doesn't sound like they are aiming much higher than what's already there. But, I don't know, maybe the lighting and enhanced security will help.

[LosAngelesBeauty]

I view it as an important evolutionary process. These developers are cleaning something up by wiping away the grime. Then as it improves the area, it helps to raise property values, which then gives these buildings possibly ANOTHER purpose in the future. Perhaps a decade from now, they will be rethought again.

Whatever the case may be, we can only see this as a good thing at cleaning up the crap that's currently there right now.

[BrandonJXN]

In new contstruction news, I can report that the expansion of the Good Samaritain is underway.

[LosAngelesBeauty]

Another project in City West is slated to break ground this year. Yes, ground up mixed use project!

[Illithid Dude]

Originally Posted by BrighamYen

Another project in City West is slated to break ground this year. Yes, ground up mixed use project!

What is it? Is it a highrise?

And speaking of highrises, didn't you have some insider knowledge of Zen? How's that going?