LOS ANGELES | Downtown Project Rundown 4.0

[JDRCRASH]

Originally Posted by Pink Floyd

The parking lots will be developed eventually, but what I'd most like to see right now is more of the old buildings being restored and used as condos / lofts.

Edit: There's now another big part of a crane laying on Francisco St. getting ready to be lifted.

Seems awfully long. I'm assuming that's the "jib" and "counterjib" part of the crane?

[Mojeda101]

Few more shots from today.

[LosAngelesBeauty]

This is a really exciting development for burgeoning South Park!

A new restaurant called Towne is now open at 9th and Flower (on the ground floor of Watermarke tower) which is helping to activate the intersection with more pedestrian activity.

It's the same owner of Mi Piace in Old Pasadena.

The soft opening for dinner happened last night.



Photo by me


More pics of Towne Food & Drink Los Angeles:

http://brighamyen.com/2012/07/11/now-ope...an-cuisine-to-south-park-in-downtown-la/

[citywatch]

Originally Posted by blackcat23

Some interesting bits about the future of the NFL in LA/Farmers Field in this article

Hope this somehow works out in favor of the downtown stadium. Not interested in driving all the way out to the boondocks to watch a football game. Plus, a lot of potential future development on downtown hinges on this and the convention center updates being done.

It was interesting how the buzz in the media about the super bowl this yr was that the location in Indianapolis turned out to be user friendly for the visitor. Even more so than the one held in the super fancy, super deluxe stadium built in dallas. The difference is the first one is not in the burbs, but in the center of the city, while the stadium in texas is located in the burbs.

I think if AEG manages to build a new stadium next to staples, it could very well be the most pleasing of the various sites that have traditionally been used for the most watched TV event each yr. If a sense of closeness & walkability to places for visitors made the location in indiana very appealing, I'd be surprised if that didn't go double for a new stadium in dtla.

Originally Posted by Mojeda101

I hate looking at this picture and seeing all the parking lots surrounding the building. I hope they are dealt with soon enough.

I remember sitting in the yard house restaurant about 2 yrs ago looking out over the area north of Olympic & thinking that didn't exactly make a nice backdrop. Even worse, think of all the ppl paying big $$ to stay in the Ritz Carlton, or even the marriott, & having to look out over all that .

while those parking lots probably will still be there for several more yrs, at least another change for the better appears to be underway. Based on your wider angle shot of that hotel site----you must have password access to the website!-----it looks like the phone poles not just on francisco st but also on nearby cottage pl are being dismantled. Those also were visible from the yard house restaurant & are among the things that give the hood a slummy bummy quality.

Originally Posted by BrighamYen

A new restaurant called Towne is now open at 9th and Flower (on the ground floor of Watermarke tower) which is helping to activate the intersection with more pedestrian activity.

first the opening of the kitchen table restaurant on main st a few days ago, & now the completion of another new one, but way over on the west side of dt.



la.eater.com


la.eater.com


la.eater.com

I do wish the owner of the watermark apt bldg would finally do something to the exterior of the parking podium. that definitely was value engineered from what it originally was going to be.

[Mojeda101]

Originally Posted by citywatch

i remember sitting in the yard house restaurant about 2 yrs ago looking out over the area north of olympic & thinking that didn't exactly make a nice backdrop. Even worse, think of all the ppl paying big $$ to stay in the ritz carlton, or even the marriott, & having to look out over all that .

While those parking lots probably will still be there for several more yrs, at least another change for the better appears to be underway. Based on your wider angle shot of that hotel site----you must have password access to the website!-----it looks like the Phone poles not just on francisco st but also on nearby cottage pl are being dismantled. Those also were visible from the yard house restaurant & are among the things that give the hood a slummy bummy quality.

Yeah I've stayed there a few times for work events and it just didn't feel right. Let's just hope that AEG ends up building the stadium. Half of those lots will be gone with AEG's Francisco street plan.
Although let's put a scenario together. Let's say AEG get's the go on Farmers Field. Would the development on the street begin at the same time or what would you think?

[Quixote]

Hopefully the reviews will be better than those of Artisan House.

[JRinSoCal]

Towne is a very nice addition to that part of downtown, but that parking garage sure is hideous. I wish they could disguise it somehow.

[Valyrian Steel]

I was thinking the same. That parking podium makes the whole tower look like it never finished construction...

[LAofAnaheim]

Really nice seeing another tall crane in South Park.

[StethJeff]

yeah, that podium makes the location look like shit. very uninviting restaurant.

[Kingofthehill]

Originally Posted by Westsidelife

Hopefully the reviews will be better than those of Artisan House.

Yeah, the appallingly low reviews of Artisan House still escape me. It is a travesty to have poured all of the $$ into making a beautiful, iconic space, only for it to have piss-poor service and lackluster reviews.

[JDRCRASH]

Originally Posted by Mojeda101

Let's say AEG get's the go on Farmers Field. Would the development on the street begin at the same time or what would you think?

No, probably not at same time.

But, we have to consider the fact that many of the new proposals on Francisco St (Avenue of the Angels) are probably already in the beginning of going through the approval processes as we speak; and reconstruction of the new West Hall of the convention center won't begin until March 2013.

With that considered, i'd say it's possible by 2015 that we might start seeing groundwork on a few projects on Francisco, while construction on Farmers Field itself is already in full swing.

[Kingofthehill]

The Las Vegas of Downtown looks good from this angle:



Here are some pictures of infill developments in Portland, Oregon, the city home to the chief architect firm (South Group) involved in the redevelopment of South Park. This is the kind of stuff we should be aiming for.

[Quixote]

^ Very nice infill. I affectionately refer to Portland as the Copenhagen of the USA. If you've ever been there, you would understand why. Although I must say that the stuff going up in Copenhagen is much, much more impressive.. as is the case with London and seemingly every other city in Western Europe.

The last one is what I'm expecting/hoping the new Courtyard by Marriott/Residence Inn will look like.

[citywatch]

Originally Posted by Mojeda101

Let's say AEG get's the go on Farmers Field. Would the development on the street begin at the same time or what would you think?

Investors still seem very, very hesitant to give $$ for many projs, esp the ones that are very large & complicated.

I understand the new marriott courtyard hotel got past the planning stage only cuz the owner got a loan from a fund made up of money provided by immigrants who are allowed entry into the US on the condition they agree to kick in dollars for certain projs. iow, it sounds like marriott had to stretch quite a bit to get $$ before they broke ground.

As of right now, no one is absolutely sure if the larger projs already publicized----the apt tower at 8th & Hope, the one at 9th & Hill (or somewhere around there) & the one next to the Broad museum on grand ave----actually will get to the groundbreaking stage.

The case of the glass tower proj that was supposed to go up across from the eleven condo tower, & whose owner kept telling the press that he had funding & would begin work in a short while, is a good example of why nothing should be taken at face value. The devlpr of that proj made those comments over 3 yrs ago & the property today still is a parking lot.

If the new stadium is approved, signs of other improvements due to that won't be too evident for at least 2 or 3 yrs from today. That's cuz most of the early work will involve building a new extension of the convention ctr, which will sit over Pico blvd. I've read that once that is completed, only then will the old convention ctr be torn down & the new stadium finally will start to go up in its place. So ppl's patience will be greatly tested over the next 5 yrs.

[citywatch]

Originally Posted by Westsidelife

The last one is what I'm expecting/hoping the new Courtyard by Marriott/Residence Inn will look like.

That bldg actually makes me think of the apt tower that's proposed for the site on Grand ave next to the Broad museum. That bldg also is supposed to have a design where the windows are randomly aligned.

Some of the pics that KOTH posted are a reason why I think it's for ppl to complain about a new proj not being taller. iow, if I walked or drove around such bldgs, I'd be thinking of how nice they looked instead of their being 4 or 7 floors instead of 20 or 40. Of course, that doesn't mean I'm not still & even a bit that the parkfifth tower that was supposed to go up at the corner of 5th St & Olive....& would have been the tallest condo bldg in the west....has vanished without a trace.

[Illithid Dude]

Originally Posted by citywatch

that the parkfifth tower that was supposed to go up at the corner of 5th St & Olive....& would have been the tallest condo bldg in the west....has vanished without a trace.

Park Fifth I still hold out a sense of misplaced hope that, somewhere down the line, Park Fifth will be revived and break ground. I just loved that project so much... I actually have a large folder of every rendering I could find of that building. If anyone knows how to get a hold of the actual construction documents that were approved by City Council, I would greatly appreciate that.

Oh, and concerning the South Group buildings- those three buildings are my favorite projects of the boom. They are all so well designed, so well placed in to the urban fabric of DT. I just love 'em. I wish all other new development downtown could be as good as those buildings are. Because of the South Group buildings, I am holding out a lot of hope for the new hotel tower.

And concerning Portland- I'd love to see designs of that caliber being built in not just DT, but throughout L.A. Interestingly enough, I believe that almost all of those buildings are built by the same architectural firm- though the name of which specifically escapes me at the moment. There are only a few American cities that at least make an attempt to do everything right. Portland, IMO, is one of such cities. L.A. could learn more from Portland then just architecture.

[pesto]

Originally Posted by citywatch

That bldg actually makes me think of the apt tower that's proposed for the site on Grand ave next to the Broad museum. That bldg also is supposed to have a design where the windows are randomly aligned.

Some of the pics that KOTH posted are a reason why I think it's for ppl to complain about a new proj not being taller. iow, if I walked or drove around such bldgs, I'd be thinking of how nice they looked instead of their being 4 or 7 floors instead of 20 or 40. Of course, that doesn't mean I'm not still & even a bit that the parkfifth tower that was supposed to go up at the corner of 5th St & Olive....& would have been the tallest condo bldg in the west....has vanished without a trace.

Nice to see that you laugh so much.

I don't have problems with lowrise and mediumrise in SaMo, WeHo, Glendale, Pasadena or pretty much anywhere. Or east of Broadway or west of the 110 or south of Pico or north of El Pueblo. In fact, I've often said that the hallmark of a great city is low and midrise, not highrise (Paris, Berlin, London, etc.).

But there is only so much available, buildable land in the Figueroa, Financial Distrct, and every 6 story project tha goes up there is one less high-rise possibility for 30 years plus. AND one less 6 story project on San Pedro, Main, Alameda, City West, Westlake, etc.

[Valyrian Steel]

Edit

[citywatch]

Originally Posted by pesto

But there is only so much available, buildable land in the Figueroa, Financial Distrct, and every 6 story project tha goes up there is one less high-rise possibility for 30 years plus.

pesto, I believe you visit dt on a regular basis. if so, haven't you ever looked around at the huge number of locations, esp that are currently parking lots, that desperately need infill devlpt? I've seen ppl through the yrs make comments similar to yours about how & it is that a new proj isn't taller or bigger. I find myself starting to buy into that. But then I'll actually go to the hood, look around, notice things more closely, & feel like a big rock has fallen on me. That's cuz it's only when I'm there-----actually in dtla-----that the overwhelming number of gaps & deadzones becomes fully apparent to me.

also, maybe if I was as relatively young as forumers like jrdcrash or illithid dude are, I'd have more patience. but the clock is ticking, & properties that desperately needed to be cleaned up or filled in yrs ago, still need to be fixed up today.