Hollywood Projects

[Damien]

I did a quick wikipedia on Times Square, to learn a little bit more about its history since it was mentioned in the article with the Blvd6200 developer. I thought some might find this interesting:

The atmosphere changed with the onset of the Great Depression during the 1930s. Times Square became a neighborhood full of "peep shows", erotic all-night movie houses, and stores selling cheap tourist merchandise. The change is captured in Damon Runyon's stories, including his collection Guys and Dolls. In the decades afterwards, it was considered a dangerous neighborhood. The seediness of Times Square was a famous symbol of New York City's danger and corruption from the 1960s until the early 1990s. Influential and dark films such as Midnight Cowboy and Taxi Driver had many scenes in Times Square, while its grindhouse cinemas routinely showed sleazy films.

In the 1980s, a commercial building boom began in the West 40s and 50s as part of a long-term development plan conceived under Mayors Ed Koch and David Dinkins. Then, in the mid-1990s, Mayor Rudolph Giuliani (1994–2002), led an intense effort to "clean up" the area, including closing sex shops, increasing security, driving out the "squeegee men" and opening more tourist-friendly attractions. The process began when the local government issued an injunction against the tight clustering of the porn shops in the 42nd Street area. Many of the sex shops closed or moved to industrial areas in Brooklyn or Queens. More up-scale establishments have opened. Advocates of the remodeling claim that the neighborhood is safer and cleaner. Detractors, on the other hand, argue that the changes have diluted the character of Times Square and have unfairly targeted lower income New Yorkers from nearby neighborhoods (such as Hell's Kitchen).

In 1990, the State of New York took possession of six of the nine historic theatres on 42nd Street. The New 42nd Street nonprofit organization was appointed to oversee their restoration and care. The theatres were variously renovated for Broadway shows, converted for commercial purposes and demolished.

My favorite work phrase is "Don't reinvent the wheel."

[Damien]

Originally Posted by trojans14

LA is know for palm trees.

Exactly.

And the major asset of palm trees is that they require little to no water. We're talking about Los Angeles, not Montana. There aren't many trees as drought-tolerant as palm trees.

I'm positive these arent:

[LosAngelesSportsFan]

Heres a video rendering of the W Hotel and Residences that i got as an email from them today..

http://r.vresp.com/?ThePointGroup/e555486dfb/656386/098531a5f8/f9050d3

it takes a couple minutes to load, but its really cool.

[LosAngelesBeauty]

Originally Posted by LosAngelesSportsFan

Heres a video rendering of the W Hotel and Residences that i got as an email from them today..

http://r.vresp.com/?ThePointGroup/e555486dfb/656386/098531a5f8/f9050d3

it takes a couple minutes to load, but its really cool.

THANK YOU LASF! That video is awesome! It makes me feel like there is TRUE hope for LA's future urban hip factor. To have a hotel of that caliber above a subway station will REALLY make mass transit that much more "sexy" in LA. I take the subway very often and Hollywood/Highland is usually always the busiest station after 7th/Metro. PLUS, at the Hollywood/Highland station, you see many more middle class people stopping there, which is a very good thing to create a comfortable environment for tourists and locals alike.

Now imagine the W Hotel finished--along with BLVD6200 and Whole Foods, etc.! The two stations in Hollywood will become super busy as people realize how much easier it is to take the subway to get there. Then you'll also get a shuffle of back-and-forth riders from Downtown LA to Hollywood as LA Live opens! LA Live will have an even stronger pull than Hollywood perhaps, creating a balanced synergy that creates the kind of pedestrian activity made possible by the heavy use of subway.

The new residents of Hollywood will venture to Downtown LA to see LA Live and the residents of Downtown LA will hop the subway to party it up in Hollywood.

I can't wait!

[citywatch]

Originally Posted by LosAngelesBeauty

THANK YOU LASF! That video is awesome! It makes me feel like there is TRUE hope for LA's future urban hip factor.

I second that. Nothing better than seeing another corner of Hollywood & Vine, & another part of the hood in general, finally getting some $$ & TLC.

It's amazing how slick computer graphics can be, esp in how real they make water look in a swimming pool. The rooftop pool & lounge area in particular of the W hotel should be quite a spot. However, I notice the video indicates that the railing around the roof will be glass. Don't devlprs have sympathy for acrophobes?

And, LASF, I think dktshb's skepticism about the proj may have something to do with the owner of that damn luggage store. His threat of a lawsuit, assuming he hasn't filed one already, may end up slowing everything down to a crawl.

[colemonkee]

That video is pretty fuckin' sweet. Must have cost them a pretty penny to put together.

[LosAngelesSportsFan]

LA Beauty - i agree, Hollywood and DT LA, along with the Wilshire Corridor are the future of LA. LA Live and Hollywood are gonna be jumpin with people, whether its for Laker games, a night out in Hollywood or to just have a good time. By the way, i think we need to start a campaign to push the alcohol cutoff until 4 or 5 am. its really silly and sad that LA of all places, the center of Hollywood and Entertainment, shuts down at 2 for no reason, and i dont want to hear about how drunk drining or rowdyness will go up. its BS. people wont have to binge drink, can take their time leaving a club, a staggered exit instead of a 1000's pouring into the streets at the same time, and there would be less of a mess. (Sorry for going off topic.)

Citywatch, i totally forgot about that pending lawsuit. thankd for reminding me. thats why i didnt understand his skepticism.

[LosAngelesSportsFan]

Also, is it me or does that video have a updated render of DT LA at the very end? maybe they added a few towers.

[bjornson]

^I was trying to figure that out as well. But anyway, you're awesome LASF! Now all you need is a W in DT!

[Trojan in NYC]

thanks for that video. it was awesome.

[Steve2726]

I can't believe they are going to tear down Bernards Luggage for this silly little project.....

[Steve2726]

<double post>

[LosAngelesBeauty]

No, I don't think they added in any new towers for Downtown LA. It's just that the rendering makes Downtown LA look more "squashed" flatter so everything looks wider, which gives it a denser look. At first I thought I saw a tower that looks like Ritz Carlton at LA Live, but upon closer inspection, it's just Cesar Pelli's 777 tower.

[RAlossi]

Originally Posted by citywatch

And, LASF, I think dktshb's skepticism about the proj may have something to do with the owner of that damn luggage store. His threat of a lawsuit, assuming he hasn't filed one already, may end up slowing everything down to a crawl.

I did some work on a couple depositions regarding the Bernard's Luggage lawsuit w/ the CRA. The case has been settled out of court, I believe.

They were going for the argument that the developers couldn't use federal/CRA money to build a portion of the project on the Bernard's site because federal rules forbid the building of market-rate housing and hotel/retail uses on land that has been purchased with CRA money (don't quote me on that one). Since the project is mixed-use and has hotel, condo, and retail aspects, this created a problem.

I'm not a lawyer, so again, don't quote me on that.

But it doesn't matter since they settled anyway. This was about a month and a half ago, so it should be moving forward soon!

Oh yeah, and imagine my surprise as I'm listening to the audio and proofreading the transcript of the depo when I realized that I already knew what this was about Thanks for reminding me of this, Citywatch!

[LosAngelesBeauty]

^ Thanks for the insider info on that RAlossi. It gives me more confidence that this project will break ground in November. I have a feeling this will open up around the same time that LA Live and Grand Ave. Project and Sunset Millenium will as well.

[dktshb]

Originally Posted by RAlossi

I just remembered that I needed to ask about that project just north of Franklin on Highland, near the Best Western. There seems to be an old wood-framed building on the hill on the west side of Highland, and some new construction at the street level.

Anyone know what it is?

Well it used to be a Hostel in an uninteresting structure. It was a welcome sight for me to see that most of it was torn down . Unfortunatey I am not sure what's going up in its place. I'm surpirsed there isn't any information being distributed (that I am aware of) about what's being developed.

[citywatch]

Originally Posted by RAlossi

But it doesn't matter since they settled anyway. This was about a month and a half ago, so it should be moving forward soon!

[danparker276]

Is this video of the Hollywood W Hotel new or old?
http://r.vresp.com/?ThePointGroup/e555486dfb/656386/56266db3b4/a400b40

Any one have a guess at what these units will start for?

[slackerdva]

I heard that the initial friends and family offering went out at 900-1000/sf.

[ocman]

Originally Posted by Damien

Exactly.

And the major asset of palm trees is that they require little to no water. We're talking about Los Angeles, not Montana. There aren't many trees as drought-tolerant as palm trees.

I'm positive these arent:

There are other trees beside the palm that are drought tolerant. California has tons of native trees that do require little water, and grow to be large and leafy with providing lots of shade, tenfold over a palm. You see them periodically along a freeway or a barren sidewalk flourishing without any access to water.

When palms are growing in every single city within the southwest, every city in SoCal including Barstow, where every street in Las Vegas and Arizona looks like it could be Los Angeles, the age of the palm tree as symbolically LA is over. Worse, we've come to a point where so many palm trees in California are diseased that half the palm trees in California give the appearance of death and dehydration. Palm trees don't age well in California.