I was in dt yesterday & notice that part of the apt devlpt a block away from the water & power bldg....& being built by everyone's favorite devlpr.....is under construction. It appears to right now involve only the site shown on the right. There's a small construction barricade near Fig & Temple, covered with graffiti, so some ppl passing by may believe whatever devlpt is going up there has been abandoned. but I'm assuming it's actively underway.
maps.google.com
^ so the same devlpr has a proj called Lorenzo going up a few miles to the south, towards USC, & this proj, called Da vinci going up to the north.
I've been curious about what the apt proj across from the convention ctr has looked like over the past few months, but there's still not much to see there beyond a construction fence. The Avant proj also is surrounded by large parking lots....as this pic shows....so when passing by there, it doesn't seem to have much of a footprint.
GMP Architects
I think a person really has to be
IN dt before getting a good sense of what new changes or projs mean, or trying to understand what needs or doesn't need to be done to improve things. My perceptions of things does change whenever I'm actually there instead of viewing things from miles away.
I notice that when I'm visiting dtla, looking at things directly and from up close, that complaints about new bldgs being too short or not designed to fit an ideal urban concept, or how newer sections of bunker hill hurt the image of dt, really get lost in the thicket. It's at that point I want to say "if those are the big stumbling blocks, we should be so lucky!"
When ppl complain about a new proj not having stores on the 1st floor, that really does puzzle me. That's cuz I wonder if such criticism is made by ppl who are in the hood on a regular basis & see how many customers are supporting the existing stores already in dt. While some of the biggies are doing well, inc the Ralphs, reportedly the new target & food places like bottega louie, I'm hoping that I won't have to worry about some of the other businesses reaching a saturation point.
I noticed yesterday when I went by the towne restaurant in the watermarke apt bldg, that it wasn't exactly packed with customers.....during a prime hour on Saturday. What I saw is not too different from what this person mentioned in a review at yelp a few days ago.....
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Granted, we went at 7:30 on a Monday night, but a lot of other downtown places would still be busy at that time. Towne was pretty empty.
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bottega louie looked nicely busy as usual, but the new french restaurant across the street didn't appear to have anyone dining outside....although by LA standards, it was a rather chilly evening. I couldn't see too easily inside the restaurant itself, but it looked like most of the customers were around the bar area instead of where the tables are. but restaurants can have a feast/famine type of cycle with guests, busy one hour, quiet the next.
The area is far better today than it was several yrs ago, but the overriding sense I almost always have after visiting dt is that millions & millions & millions of additional $$$ still need to be invested in the hood in order to create a sense of completeness & good urban flow.
I see quite a few smaller shops & eating places throughout dt that I suspect could use some more customers...perhaps greatly so....to allow the owner to really survive & thrive. so
lots more new housing & lots more new potential customers in dt are a must. ASAP!
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