LOS ANGELES | Downtown Project Rundown 4.0

[alki]

Originally Posted by Kingofthehill

That isn't necessarily true. Whole Foods opened this urban format store in Foggy Bottom, DC last year:

And then there is the Logan Circle store, of which is one of their highest-grossing anywhere. It, too, is in a new-built urban format. Link to Streetview.

Oops! Take it back. Hadn't seen one of their DC stores......and was very disappointed with their Detroit store. When did DC get its first Whole Foods?

[Kingofthehill]

DC got its first Whole Foods in Dec. 2000, in what was the then still-sketchy/gentrifying Logan Circle neighborhood. It really became a huge development catalyst and economic engine for that part of town, and today the area is high in demand and is chock full of new, mixed-use apartment and condo buildings.

[alki]

Originally Posted by Kingofthehill

DC got its first Whole Foods in Dec. 2000, in what was the then still-sketchy/gentrifying Logan Circle neighborhood. It really became a huge development catalyst and economic engine for that part of town, and today the area is high in demand and is chock full of new, mixed-use apartment and condo buildings.

Thanks. It would be nice to see one in DTLA.

BTW I really liked the design of the midrise within which its located.

[pwright1]

Stopped by Ross this morning for the grand opening.

[LosAngelesSportsFan]

Originally Posted by alki

Oops! Take it back. Hadn't seen one of their DC stores......and was very disappointed with their Detroit store. When did DC get its first Whole Foods?

not to mention that they would be going in as a tenant in an existing (or soon to be ) building, not building their own stand alone

[Easy]

Originally Posted by pwright1

Stopped by Ross this morning for the grand opening.

I happened by this morning, but didn't go in. They were blasting Mexican music right outside the front door and I thought of Hunter as I passed by.

[DistrictDirt]

Originally Posted by pwright1

Stopped by Ross this morning for the grand opening.

That's the first time I've ever seen it written as "Broadway Street". Is that even correct? Broadway is a concatenation of Broad + Way. There is no need for another street type designation.

[Gram3000]

Amazing how much a little "ROSS" sign quickly amplifies the tackiness of the signs around it. The sign automatically draws your eye like a beacon. Hopefully this will show many how low Bway actually fell & like a phoenix how much it will arise with even better quality retail & amenities for all types.

[SoCalKid]

I'm really a fan of the Bringing Back Broadway display. That's a great way to showcase the history of the street, and will hopefully help elevate its status.

[ChrisLA]

Originally Posted by alki

I wouldn't count on it. Whole Foods seems to have problems with an urban location. Even when they do go urban like in midtown Detroit, it looks more like a suburban store:

I realized your comment has been address but just to support what was already said, there is a urban Whole Foods in NYC inside the Time Warner building at Columbus Circle. Also there are two that I know of in San Francisco, specifically the new one on 4th Street. There is one in Chicago as well as Oakland, there are somewhat set up in an urban setting. One last one I remember is in London I recall seeing that is definitely urban in design.

[ChrisLA]

Originally Posted by ThreeHundred

I moved here a week ago with my room mate. Our lease was up at our apartment in Westlake and since he's originally from Chicago (and my job is based in Chicago), we decided to move to Chicago to stay at his home here. It's not permanent as we both plan on coming back by August or September.

I'll say this much about Chicago: It's truly an impressive city. A real megalopolis.

Cool!

Yes Chicago is a great city but it's no L.A. trust me on that.

[Illithid Dude]

Looks like they spent all of ten bucks on the interior of the Ross. Oh well. At least the exterior looks nice.

[blackcat23]

Originally Posted by Illithid Dude

Looks like they spent all of ten bucks on the interior of the Ross. Oh well. At least the exterior looks nice.

It's a lot nicer than the interiors of most Ross locations I've been to.

[alki]

Originally Posted by LosAngelesSportsFan

not to mention that they would be going in as a tenant in an existing (or soon to be ) building, not building their own stand alone

The stand alone bldg was the very thing that turned me off about the Detroit store. Of course, Detroit is grateful to get whatever it can get.

[alki]

Originally Posted by Easy

I happened by this morning, but didn't go in. They were blasting Mexican music right outside the front door and I thought of Hunter as I passed by.

Seriously. The store was blasting Mexican music?

[citywatch]

Originally Posted by blackcat23

Big news this morning.

Next on the horizon is the Renaissance Hotel, which will be more than 20 stories tall with 450 rooms and is slated to open in 2016 across the street from the L.A. Live entertainment complex.

"Interest in new hotel development in Southern California has come roaring back a lot quicker than many of us expected," Reay said, due to the improving economy and increasing profitability of existing hotels.

"Out of every 10 calls we get from people looking for hotel sites, the No. 1 choice for seven or eight of them is downtown," he said. "In my 20-odd years in this business I have never seen this much interest in downtown L.A."

Oh my! that's unexpected good news, certainly since I thought any new hotel that might be added to the area around LA live was going to be towards Fig st.....even though the area north of Olympic, east of Fig, is more visible & in more desperate need of being filled in & fixed up.

I wish someone would buy up the remaining old bldgs towards 9th st, tear them down, & make that entire section either open fields....which would be preferable....or using it for parking lots til something else can be built there.



google.com


Would be nice if the start up date on building the renaissance hotel were closer to this time instead of next yr. But after so many yrs of delays with most projs, or projs being proposed then cancelled in the long run, I'll take whatever is out there.

[citywatch]

Originally Posted by Illithid Dude

Looks like they spent all of ten bucks on the interior of the Ross. Oh well.

But compared with all the junketerias on broadway, the inside of the new Ross looks like a Saks fifth, neiman marcus, bloomingdales or tiffany's. and actually the large graphics that show the history of the bldg are a nice touch, & wouldn't have been done for other ross stores.

Ross opens in Historic Downtown LA


Wendy Lee/KPCC

Ross Dress For Less celebrated its opening in Historic Downtown LA on Saturday, becoming the first major U.S. clothing store to open on Broadway in decades. The 39,000 square foot retail space is in a former Woolworth's department store that opened in 1920, back when Broadway was a bustling retail hub.

Los Angeles City Councilman Jose Huizar said the Ross opening will bring shoppers back to Historic Downtown LA and help revitalize the area. Ross has hired 50 employees at the store. "It's fitting that the historic Woolworth's building, which was so beloved by Angelenos in years gone by, will now provide a new retail destination for modern day Downtown residents, workers and shoppers," Huizar said.

About five years ago, Huizar launched a decade-long initiative called Bringing Back Broadway, aimed at bringing more retailers to the area. So far, the effort has brought in businesses including the Ace Hotel, Figaro Bistro and Alma Restaurant. Huizar said his group has helped reduce the area's vacancy rate from 20 percent in 2008 to about 15 percent now.

Sara Lundquist said she was thrilled that the Ross opened two blocks away from where she lives. She normally shops at the Ross and Target in Santa Ana, where she works as a vice president for student services at Santa Ana College. "I'm crazy about it. I've been so excited for it to open," Lundquist said. "It fits in perfectly with the neighborhood, but it offers something we've really been missing. It's a one-stop value shop here at Ross for everyone who lives downtown."

Family Pants owner Ali Kasfy said he and other retailers on Historic Broadway have doubts about whether a downtown Ross can bring in enough shoppers to succeed. Sales are down more than 40 percent at his store compared to last year, Kasfy said. "Things have changed. Broadway is not what it used to be," Kasfy said.

But on Friday, Kasfy said he was amazed by the hundreds of shoppers that got off buses heading to Historic Downtown LA just to shop at the Ross. Many were from outside the neighborhood and only a few of those shoppers entered his store, Kasfy said.

Kasfy's family got into the clothing business in 1977, after they immigrated from Lebanon. They worked their way up, selling clothes at a swap meet, to five retail stores. Now, Kasfy hands out business cards with all of the addresses crossed out—except for his one remaining shop on Broadway, located right next to the new Ross store.

"It's been slow, but Ross showed up and we're hoping things might pick up," Kasfy said. "But we feel that we're too small. Perhaps the consumer now just likes to shop at Ross, or The Children's Place or Gap. I think these are the people in the future in the clothing business."

^ With any other street or hood I'd feel about stores doing poorly. but when it comes to broadway, dropping sales volume is actually a good thing. The reason is fewer customers mean fewer enablers to all the divey swapmeets....& the divey owners of bldgs on broadway....who've stayed alive in spite of their condition.

[sentinel]

Originally Posted by ChrisLA

Cool!

Yes Chicago is a great city but it's no L.A. trust me on that.

Thankfully both are great, something people forget sometimes

Also, I'm sure that any Whole Foods in or near downtown LA will be very different from the Detroit example pictured; that specific store is probably more an exception than a rule considering that development in that part of the city isn't nearly as dense or have as much momentum as anything doing on in DTLA; just a thought.

[citywatch]

Originally Posted by Gram3000

Amazing how much a little "ROSS" sign quickly amplifies the tackiness of the signs around it.

your comment made me more curious about the store mentioned in the kpcc story. It's right next door....to the south....of the new ross store, & in some ways its front is not quite as bad as most other shops are on broadway. more interesting, the same owner appears to have once had a shop in the space where the new figaro restaurant is now located....



flickr.com


dailymnemonic.com

[Easy]

Originally Posted by alki

Seriously. The store was blasting Mexican music?

Serious. They had a speaker on a tripod out front. You can barely make it out in a couple of pwright1's photos. Not sure if they were mixing up the music selection, but all that I heard when walking by was in Spanish. Not that there's anything wrong with that.