LOS ANGELES | Downtown Project Rundown 4.0

[citywatch]

Originally Posted by WonderlandPark

The Palmer apartment by DWP have equipment on site (no pics, saw pile driver this morning)

I went to the Music Ctr last wk & notice the part of that proj along Temple St is being graded....or is an active construction site....but the section that fronts along Fremont still is sitting vacant. The proj, which is call the davinci, apparently will be a 2 phase devlpt.

What surprises me is how what I thought was going to be a 2 phase apt proj, the ava (& thanks for the pics colemonkee & blackcat), across from the Double tree hotel, appears to have both phases going full steam ahead. That's a refreshing change of pace.

In a bit of less positive news, I understand 60 of the condos in the Ritz carlton tower sold over the past few months have been bought by just 3 ppl. So whatever level of sales has been reached is not necessarily due to demand from actual residents but the wheeling & dealing of speculators. I know there remain some unsold condos at the Evo tower, & that proj was completed even longer ago than the Ritz.

It's also taking what seems like a surprisingly long time for the remaining 12 or so apts at the brockman to finally be leased. Not sure what is behind that, but if the Ritz, Evo & brockman are clues that devlprs can't expect to keep asking more & more without causing prospective buyers or renters to bail out, then devlprs better be careful. iow, it will be a sign of builders & property owners getting overly in love with $$ if ppl like brudy end up priced out of the hood.

[ConstructDTLA]

Originally Posted by brudy

That is hilarious.

Sadly, I was just reading this article on Equity Residential that talks about projected rising rents and wondering how long I'll be able to continue to live downtown. http://www.ladowntownnews.com/news/meet-...69d71e6-8dbf-11e2-9d71-0019bb2963f4.html

I hope we don't lose you. You've always been one of the more realistic downtown dwellers, & a great addition to this forum.

Originally Posted by citywatch

In a bit of less positive news, I understand 60 of the condos in the Ritz carlton tower sold over the past few months have been bought by just 3 ppl. So whatever level of sales has been reached is not necessarily due to demand from actual residents but the wheeling & dealing of speculators. I know there remain some unsold condos at the Evo tower, & that proj was completed even longer ago than the Ritz.

All the units you speak of are ridiculously priced.. It could be that downtown has already filled the (current) demand for the millionaires 2nd, 3rd, and 4th homes.

[Illithid Dude]

Well hey, if speculative buying works for Vancouver and Miami, then it can work for DTLA.

[Easy]

Originally Posted by blackcat23

One of the most interesting aspects of the project is the potential tie-in to a future Red/Purple line station in the adjacent maintenance yard (shown in both of the renderings below). Of course, the population density in the Arts District isn't quite to the point where it could sustain a station yet, but perhaps by the time the Westside Subway extension is nearing completion.

The thing is that when the purple line frequency is increased, Metro will no longer be able to turn trains within Union Station. They will run trains out of the tunnel and into the yard essentially mimicking having an Arts district station already. $90 million for a station there seems ridiculously high, but still a good investment. It would definitely lead to new development in the area. More density and probably hotel(s) assuming HSR ever gets built.

[blackcat23]

Originally Posted by Easy

The thing is that when the purple line frequency is increased, Metro will no longer be able to turn trains within Union Station. They will run trains out of the tunnel and into the yard essentially mimicking having an Arts district station already. $90 million for a station there seems ridiculously high, but still a good investment. It would definitely lead to new development in the area. More density and probably hotel(s) assuming HSR ever gets built.

http://www.metro.net/board/Items/2010/06_june/20100616P&PItem9.pdf

The $90 million figure is the cost estimate for a station at 6th street, rather than the proposed One Santa Fe adjacent location (in-between 1st and 4th).

The turn-back facility is already going to be built/paid for as part of the Purple Line extension. The only thing you'd really need to do to make that facility into a full fledged station is add public access and station amenities. Probably $30-40 million for a pedestrian bridge, elevators/escalators, TAP vending machines, PA system, etc. That's a bargain when you consider the sky-high costs for heavy rail projects in the US.

[202_Cyclist]

Originally Posted by blackcat23

http://www.metro.net/board/Items/2010/06_june/20100616P&PItem9.pdf

The $90 million figure is the cost estimate for a station at 6th street, rather than the proposed One Santa Fe adjacent location (in-between 1st and 4th).

The turn-back facility is already going to be built/paid for as part of the Purple Line extension. The only thing you'd really need to do to make that facility into a full fledged station is add public access and station amenities. Probably $30-40 million for a pedestrian bridge, elevators/escalators, TAP vending machines, PA system, etc. That's a bargain when you consider the sky-high costs for heavy rail projects in the US.

$90M would actually be pretty inexpensive for a heavy-rail station. The New York Avenue infill station in DC, completed in 2004, cost $109M. (http://www.wmata.com/about_metro/news/PressReleaseDetail.cfm?ReleaseID=4147). A One Santa Fe station wouldn't likely be completed for another 3-4 years, so in the approximately 15 years since DC completed our infill station, I would expect construction costs could double for a similar station in LA.

Additionally, for the proposed Potomac Yards infill station on the Blue/Yellow line in Alexandria, VA, estimates range anywhere from $200M - $500M for a new infill station.

Hopefully LAMTA will be intelligent about this and use a value-capture financing system to get developers to pay for part of the cost of a new station.

[Muji]

I for one, can't wait for a station near One Santa Fe. The upper Arts District around Traction Avenue has become one of the coziest spots downtown, and it looks better every day. On the other hand, most of the area suffers from pretty poor transit access (the existing Gold Line stop is a bit too far from the area around Mateo St.). One Santa Fe and a new Red Line stop should be just the catalyst we need.

[StethJeff]

Also, I live on Bunker Hill and have been able to watch The Broad progress almost every day since it started. Nothing changes day-to-day, and progress is only obvious if you look at pictures month-to-month. I realize its apples to oranges, but the Marriotts on the other hand seem to have grown by a few floors in the time that I was gone. How much longer til they top out?

[Valyrian Steel]

http://www.facebook.com/WilshireGrandCenter

[Mojeda101]

It's just a matter of time before we see the steel rise up.

[ConstructDTLA]

Originally Posted by Pink Floyd

http://www.facebook.com/WilshireGrandCenter

Nice!!

Their facebook page is great. Every construction should follow their footsteps and make pages.

[blackcat23]

They've made even more progress since that picture. This is from a few hours ago.



It was a little surprising walking out of the subway station and being able to see clear through. I'd gotten used to the green tarp being there.

[Valyrian Steel]

^ Cool. I guess the WG Facebook is still a little slow in uploading their progress pics.

[blackcat23]

New proposal, via the Department of City Planning's website:

720-736 E Washington Blvd.; Southeast Los Angeles. Council District 9. The demolition of three existing one-story warehouse buildings, the construction, use and maintenance of a proposed new 4-story building, and the renovation and remodel of an existing 4-story, light industrial and office building, to create a 4-story mixed use project to include 56 dwelling units, 1,500 square feet of ground-floor commercial space, and 63 on-site parking spaces, with a total floor area of approximately 69,036 square feet. The project will include 17 dwelling units restricted to low income residents, 38 units restricted to moderate income, and one market-rate manager’s unit. The 63 on-site parking spaces will be in an at-grade parking garage on the ground level of the new building, with ingress and egress via a proposed driveway from Washington Boulevard.

Adjacent to the Blue Line's San Pedro station.

[StethJeff]

Just walked past Grand rental tower. Not sure if the rebar was there 2.5 weeks ago before I left but it'll be close to being visible from MOCA in no time. Ton of construction guys down there.

[Easy]

Originally Posted by blackcat23

New proposal, via the Department of City Planning's website:



Adjacent to the Blue Line's San Pedro station.

Great to hear! I expected to hear more projects being announced around Grand, 23rd, and Jefferson stations but this is a nice surprise.

[blackcat23]

Originally Posted by Easy

Great to hear! I expected to hear more projects being announced around Grand, 23rd, and Jefferson stations but this is a nice surprise.

Developer is Meta Housing Corporation (group that is responsible for the Belmont Station apartments and the Chinatown Senior Housing project). They specialize in low income/senior housing.

Based on their previous work, I'm not expecting an architectural masterpiece. More likely to be a run of the mill stucco building.



http://www.lindensquareapt.com/content-d...es/03.Belmont_Station_Los_Angeles_CA.jpg



http://www.southernsun.net/cms/images/up...rom%20Rear%20on%20Hillside%20-%20Web.jpg

Either way, this is the first time I've heard of any development next to a Blue Line station. Washington Blvd between Flower and Long Beach has potential. Lots of underutilized commercial/warehouse space with three train stations in close proximity. Maybe it could be turned into a TOD corridor.

[bmfarley]

Revitalization of the Washington corridor can begin with a simple project... trim-up the palm trees. They look like crap. Someone call a council member to get on that ASAP.

[JDRCRASH]

Finally, gentrification has broken through downtown's Great Wall...

Pretty soon revitalization will encircle all of the area.

[colemonkee]

Several posts have been deleted and forumers suspended. Please keep things on topic and avoid personal attacks. There have been more than a fair share of warnings.