LOS ANGELES | Downtown Project Rundown 4.0

[Illithid Dude]

Originally Posted by Munchitup

Nice! Thanks for the update.

Please please please please don't quote a whole block of pictures just to say one sentence. Could you edit your post so that I don't have to scroll through a dozen pictures to read the next news bulletin or construction update? Thanks.

EDIT: I guess it doesn't matter now that we are in a new page, but for future reference, try not to quote a whole block of pictures. We've just seen them, after all.

[Easy]

Thanks for the update Mojeda! 8th/Grand sure is slow compared to 9th/Hill isn't it?

Great news about LA Central although I never expected it to be downsized. If anything a new buyer might try to increase the number of units/size.

[RuFFy]

The May Company Building is in the LA Times. I think someone had mentioned a Nordstrom Rack in it. I might be wrong.

http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-property-report-20130704,0,517470.story

[colemonkee]

^ That's kind of a bummer on the Whole Foods store, though I'm tickled pink that it's coming. While 38,000 ft. might be the "typical" Whole Foods store size, it's not indicative of some of the larger stores they built recently (and the ones I frequent most often, as they have the largest selection and fewest cart collisions). The one in Pasadena is 77,000 square feet, and the one in El Segundo could shelter a small town.

[alki]

Originally Posted by RuFFy

The May Company Building is in the LA Times. I think someone had mentioned a Nordstrom Rack in it. I might be wrong.

http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-property-report-20130704,0,517470.story

I didn't know the parking garage on Hill was part of the May complex. I like it better architecturely than even the main store. Its amazing these bldgs are all coming back to life.

[BOYCOTT 90210]

Originally Posted by LosAngelesSportsFan

just read in the LA business journal that the Whole Foods to 8th and Grand is all but wrapped up. total retail space at project is 36,000 square feet while a typical whole foods is 38,000

Mind you, Whole Foods just opened an 8,000 SF store in Boston.

http://www.bizjournals.com/boston/real_estate/2013/03/whole-foods-to-open-in-brookline-soon.html

[blackcat23]

http://downtownexaminer.com/news/rumor-has-it-we-could-be-wrong-but-we-doubt-it/

Rumor has it the former Park + Fifth site is under contract!
The original plans for the lot consisted of a $1-billion high-rise condominium complex overlooking Pershing Square Park were unveiled in 2007 amid fanfare, with developers calling it the tallest residential building west of Chicago. The current owners Africa-Israel Investments and the Brentwood-based investment company Namco Capital Group have been quietly marketing the site.

[Wilcal]

Well done, Mojeda. Question: what in your estimation is the acreage of all of the remaining underutilized parking lots in Southpark? This is an important point because they represent the "low hanging fruit" of remaining buildable land for developers in the next five or so years. Once exhausted, the developer will have to acquire the currently built-on land which now, for the most part, consists of single story commercial/industrial buildings. Basically, much of what South park consisted of from the 1920s to present. This land will be much more difficult to assemble and pay for, and to justify it this investment Southpark will have to have the economic momentum which I think it will. Because the LA CRA no longer exists this transition will be the product of market forces.
Also, what do your sleuthing skills tell you about the Vancouver Onni development company and their other properties? Obviously, their next action will be based on the success of their current tower. Despite the rough reviews of their architectural designs, I still like the company because they seem like visionaries. They seem to feel that there is potential in LA's Southpark, and their business model is one of building towers, not six to seven storied stucco boxes. I would love to see Southpark evolve into something like what happened to downtown San Diego in the 2000's Something that inspires awe and pride. Not just a sea of " stumpy stucco boxes."

[Mojeda101]

Park Tower
Park-5th
Fig Central

Damn, all we need is Metropolis and we are in business baby!!

Originally Posted by Wilcal

Well done, Mojeda. Question: what in your estimation is the acreage of all of the remaining underutilized parking lots in Southpark? This is an important point because they represent the "low hanging fruit" of remaining buildable land for developers in the next five or so years. Once exhausted, the developer will have to acquire the currently built-on land which now, for the most part, consists of single story commercial/industrial buildings. Basically, much of what South park consisted of from the 1920s to present. This land will be much more difficult to assemble and pay for, and to justify it this investment Southpark will have to have the economic momentum which I think it will. Because the LA CRA no longer exists this transition will be the product of market forces.
Also, what do your sleuthing skills tell you about the Vancouver Onni development company and their other properties? Obviously, their next action will be based on the success of their current tower. Despite the rough reviews of their architectural designs, I still like the company because they seem like visionaries. They seem to feel that there is potential in LA's Southpark, and their business model is one of building towers, not six to seven storied stucco boxes. I would love to see Southpark evolve into something like what happened to downtown San Diego in the 2000's Something that inspires awe and pride. Not just a sea of " stumpy stucco boxes."

I've actually gone over something like this before. I personally feel once the immediate Downtown area is filled with these small 7 story abominations, the remaining land will be all the taller structures will have left. We will have no where to go but up. Now this is only if space is running out, which we have plenty of at the current time. Downtown is everything within the freeways. It's like a buffer, and the massive majority of the land within is being wasted. Soon enough the Skyline will expand. You'll see. Onni is my new favorite company. They're giving us 4 towers and one of them at a decent height. They're architecture isn't' the best, but it's infill for our city, and I'll take that over a 7 story abomination. With all these projects suddenly coming back to life, our city could virtually become an unrecognizable city by 2020. I wish Ave. of Angels goes forward even without the stadium.

[Munchitup]

Originally Posted by Illithid Dude

Please please please please don't quote a whole block of pictures just to say one sentence. Could you edit your post so that I don't have to scroll through a dozen pictures to read the next news bulletin or construction update? Thanks.

EDIT: I guess it doesn't matter now that we are in a new page, but for future reference, try not to quote a whole block of pictures. We've just seen them, after all.

Yeah my bad ... No more posting after a few too many drinks.

[LosAngelesSportsFan]

Originally Posted by blackcat23

http://downtownexaminer.com/news/rumor-has-it-we-could-be-wrong-but-we-doubt-it/

I've known about this for a while but I wasn't 100% sure. Glad to hear it's moving forward

[brudy]

Originally Posted by MarshallKnight

I'm sure it sounds like I'm ragging on Downtown. I'm not. But my roommate and I had to have a lot of frank conversations and spent a bunch of time just wandering and exploring to get a sense of it. I really wanted to make it work, but these were the conclusions that we came to.

While I could quibble with some of the stuff you mentioned, I have to say I love the fairfax area and there was a point where we almost moved there. It's a great neighborhood. Walkable, loads of resources, etc. If the subway went there, we might have ended up there. I love Pan Pacific Park as well as the park around the LACMA.

But it's true, almost all of our friends are on the east side, and most are in downtown. But it's really not that hard to get around unless you're going to the black hole of westwood/BH/Century city, which can kind of suck from here.

[brudy]

Originally Posted by BOYCOTT 90210

Mind you, Whole Foods just opened an 8,000 SF store in Boston.

http://www.bizjournals.com/boston/real_estate/2013/03/whole-foods-to-open-in-brookline-soon.html

There's also a tiny WF in Cambridge that was previously a Bread & Circus. It's a tiny claustrophobic store, but was always glad it was there when I lived nearby.

8000sq ft doesn't surprise me. Most of the properties in Brookline, the best parts of Boston, Cambridge - in general seem small. You'd need to go out a bit to find land to build something like the Pasadena WF (which I love, btw).

[brudy]

Originally Posted by Muji

The weirdest part is that the developers are doing this cause the low-end wholesale tenants they were targeting never materialized.

That's a plus. Because what the area really needed were more low end retailers.

[Quixote]

Trader Joe's, your turn.

[Illithid Dude]

Originally Posted by Munchitup

Yeah my bad ... No more posting after a few too many drinks.

Hahahahah, fair enough.

[Easy]

Originally Posted by Quixote

Trader Joe's, your turn.

Hard to imagine that they wouldn't follow. I don't understand how they open in very average and borderline neighborhoods on the east coast and are so picky in California.

Congrats on the new username.

[brudy]

Originally Posted by Easy

Hard to imagine that they wouldn't follow. I don't understand how they open in very average and borderline neighborhoods on the east coast and are so picky in California.

Congrats on the new username.

Wasn't their CEO quoted as not liking downtown LA? I think probably One Santa Fe is probably a good option for them.

[Easy]

Originally Posted by brudy

Wasn't their CEO quoted as not liking downtown LA? I think probably One Santa Fe is probably a good option for them.

Maybe, but I don't remember any specific quotes.

I can't see them opening in One Santa Fe on the far side of downtown and so close to Boyle Heights because I think that a neighborhoods racial breakdown is part of their secret formula. Plus it's really a low traffic area compared to where they usually open.

I think that they will almost certainly open in trendy/hot South Park and my guess is a super high profile location like LA Central. That will not only be close to many of the new residents, but it is a super high traffic area already with lots of show and convention foot traffic.

[Wilcal]

Originally Posted by Mojeda101

Park Tower
Park-5th
Fig Central

Damn, all we need is Metropolis and we are in business baby!!



I've actually gone over something like this before. I personally feel once the immediate Downtown area is filled with these small 7 story abominations, the remaining land will be all the taller structures will have left. We will have no where to go but up. Now this is only if space is running out, which we have plenty of at the current time. Downtown is everything within the freeways. It's like a buffer, and the massive majority of the land within is being wasted. Soon enough the Skyline will expand. You'll see. Onni is my new favorite company. They're giving us 4 towers and one of them at a decent height. They're architecture isn't' the best, but it's infill for our city, and I'll take that over a 7 story abomination. With all these projects suddenly coming back to life, our city could virtually become an unrecognizable city by 2020. I wish Ave. of Angels goes forward even without the stadium.

I'm wondering if the city has even produced a design concept for Ave. of the Angels. I'm thinking that we will have an announcement about a buyer for the formerly Metropolis project at least by the end of the year, if not sooner. The sudden interest by developers, both large and small (Macy's Plaza, Brookfield Properties, New Grand, LA Central, south Broadway, etc.) tends to ignite an emotional/economic rush of interest. The Ave, as it were, is a very important design challenge because it is a conduit for connecting the activity of the new Grand Hotel and LA Live. If done well, it would be a signature for Urban Planning and the revitalization of downtown Los Angeles. To be quite honest, if all the mentioned projects come to fruition and are successful, the revitalization of downtown Los Angeles (all say, within a span of about 10 to 15 years) will be the subject of urban planning theory worldwide.
As far as your reference to the seven story "abominations" or what I like to call "stumpy stucco boxes," I think that they are an incredible waste of a precious limited resource--land. Of course the city is partly to blame by not increasing density (zoning, FAR, etc.) where appropriate. This may soon change with Garcetti at the helm.