LOS ANGELES | Downtown Project Rundown 4.0

[alki]

That's impressive. I didn't think the initial occupancy rates for the two LA Live hotels warranted a third one but apparently, I was wrong.

BTW I was reading LABlogdowntown last nite. They make a big deal over all the people moving into downtown LA. Is it that big a movement? Its hard to tell from what I am reading........one minute you read about new people moving in and the next that the vacancy rate in individual buildings is high. What's the reality? Can anyone tell me? TIA.

[JDRCRASH]

Originally Posted by alki

That's impressive. I didn't think the initial occupancy rates for the two LA Live hotels warranted a third one but apparently, I was wrong.

BTW I was reading LABlogdowntown last nite. They make a big deal over all the people moving into downtown LA. Is it that big a movement? Its hard to tell from what I am reading........one minute you read about new people moving in and the next that the vacancy rate in individual buildings is high. What's the reality? Can anyone tell me? TIA.

Are you talking about reports on office vacancy? I read one in the times that it's around 18%.

[bobcat]

Originally Posted by alki

That's impressive. I didn't think the initial occupancy rates for the two LA Live hotels warranted a third one but apparently, I was wrong.

Keep in mind that if the Wilshire Grand hotel project moves forward it will remove 900 hotel rooms from the market.

BTW I was reading LABlogdowntown last nite. They make a big deal over all the people moving into downtown LA. Is it that big a movement? Its hard to tell from what I am reading........one minute you read about new people moving in and the next that the vacancy rate in individual buildings is high. What's the reality? Can anyone tell me? TIA.

People are continuing to move downtown in droves, but in general rental units are faring much better than for sale units. Almost all the larger residential projects currently underway are rentals.

[Illithid Dude]

As I think about it more and more, this project is very disappointing for me. I don't think that DTLA needs another icky Courtyard Marriott. We already have one. Also, I don't think I have ever seen a good looking Courtyard Marriott. They are just always ugly. If there is one thing DTLA doesn't need right now, it is ugly buildings. We already have enough. I was really hoping for something nice and architecturally interesting, like a Hilton or a Hard Rock Hotel. This is not what we got. I am very disappointed. Also, this looks like stucco. I HATE stucco.

[milquetoast]

L A LIVE GETS COMPANION HOTEL

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THE 22 STORY HOTEL WOULD BE RUN BY MARRIOT UNDER THE BRANDS

COURTYARD AND RESIDENCE INN - THE 120 MILLION PROJECT IS SLATED TO BEGIN IN A YEAR

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An Oregon developer plans to build a 22-story hotel near the L.A. Live entertainment center to serve a growing number of visitors to downtown Los Angeles.

Marriott International Inc. would operate the proposed 377-room hotel on Olympic Boulevard under two of the company's brands: Residence Inn by Marriott and Courtyard by Marriott. Construction on the nearly $120-million project is set to begin next March and be completed by 2014.

It would be built and owned by a consortium led by Williams/Dame & Associates, the Portland, Ore., developer that built the condominium towers Evo, Luma and Elleven near Staples Center in the South Park district of downtown.

Maryland-based Marriott already operates a JW Marriott and a Ritz-Carlton in a skyscraper across Olympic on the campus of L.A. Live as well as a Marriott Hotel about seven blocks north on Figueroa Street.

It is not unusual to have multiple Marriott products so close together, company executives said.

"We have a portfolio of brands that cater to different demands and price points," said Tony Capuano, executive vice president of development for Marriott. "This gives us the opportunity to serve a variety of guests who come for a variety of reasons."

The hotel plan is not contingent on the construction of Farmers Field, a proposed professional football stadium and convention facility that L.A. Live owner AEG is seeking approval for to build nearby, Capuano said.

"We feel very good about the bet we have made with our brands," he said, in large part because there are already about 300 events a year at Staples Center and L.A. Live venues including the Nokia Theater.

"We think Farmers Field would continue to grow the appeal and profile" of downtown, he said.

Downtown already is experiencing a burst in hotel visits. With the opening of the JW Marriott and Ritz-Carlton last year, the supply of rooms went up 16% and demand grew 24% in 2010, said Bruce Baltin, a hospitality industry consultant at PKF Consulting USA.

"This is obviously very healthy in a down economy," he said. Downtown hotel occupancy has averaged almost 70% this year, compared with 61% in 2009 and nearly 65% last year.

Baltin attributed the uptick in downtown hotel occupancy to an increase in the number of people who come downtown and stay overnight after attending events. Downtown also is capturing business travelers who might have opted for hotels in Pasadena or the Westside in the past.

"Downtown has kind of reached a critical mass as a destination, and the more you add to it the more it will grow, to a reasonable extent," Baltin said. Marriott's no-frills Courtyard and extended-stay Residence Inn, with its larger units and kitchens, would add types of rooms that don't exist downtown, he said.

Williams/Dame & Associates would develop the hotel at the northwest corner of Olympic and Francisco Street with American Life Inc., a Seattle investment firm. Financing would be through the federal EB-5 program, which provides green cards to immigrant investors who put up a minimum investment of $500,000 for development in targeted areas.

The immigrants would be considered limited partners and thus co-owners of the project. If the project produces enough jobs to meet standards for the program, as expected, they would qualify for green cards granting residency. Marriott said the hotels would create about 100 jobs.

Building a high-rise hotel is less difficult than building a condominium tower because the units are more uniform, said Homer Williams, chairman of Williams/Dame. Williams has developed thousands of condos in Oregon and Los Angeles.

L.A. Live's effect on South Park has been more significant than he expected, and he predicts development in the area will continue to grow.

"We are going to ride some shirttails, hopefully," Williams said. His team acquired the hotel site, which is now a parking lot, from AEG.

The planned project is "another crucial milestone in Los Angeles' thriving downtown renaissance," Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa said in a statement. "This project will create countless local construction and permanent jobs and will expand Los Angeles' infrastructure to support large-scale conventions that generate significant revenue for the city."
[email protected]

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ROGER VINCENT

LOSANGELESTIMES

[colemonkee]

Wow. That's one hell of an ugly design. Even worse if it ends up being stucco. Which it probably will.

[RAlossi]

Originally Posted by alki

That's impressive. I didn't think the initial occupancy rates for the two LA Live hotels warranted a third one but apparently, I was wrong.

BTW I was reading LABlogdowntown last nite. They make a big deal over all the people moving into downtown LA. Is it that big a movement? Its hard to tell from what I am reading........one minute you read about new people moving in and the next that the vacancy rate in individual buildings is high. What's the reality? Can anyone tell me? TIA.

The past ten years has seen very high residential growth. I know my residential building is 98% - five move-outs and five move-ins every month. Unfortunately, that means rents are probably high.

As far as other residential buildings in the area, occupancy is high from what I know, except for brand-new or recently converted (office >>> residential) buildings. Go to downtownla.com and click around for some demographic information. 2008's estimated population was 48,000. The 2010 census data suggests 50,000+. Still growing.

[ChelseaFC]

Construction doesn't start for a year, so if enough people hate it, they could easily change the design. However, I'm not so sure it will be stucco. If you look closely, there is a sheen affect to the building facade. You can see the color fluctuating based on where the light is hitting the building, which to me indicates more of a reflective surface.

[LosAngelesSportsFan]

not the greatest design in the world, pretty nasty actually, but at least another parking lot is gone and we get more feet on the ground.

[LosAngelesBeauty]

Originally Posted by ChelseaFC

Construction doesn't start for a year, so if enough people hate it, they could easily change the design. However, I'm not so sure it will be stucco. If you look closely, there is a sheen affect to the building facade. You can see the color fluctuating based on where the light is hitting the building, which to me indicates more of a reflective surface.

You're right. If this rendering is NOT made out of stucco, I am okay with it. The idea behind urbanism isn't to design every single building to be attention hogging whores. It is to create enough density and ground floor activity to jump start a walking culture within the area. At the very least, this building doesn't sit on a butt-ass ugly podium like the Watermarke. That parking structure at the rental building is called UGLY. This Marriott tower isn't ugly. It's just another infill building that will generate much needed urban energy on the ground floor.

All that said, I do agree with ChelseaFC that if there's enough fuss over the design, perhaps we can have some kind of influence on it to make it more architecturally interesting.

From my experience, early renderings just give us an idea. It's usually not written in stone yet. We'll see I guess...

[BrandonJXN]

I think I remember reading that the people who designed the South Group (Elleven/Luma/Evo) will design the hotel. If that's the case, it shouldn't look that bad.

[LosAngelesBeauty]

The Courtyard Marriott in Jersey City near Hoboken and Manhattan looks worse, but it DOESN'T matter when you're within an urban area. MOST, I repeat, most people won't be judging the city by what the Courtyard Marriott looks like. They'll be judging the city based on how CONVENIENT it is to get around, if it's safe, and how energetic a place is.


exploringmonkey.com

[DistrictDirt]

Originally Posted by ThreeHundred

I think I remember reading that the people who designed the South Group (Elleven/Luma/Evo) will design the hotel. If that's the case, it shouldn't look that bad.

Yeah, I agree that the rendering looks terrible, but Elleven, Luma, and Evo are some of the nicest looking buildings downtown. Its obvious they have a Portland pedigree. So I have high hopes that they'll make it look half-decent.

[LosAngelesBeauty]

Originally Posted by DistrictDirt

Yeah, I agree that the rendering looks terrible, but Elleven, Luma, and Evo are some of the nicest looking buildings downtown. Its obvious they have a Portland pedigree. So I have high hopes that they'll make it look half-decent.

IF enough people hate the design, I think it would be wise to get a petition together and send it to Homer Williams (who is, I asumme, one of the decision makers who hired the architect).

[Quixote]

Hideous design. I know it's Courtyard and Residence Inn, but come on. The good news is that Williams & Dame has never developed anything as ugly as what's depicted in the rendering. I doubt they would want to be associated with such a horrid design. We might end up getting something resembling the Courtyard Marriott in Portland...


Flickr | LI Refugee

[LosAngelesSportsFan]

See, thats nice. that would fit in with the neighborhood as well. the render of the current design with the ass hats is very disappointing.

[BrandonJXN]

Originally Posted by Westsidelife

Hideous design. I know it's Courtyard and Residence Inn, but come on. The good news is that Williams & Dame has never developed anything as ugly as what's depicted in the rendering. I doubt they would want to be associated with such a horrid design. We might end up getting something resembling the Courtyard Marriott in Portland...


Flickr | LI Refugee

This I like. It would fit in well with LA Live.

[alki]

Thanks for your comments/input.

I meant rental apts...not condos or offices. The office market in DTLA has been pretty much in the toilet since the 1980s. I would expect with all the new people moving into downtown that will change. With the apts. some buildings sound like they are pretty much leased up....others, not so much. That's why I was confused. I will check out downtownla.com.

As for that Marriott hotel, to me, the design doesn't look ugly so much as bland, dated and uninspired. And that's the way some national firms like their buildings. Maybe LA can force......I mean, encourage them to do an upgrade.

Whatever the case, I agree with Brigham.....not every building can be a masterpiece. Infilling some of downtown's empty holes can be just as important as good design when broadening the appeal of the area. Of course, getting both is even better.

[Illithid Dude]

In other great news, the details of the Jardin plot have leaked out via Curbed LA. It will be *drumrole* A PARKING LOT! Yes, it seems that they lot has been bought my a company that runs parking lots. Yay...

http://la.curbed.com/archives/2011/04/its_a_parking_lot_party_for_downtowns_twin_marriotts.php

[JDRCRASH]

Originally Posted by ThreeHundred

I think I remember reading that the people who designed the South Group (Elleven/Luma/Evo) will design the hotel. If that's the case, it shouldn't look that bad.

Yeah, I was starting to see similarities between South Group and this project. Hopefully that means no stucco.