LOS ANGELES | Downtown Project Rundown 4.0

[Muji]

I noticed today that LADOT has very recently installed bike lanes on 3rd St between San Pedro St. and Santa Fe Ave. It actually makes a surprisingly big difference in the Arts District in terms of making the roadway feel less wide and generally more accomodating for non-drivers.

[dachacon]

Originally Posted by 202_Cyclist

Agreed. The new apartment building my girlfriend and I moved to is great, new, clean, has plentyof amenities but these amenities (gym, conference room, recreation room, movie theater) also keep people inside and take away the need for people to interact with their surrounding neighborhood.

Where did you move? Downtown?

[Illithid Dude]

Originally Posted by 202_Cyclist

Agreed. The new apartment building my girlfriend and I moved to is great, new, clean, has plentyof amenities but these amenities (gym, conference room, recreation room, movie theater) also keep people inside and take away the need for people to interact with their surrounding neighborhood.

Those are amenities that basically every new building has, so you might as well complain that every new building built contributes to suburbanization.

[202_Cyclist]

Dachacon:

Where did you move? Downtown?

I don't live in Southern California.

Illithid Dude:

Those are amenities that basically every new building has, so you might as well complain that every new building built contributes to suburbanization.

I am not saying this is good/bad and I enjoy the amenities in our building. I am commenting on the fact that it reduces interaction with the surrounding community. For example, upon moving to our new apartment, my girlfriend and I both cancelled our Gold's Gym membership. With amenities located within all of these new apartment buildings, however, it can also help reduce vehicle trips. As I said, I don't know if this is good/bad, I am just commenting on it.

[LosAngelesBeauty]

Originally Posted by 202_Cyclist

Agreed. The new apartment building my girlfriend and I moved to is great, new, clean, has plentyof amenities but these amenities (gym, conference room, recreation room, movie theater) also keep people inside and take away the need for people to interact with their surrounding neighborhood.

That is so not true in LA. People here use their amenity rooms very sparingly. Conference rooms and movie screening rooms (in many apartments and condo buildings) are generally pretty empty. Gyms are def used by residents, but it doesn't mean 24 Hr Fitness and Gold's Gym aren't packed to the rim.

Having gyms and rec rooms in your building does not prevent pedestrian activity outside.

[LosAngelesBeauty]

Originally Posted by brudy

I've stared at the designs for a while now, not quite sure what to make of it. The parking structure is a bummer for sure. At first it seems like an inner facing sim-city like building dropped onto Main. But if you look at the isometric view showing Main St, I think it's going to be great along the street.

I do think there's something kind of odd about the interior, with the theater being off the street, something very un-city about it that I can't quite describe. It's not suburban, but not exactly urban either for some reason. I do think it's going to be great for that stretch of main, which is nothing but a total wasteland right now. And it's not 6 stories or stucco. It's just a little odd I guess. I also think the timeline is just so far off. I was already watching movies and drinking beer at the Alamo Drafthouse. Now we'll be on the 3rd of the new Star Wars movies before this thing is done. It's just so far off...

I agree that the parking structure is a HUGE bummer because it's so ugly. The 10,000 square foot retail space as part of the parking structure helps a bit. But aesthetically it's horrible.

I think the saving grace for Medallion 2.0 is that it's also part of Medallion 1.0. The central portion of the projects (where the plaza is) kind of reminds me of the One Colorado plaza in Old Town Pasadena where there is an iPic theater and lots of shops that face the plaza (helping to activate it) including Kate Spade, Juicy Couture, Crate and Barrel, and Sushi Roku.

Medallion 1.0 and 2.0 have retail facing the streets and facing the interior, which I don't really see anything wrong with it as it's exactly like One Colorado in Old Town Pasadena.

Also, keep in mind, the Alamo Drafthouse IS NOT a done deal. They are currently in lease negotiations. Most sources I've talked to don't believe they will actually go through with it. (I certainly hope they do obviously.) If a theater DOES NOT come into the project, they will convert that space into more retail and restaurants.

[LA/OCman]

New tweet from Councilman Huizar:

Jose Huizar ‏@josehuizar 12m
It's official - @WholeFoods market coming to #DTLA!-proud 2 work w WF & #CarmelPartners 2 bring great store 2 cmnty! pic.twitter.com/J5mtZzcBSN

[DTLA87]

Originally Posted by LA/OCman

New tweet from Councilman Huizar:

Jose Huizar ‏@josehuizar 12m
It's official - @WholeFoods market coming to #DTLA!-proud 2 work w WF & #CarmelPartners 2 bring great store 2 cmnty! pic.twitter.com/J5mtZzcBSN

Looks like Curbed just posted an article about it, too. Brigham had this story months ago... Good for DTLA but still several years away.

http://la.curbed.com/archives/2013/07/holy_shit_whole_foods_is_coming_to_downtown.php

[Muji]

Maybe Trader Joe's will finally take a hint this time

[WonderlandPark]

This morning I passed a "coming soon" billboard headed into downtown for the new Wal-Mart in Chinatown.

[Trojan]

Screw TJ's! Who needs them now?!

[Valyrian Steel]

Originally Posted by DTLA87

Looks like Curbed just posted an article about it, too. Brigham had this story months ago... Good for DTLA but still several years away.

http://la.curbed.com/archives/2013/07/holy_shit_whole_foods_is_coming_to_downtown.php

Says it will open in 2015.

[StethJeff]

re: Medallion 2.0

I distinctly remember people making a huge fuss about the skybridge between the proposed towers on S. Broadway. That skybridge similarly connected buildings from the same development and would likely serve the same purpose as those on this new Medallion proposal. What the hell happened? Why is everyone so enamored with this version of the skybridge, because it looks good?

[brudy]

Originally Posted by eclipse

Says it will open in 2015.

Sounds like years to me. But that's the norm these days. I guess I'll be driving to WF in Pasadena for the next 2-2.5 years. It is great that WF is coming here, but man all these timelines make me more depressed than anything. Downtown LA - The City of the Future!

[JRinSoCal]

Time flies my friend. Heck it's almost 2014 as it is.

You're right though. Downtown LA will be great one day. Unfortunately many here will either be dead or too old to enjoy it all. LOL

[Mojeda101]

Originally Posted by JRinSoCal

Time flies my friend. Heck it's almost 2014 as it is.

You're right though. Downtown LA will be great one day. Unfortunately many here will either be dead or too old to enjoy it all. LOL

By 2020 it'll already be something else

[inSaeculaSaeculorum]

I remember lurking this forum ages ago and ppl talking about how great DTLA will be in 2010.

[JRinSoCal]

DTLA was great in 2010, compared to ages ago!

[brudy]

Here's an LA Times piece on the courthouse, set to break ground next week. Call me in three years.

http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-property-report-20130801,0,517468.story

[colemonkee]

As someone who moved downtown in 2005 (and still lives downtown), I can say with confidence that downtown in 2010 was worlds away from downtown in 2005. And downtown in 2013 is markedly better than 2010.