LOS ANGELES | Downtown Project Rundown 4.0

[citywatch]

Originally Posted by bobcat

Did a little more digging and found this Metropolis promo video on Youtube posted back in Dec. Can't believe nobody caught it.

That presentation suggests the metropolis proj is pretty far along or rather committed. The lack of much advance publicity on it til now has made me treat it as an iffy thing & not to be taken seriously. iow, I'm in a "show me the money" frame of mind, or what was mentioned in the article posted at retailtrafficmag.com......

Show-me mentality

Still, retailers do have nagging questions about downtown. “It’s intriguing now, but you’ve got a stigma that needs to be overcome,” Rosenberg says.

Patrick Spillane, senior vice president of IDS Real Estate Group, adds, “There is still a ‘show me’ mentality from national retailers. They need to be convinced downtown offers a real opportunity.”

IDS is confronting skeptical retailers daily. The local firm, working with Fort Lauderdale, Fla.-based Collarmele Partners, is planning a six-acre, mixed-use project near Staples Center and is actively talking to national retail chains, Spillane says.

Dubbed Metropolis, the multi-phase project is tentatively designed to consist of up to 300,000 square feet of retail, 836 residential units and 480 hotel rooms.

IDS has received approvals for the project and is targeting 2012 for ground breaking and an opening in 2014. “The hotel has become critical because of AEG’s plan for the convention center, which would have a huge impact on tourism and hospitality demand,” Spillane says. In particular, IDS is looking to integrate larger box formats into its project, adding that Metropolis could accommodate six to eight big boxes ranging from 15,000 square feet to 50,000 square feet.

with target already underway just a block away, that eliminates from the list one of the biggies of big box stores. not sure if metropolis can find many more.

DT still needs alot more serious minded shoppers to support that type of big time retailing, & generally those are women. You guys may be ideal for best buy or sports chalet, but most of the balance of big box stores depend on lots of foot traffic from dedicated female shoppers.

But what if the devlpr somehow convinces enough stores to sign on?

the more I think about metropolis being a REAL deal, & not just a repeat of projs like parkfifth or la central, or the glass tower proj across from eleven (anyone remember that?), the more exciting it becomes to me.

Ppl like milquetoast or illithid say the proj looks bad or too burban---& they're not totally without cause----but I admit to being far more bothered by this devlpt going nowhere & ending up as pie in the sky.

[citywatch]

Originally Posted by Westsidelife

My Downtown has come a long way.

that's the exact same feeling I had when I was at that restaurant several months ago. I recall all the yrs that spaces in bldgs like the brockman were vacant & the entire street was desolate. Heave ho & farewell to the bad ol past.

Not even actually visiting a new business in the hood but just looking at pics of one reminds me of just how far the hood has come. LA/ocman mentioned about the pics posted the other day of the new rooftop restaurant & lounge at 5th & Hill as showing only daytime shots, & how the place takes on a different vibe at night. our of curiosity I did some a google search & found these at yelp....



WQ, yelp.com


WQ, yelp.com


WQ, yelp.com


WQ, yelp.com


WQ, yelp.com

the first pic above is another reason I sure wish the parkfifth proj could be revived. Ppl at the Perch restaurant look out over the large parking lot on Hill st, south of the Title guarantee bldg. But I guess there is one good thing about that: customers who otherwise might not drop by such a restaurant if they don't think there's alot of nearby, very visible parking spaces see the big lots across the street & say "ok, count me in!"

[bobcat]

Originally Posted by citywatch

with target already underway just a block away, that eliminates from the list one of the biggies of big box stores. not sure if metropolis can find many more.

There's Ikea, Home Depot, Bed Bath and Beyond, Barnes and Noble, and Dick's Sporting Goods among others. I do wonder which grocery stores they're talking to and whether or not Whole Foods is still committed to the LA Central project. They would certainly be a draw, though if it were up to me I'd move heaven and earth to get Trader Joe's signed up as a tenant--even to the point of giving them free rent.

[JDRCRASH]

Is there a Fresh N' Easy downtown?

[Illithid Dude]

Originally Posted by JDRCRASH

Is there a Fresh N' Easy downtown?

Nope. I don't even know if there is one in L.A., though I believe they are going to build one near Crenshaw.

[DistrictDirt]

Originally Posted by bobcat

There's Ikea, Home Depot, Bed Bath and Beyond, Barnes and Noble, and Dick's Sporting Goods among others.

I don't know if LA county could sustain a 3rd Ikea, but MAN would that be great to have one downtown. I'd never shlep to Burbank again.

[DistrictDirt]

I know I poo poo LA Live from time to time for its lack of authenticity, bulky footprint, etc, but I must say that the place was looking good this weekend all tarted up for the X Games.

[citywatch]

Originally Posted by BrighamYen

Also I am not aware of any large vacant retail space across from Bottega Louie? Are you talking about the old Okada space?

Not sure exactly which space illithid was referring to, but when I was in bottega louie several months ago & looking out across the street, I noticed at least one of the bldgs could use a good steam cleaning. there also is one or more smaller spaces that I believe aren't leased or may be iffy in how they're currently being rented out.....


maps.google.com

google streetview's cam was in dt about 4 months ago, when I believe these images were taken. But if larger spaces have all been filled in the area, there still are various smaller stalls that could use some new retail businesses, either restaurants or stores....


maps.google.com

^ There appears to be one vacant space at the coulter mandell bldg next door. I remember when that bldg was quite a mess, with rags----which possibly were curtains from a looong time ago?----hanging out of its windows. TG its owner isn't like the slumlords who control many of the bldgs on broadway.

there still is the question of what's going to be done to the beautiful old Giannini place bldg on the north side of 7th, shown to the right, across from the coulter mandell. I read its owner has been sitting on it, unwilling to renovate & open it up til perhaps they see the economy is super strong, or whatever. Its ground floor space could easily duplicate the space of bottega louie in the brockman bldg....


maps.google.com

I wonder if the owner of giannini is unsure how to go forward, cuz need for office space in older bldgs is not very strong, or the cost of retrofitting for new housing may be seen as not penciling out, even more so right now? I know the previous owners of the roosevelt & brockman bldgs have lost their $$ on the conversion of their 2 bldgs that ended up in receivership.

since I was scrolling though google street view, I decided to take a closer look at 7th street one block to the east. Although these stores aren't the greatest, I will say that unlike all the slots on broadway that house truly fugly swapmeets, I'm glad most of the storefronts in this part of the hood at least are occupied & not vacant....


maps.google.com

^ Ideally when the hood has really come into its own, stores like those will either move to the next level----& try to look clean & shiny----or be replaced by better retailers.

[citywatch]

Originally Posted by bobcat

There's Ikea, Home Depot, Bed Bath and Beyond, Barnes and Noble, and Dick's Sporting Goods among others.

I think EVERYONE is anxious to see trader joe's come to the hood. why they're holding out is anyone's guess. I guess the success of ralph's still hasn't convinced them dt is ripe for TJ's, or maybe they're worried about problems unique to dt?

Not sure how viable those other type of stores are for metropolis, given the very urban location of the proj. Home depot would seem to require large surface parking lots for customers to schlepp big, heavy items out to their trucks & suvs, & even stores like Ikea & Dick's seem like they need to be located in the middle of a lot of ideal potential customers. The problem is that much of dt is surrounded by lower income hoods, so that probably makes lots of businesses that may be approached by the devlpr of metropolis devlpr hesitant to commit.

In the case of Barnes & Noble, cuz the entire nation's economy right now is very perilous for things like bookstores, all bets are off. In the past, not only would I have rallied around a borders or B&N coming to a dtla devlpt, but I'd thought it would have been a good fit & likely to do well, if only cuz the USC crowd is a few miles away.

Originally Posted by DistrictDirt

I know I poo poo LA Live from time to time for its lack of authenticity, bulky footprint, etc, but I must say that the place was looking good this weekend all tarted up for the X Games.

my kids had the games on TV for awhile today & I glanced at what was being shown. the setup looked quite elaborate, esp the outdoor track used by the auto racers. But I was a bit bothered that there didn't appear to be much of a turnout. I didn't see many spectators, other than a line of ppl standing on the roof of the Palms restaurant. Did many ppl in LA treat today like it was another carmageddon?

[Kingofthehill]

Originally Posted by Illithid Dude

Nope. I don't even know if there is one in L.A., though I believe they are going to build one near Crenshaw.

there is one on, iirc, central and adams. many dtla people drive there to shop.

[JDRCRASH]

Originally Posted by Kingofthehill

there is one on, iirc, central and adams.

Yeah, it's in some relatively new building.

many dtla people drive there to shop.

yeah but that's just it, of course. they shouldn't have to drive.

[Kingofthehill]

oh, of course not. that store is 2.5 miles from the ralph's in south park, lol. there is, however, one in hollywood..right by a subway station. maybe they aren't out in the sgv yet, but there are a few out here in the basin. and i mentioned them driving because there is a strange paradox with some of dtla's residents: people want a walkable, urban environment, but not at the expense of their cars. i'd say it's changing for the better, though - something of which makes me happy. btw, i believe that fresh and easy building is a new "workforce housing" building.

photo here.

lastly, perch (as well as all of the other new additions) looks great! i smile as a native angelino, seeing dtla grow and grow, even in the midst of the recession. it seems as if all of my friends out of town know about dtla, and when visiting, it is the first place they want to see. word is really getting out!

[LAofAnaheim]

Originally Posted by Illithid Dude

Nope. I don't even know if there is one in L.A., though I believe they are going to build one near Crenshaw.

Central and Adams is the closest to downtown LA. I shop there every 2 weeks...lot of of USC folks do as well.

Hollywood = LA, which has a very visible Fresh 'n Easy at Orange/Hollywood.

Check out the company's website, there are plenty in Los Angeles.

[LAofAnaheim]

Originally Posted by citywatch

Not sure how viable those other type of stores are for metropolis, given the very urban location of the proj. Home depot would seem to require large surface parking lots for customers to schlepp big, heavy items out to their trucks & suvs, & even stores like Ikea & Dick's seem like they need to be located in the middle of a lot of ideal potential customers. The problem is that much of dt is surrounded by lower income hoods, so that probably makes lots of businesses that may be approached by the devlpr of metropolis devlpr hesitant to commit.

Home Depot is in City West....no need to bring another Home Depot just 2 miles on the other side of the I-110. It is already huge and has plenty of parking to boot.

Only big box retailers needed is Target (which is already slated for Fig@7th) and Bed Bath & Beyond. We have plenty of great independent furniture stores around downtown (Suburban, i2 and Loft Appeal) and then the fantastic Santa Monica/Western boulevard corridor of independent furniture stores at reasonable prices. Target and Bed Bath are what are sorely needed.

And, yes, book stores are a thing of the past....sorry to say. I don't even know why we need libraries open 7 days a week still.....I'm sorry, but the Starbucks culture changed the need for libraries as people can just bring their book, laptop or iPad, have a cup of coffee, and read/study at their leisure there. I stopped using libraries when I studied for the CPA as the Coffee Bean and Starbucks experience was way more fun and felt studious.

[Illithid Dude]

Originally Posted by LAofAnaheim

Home Depot is in City West....no need to bring another Home Depot just 2 miles on the other side of the I-110. It is already huge and has plenty of parking to boot.

I believe there is a Home Depot in Little Tokyo, though I could be wrong about that.

[bobcat]

This article is from the Seattle Times, but it should still be relevant to DTLA.
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/businesstechnology/2015518763_bigbox10.html

It discusses the businesses who have been recently moving into vacated big box spaces and specifically mentions Whole Foods, Trader Joe's, Ross Dress for Less, Nordstrom Rack, Marshalls, Big Lots, Dick's Sporting Goods and Sports Authority, as well as health clubs.

Most likely this is what Metropolis' future tenant roster will look like.

ETA: Other articles I've found mention Kohl's, Sprout's Farmers Markets, Petsmart, and hhgregg as expanding into big box spaces.

From what I hear of Sprout's it could be a good alternative to Whole Foods/Trader Joe's.

[LAofAnaheim]

Originally Posted by Illithid Dude

I believe there is a Home Depot in Little Tokyo, though I could be wrong about that.

No, there is a Staples Office Center only in Little Tokyo. No other big box retailer in Little Tokyo.

[LosAngelesBeauty]

You guys are both wrong!! LOL

It's not a Home Depot or Staples! It's an Office Depot!!

[LosAngelesBeauty]

Originally Posted by citywatch

I think EVERYONE is anxious to see trader joe's come to the hood. why they're holding out is anyone's guess. I guess the success of ralph's still hasn't convinced them dt is ripe for TJ's, or maybe they're worried about problems unique to dt?

No, there is no appropriate space for them that fits what they need. TJs generally needs anywhere between 10,000 to 15,000 square feet and in the case of LA, easy loading.

I have a FEELING that Trader Joes may go into the 845 S Figueroa renovation because it, so far, matches everything they want including:

1) onsite parking

2) a commercial space that will be tailored to a grocery market in this size range (the other option could be a Fresh and Easy)

3) access to white collar workforce within the Financial District

4) also located between LA Live and the new FIGat7th and now Metropolis

5) farthest away from Skid Row


If we are going to get a TJ anytime soon, that's my guess where it's going.

[LosAngelesBeauty]

Originally Posted by DistrictDirt

You don't need to do any fancy real-estate development research to determine if DTLA has an unsustainable amount of restaurants; just walk into the restaurants on 7th and see how crowded they are. DTLA could handle many more.

Couldn't have said it better myself.

There you go again DD, being the voice of reason here.