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  #201  
Old Posted Sep 6, 2005, 7:56 PM
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The part of that article that stood out for me is this:

The first element of LA Live slated for completion is the 7,100-seat Nokia Theater. Construction of the headquarters hotel would start no later than October 2006, with completion in four years, according to CRA documents.

FOUR YEARS??? I hope they mean four years from the September 15 groundbreaking and not four years after the hotel begins construction. I don't see how a hotel can take four years to build.
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  #202  
Old Posted Sep 6, 2005, 8:42 PM
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^I was thinking maybe four years from now. I hope so anyways.
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  #203  
Old Posted Sep 6, 2005, 9:11 PM
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the part that stands out for me is the "according to CRA documents." part... these CRA documents might not be reflective of the contruction timeline that will actually be in place once things get moving. Sept 15 should iron all of this out for us.
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  #204  
Old Posted Sep 6, 2005, 9:27 PM
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Then IMAGINE the LIGHT generated from the electric billboards all over the new entertainment district! And unlike Times Square, which is SURROUNDED by high-rises, we'll see the benefits of a more "transparent" LA Live because people from all over will be able to SEE "inside" looking from the outside (whether that be a driver in his car on the 10 or 110, or someone riding an escalator from the parking structure into the Beverly Center all the way in Beverly Hills!).

Metropolis will be designing their high-rises with "advertisements" in mind as well. Specifically, the drivers off the 110 freeway, if you know what I mean.

So far, it seems like LA Live, Staples Center, Metropolis, LNR, and MAYBE the South Group will have flashy signages that will act as magnets at night. There's nothing more attractive at night than Time Square, Las Vegas, Ginza, Hong Kong, or even our own Sunset Blvd to a certain degree.

I can't wait!
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  #205  
Old Posted Sep 6, 2005, 10:08 PM
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Imagine driving past Staples on the 10 freeway. Staples lit up with it's searchlights and blue..

I think light has a large part on how to draw people in.

Btw..check the LA diagram. It's been updated..in a way.
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  #206  
Old Posted Sep 7, 2005, 3:45 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by bobcat
FOUR YEARS??? I hope they mean four years from the September 15 groundbreaking and not four years after the hotel begins construction. I don't see how a hotel can take four years to build.


The current estimate is that the hotel won't be under actual construction until late 2006, which to me is bad enough. I was hoping the hotel, which is kind of the linchpin of the LA Live devlpt, would rise concurrently with anything & everything included in the first phase.

These timelines that test ppl's patience remind me of the construction schedule for the W Hotel proj at Hollywood & Vine, where pre devlpt publicity & material had led me to believe that proj would see start up a lot sooner that what apparently is the case. And, of course, there's been the Ralph's/condo proj on 9th St.

It's funny how I originally envisioned the phasing of everything, because I thought the Nokia Theater was the least likely to go forward ASAP, mainly because it overlaps what can take place in Staples or various theaters throughout LA, such as Kodak. But then I just read yesterday that hotels in DT had the lowest occupancy rates in town last month, so that forces me to realize that almost every part of LA Live isn't exactly like a crammed bank vault waiting to be opened.
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  #207  
Old Posted Sep 7, 2005, 5:49 PM
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I wouldn't be too worried about the timeline. Getting this project under construction is the first big hurdle, and completing it in the next year is not necessary to continue the growth of South Park. The first phase of LA Live should be completed 4-5 months after completion of Luma and the Ralph's project, both of which should provide enough retail for locals for the time being (including the sorely needed supermarket).

The only thing that suffers in the short term is the Convention Center, which can't use the hotel to book more events. But they should be able to book events further in the future when construction of the hotel actually starts.

On a side note, I would expect construction on this whole project to be somewhat slow. From what I understand, there is a large underground parking component, which can take a long time. But on the bright side of things, we have groundbreaking in 8 days!!
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  #208  
Old Posted Sep 7, 2005, 8:14 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by citywatch
It's funny how I originally envisioned the phasing of everything, because I thought the Nokia Theater was the least likely to go forward ASAP, mainly because it overlaps what can take place in Staples or various theaters throughout LA, such as Kodak. But then I just read yesterday that hotels in DT had the lowest occupancy rates in town last month, so that forces me to realize that almost every part of LA Live isn't exactly like a crammed bank vault waiting to be opened.
Hotel occupancies really don't have anything to do with the viability of the Nokia Theatre, because it's overwhelmingly locals who would patronize events there. Because of their size, the only local venue that directly competes with the Nokia Theatre is the Shrine Auditorium. Kodak Theatre is much smaller and Staples is much bigger.
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  #209  
Old Posted Sep 7, 2005, 11:10 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by bobcat
Hotel occupancies really don't have anything to do with the viability of the Nokia Theatre, because it's overwhelmingly locals who would patronize events there.

I was referring to the many parts of LA Live that aren't filling a tremendous need for more capacity, be it more hotel rms, more stores, more movie theaters, more convention or theater space. Right now everything is resting on the ability of the hood to absorb new housing.

If a new blgd like Nokia lures, for example, the MTV Music Awards away from Miami, where it took place this yr, that will be a good thing. It will be even better if LA Live somehow manages to lure some of the locals that otherwise will attend big events in Vegas or even NYC's Broadway during summer vacation or on Spring break. But short of that, & considering that the owners of the old movie palaces on LA's Broadway have long struggled to keep them occupied (with movies or entertainment & NOT as swap meets), the hoods of DT, so far, reflect more capacity than demand.

If the timeline had been pushed backward & faster a long time ago, in which LA Live would have been built 10 yrs ago, & new condos in south Pk would've been added 15 yrs ago, & the OBD would've been cleaned up over 20 yrs ago, & the Ralph's/condo proj wouldn've been completed 25 yrs ago, & so on & so forth, it's possible there'd be more demand than capacity in the hood today.
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  #210  
Old Posted Sep 7, 2005, 11:36 PM
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I dont think LA has a problem getting something like the VMAs. Its been in LA before, Miami is just kinda a two-year thing they did.
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  #211  
Old Posted Sep 8, 2005, 4:48 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by citywatch
If the timeline had been pushed backward & faster a long time ago, in which LA Live would have been built 10 yrs ago, & new condos in south Pk would've been added 15 yrs ago, & the OBD would've been cleaned up over 20 yrs ago, & the Ralph's/condo proj wouldn've been completed 25 yrs ago, & so on & so forth, it's possible there'd be more demand than capacity in the hood today.
In terms of housing right now, yes, there is more capacity than demand, but keep in mind there is more demand than supply for new condos right now, especially in South Park. That's the figure you should be looking at, not capacity. Theoretically, capacity is unlimited, since it can be expanded by redevelopment and rezoning.
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  #212  
Old Posted Sep 8, 2005, 5:17 PM
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Council Is Urged to OK Hotel Deal
Two city officials back plan to provide public subsidies and loans to developers of the high-rise. Critics call the proposal misleading.
By Patrick McGreevy
Times Staff Writer

September 8, 2005

The Los Angeles City Council's top two advisors have recommended that it approve $266 million in public subsidies and loans for the developers of a 55-story hotel next to the city's Convention Center, a much higher amount than previously disclosed. The proposal from City Administrative Officer Bill Fujioka and Chief Legislative Analyst Gerry Miller sets the stage for the council to adopt a financial package that includes allowing the hotel to keep $246 million in hotel bed taxes that it is expected to generate in its first 25 years.

The two city officials, however, characterized the bed-tax rebate as a $62-million subsidy because that is the amount the developers can raise immediately for construction by borrowing against the 25-year flow of tax receipts. Although that is the "present value" of the subsidy, the city would actually forgo $246 million.

Jon Coupal, president of the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Assn., criticized the city for trying to present the deal in a way that might be more palatable to the public.

"It's misleading," he said.

Councilman Bernard C. Parks, however, said he was not put off by the final deal, saying the bed tax being returned is new revenue the city would not get if a hotel were not built.

"It basically pays for itself," said Parks, who is chairman of the council's Budget and Finance Committee.

The city is also proposing $20 million in loans and building fee waivers.

Building a 1,100-room hotel would help the city attract more business to the Convention Center, which is not earning enough to cover $32 million in annual debt payments incurred for a $500-million expansion, Fujioka and Miller argued in a report released Wednesday.

The city's general fund is subsidizing the Convention Center debt payments by more than $10 million annually, officials said.

"The Los Angeles Convention Center has not been able to attract the large-scale conventions and events that its competitors have been able to attract because of the lack of a convention center headquarters hotel that provides ample hotel rooms within close proximity to the Convention Center," Fujioka and Miller wrote.

City officials said a development team that includes the L.A. Arena Land Co., a firm owned by Denver billionaire Phillip Anschutz, is obtaining $180 million in private loans for the project, but that the city financing is needed for the project to go forward.

Critics of the deal, some of whom have sued to block it, say it is unfair to other hotels that have to compete with one receiving public subsidies. Coupal, who is not part of the lawsuit, said there is also the risk that the subsidies will fail to make the hotel and the convention center profitable.

"The fact that private capital won't come in and build the hotel should be a red flag to city officials that this project may not be viable," he said.

In arguing for the City Council to approve the deal in the next few weeks, Fujioka and Miller also said it is an important element of the $1-billion "L.A. Live" development of restaurants, theaters, offices and shops being proposed by Anschutz near Staples Center.

To buttress their argument, the two city officials also released an analysis by PKF Consulting indicating that over the first 9 1/2 years of the hotel's operation, it would boost the city's economic output by $2.7 billion, as thousands of additional conventioneers and tourists come to Los Angeles.
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  #213  
Old Posted Sep 8, 2005, 6:30 PM
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I think it's a huge win for the city if the Convention Center can book enough business to get back into the black. That would save the city's general fund $10 million per year, which after 10 years would make up for $100 million of the subsidy. Not to mention the money the city would make from sales tax from the rest of the development. I'm feeling more and more confident that this will be passed by the council.
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  #214  
Old Posted Sep 10, 2005, 6:50 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by colemonkee
In terms of housing right now, yes, there is more capacity than demand, but keep in mind there is more demand than supply for new condos right now, especially in South Park. That's the figure you should be looking at, not capacity. Theoretically, capacity is unlimited, since it can be expanded by redevelopment and rezoning.


I used the term "capacity" as interchangeable with supply, although I can see why ppl would define them as not necessarily one & the same thing. I was thinking of maximum capacity for 2005, then 2006, then 2007, etc, meaning how much total demand there will be over the next X number of yrs.

The max capacity of the hood in terms of devlpt only, without adjusting for the upper limit of demand, would be a big condo/apt bldg on almost every piece of land in South Pk, or dozens & dozens of new bldgs. Of course, I don't think even the biggest optimist believes there's enough demand to support that amt of devlpt.

As for the capacity for hotels in DT, the hood still is suffering from a hangover that dates back a long time. 71% for a prime summer month is pretty low, & it shows why there's still a dog eat dog attitude of ppl like Peter Zen, owner of the Bonaventure.


Downtown hotels posted double-digit occupancy gains in July compared to 2004. Yet the local hospitality industry still recorded the lowest overall occupancy rates of the month in Los Angeles County, according to a study released by hotel industry tracking firm PKF Consulting. Occupancy rates for Downtown hotels that charge more than $105 a night stood at 71.25% during July, compared to a countywide average of about 80%, according to the report. While the comparatively low level continues a long trend, the Downtown hotels' average room rate of $105 a night marked a 13% increase over July 2004. Countywide the climb was just 3.2%.


I'll say again that because it's taken so long to clean up & improve DT, many ppl have an ingrained habit of avoiding the hood. IOW, LA Live should've been built 15 yrs ago, the Elleven condo bldg should've been built 20 yrs ago, the clean up of the OBD should've taken place 25 yrs ago, the Ralphs/condo proj should've broken ground 10 yrs ago, the highrises built in the 1980s should've been completed in the 1960s, etc, etc. That's why everyone should want to see the fastest timelines possible, & why ppl who visit DT nowadays, as I did not long ago with some out of town guests, shouldn't have to see all the raunchiness of graffiti, vagrants & hole in the wall bldgs & wasteland parking lots.
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  #215  
Old Posted Sep 10, 2005, 9:25 PM
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^The next line (after the one you highlighted) showed that Downtown improved more than the rest of the county did.

Quote:
Originally Posted by citywatch
While the comparatively low level continues a long trend, the Downtown hotels' average room rate of $105 a night marked a 13% increase over July 2004. Countywide the climb was just 3.2%.
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  #216  
Old Posted Sep 12, 2005, 12:14 AM
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Enough of this hotel occupancy talk. Groundbreaking is in 4 days.
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  #217  
Old Posted Sep 12, 2005, 12:27 AM
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someone take pictures
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  #218  
Old Posted Sep 12, 2005, 9:38 AM
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I thought I'd inform you guys when the press conference is scheduled to begin

For those interested, you might wanna get there around 1PM.
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  #219  
Old Posted Sep 12, 2005, 4:31 PM
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Shit. I won't be able to make it. Be sure to grab some pics!
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  #220  
Old Posted Sep 12, 2005, 6:31 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by colemonkee
Shit. I won't be able to make it. Be sure to grab some pics!


I was hoping that since you're the first & only SSPer who lives in DT, that more photos of the hood would start showing up here, before & after various groundbreaking events. LAB prob will be the next SSPer who's living in DT, so I really hope by that time this board will be the site of far more photo essays of DT, in visual stereo, no less.
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