LOS ANGELES | METRO Project Rundown 2.0 (non-downtown)

[202_Cyclist]

Kingofthehill:

I think, in general, civic and educational construction tends to fly under the radar. By contrast, residential and commercial are what really get us here on SSP going.

This very well might be true but it is this construction for schools, universities, court houses, hospitals, and other such uses that kept unemployment in the construction industry from being even higher in the recent economic downtown. Each of these projects, by themselves, might be small, but they have a significant economic impact when private development is contracting.

[all of the trash]

Originally Posted by pesto

Agree that it needs work. But something in the nature of a plaza wouldn't be a bad idea at this intersection, which is quite dense with cars and people. The bus-stops can be quite crowded and some place to sit and have a drink would be nice.

Wilshire in general has set-backs and plazas which is much more pleasant than building to the street and leaves room for outdoor dining, etc. If this trend could be pushed onto Vermont, it could be a huge plus.

i agree that buildings along wilshire should have plazas and outdoor dining areas, those things would be a boon for the city's most grand boulevard. but what i saw in the rendering was a lawn and a driveway fronting it. not good.

[Muji]

Some good confirmation that the Hotel Normandie's full renovation is indeed underway, and its days as a "pot-tel" are thankfully dead. Mostly, I can't wait to see the shops that will go into its renovated ground floor retail spaces.

Link: http://www.latimes.com/business/la-f...,4303557.story

Hotel Normandie in L.A.'s Koreatown to get $5-million makeover
By Roger Vincent
Los Angeles Times

The Hotel Normandie, a mid-Los Angeles inn with a checkered past, is on the way to becoming respectable again as its new owners labor to restore its Jazz Age charms.

It's a testament to how fortunes have improved in one of the city's oldest neighborhoods that investors are eager to spend millions of dollars restoring a beaten down building with a modest pedigree.

[...]

The bar and the rest of the first-floor businesses were closed by the time new owner Jingbo Lou came on the scene. He has launched a $5-million makeover intended to turn the Normandie into a 100-room boutique hotel for travelers who want to stay in the middle of town.

[...]

[Muji]

Originally Posted by RST500

I noticed the project in Koreatown at Wilshire and Vermont is underway. Any renderings?

Where did you see the activity? I've been by the site today and yesterday, including a very good look behind the fences, and it looks dead as ever.

[pesto]

Originally Posted by Muji

Some good confirmation that the Hotel Normandie's full renovation is indeed underway, and its days as a "pot-tel" are thankfully dead. Mostly, I can't wait to see the shops that will go into its renovated ground floor retail spaces.

Link: http://www.latimes.com/business/la-f...,4303557.story

Very cool to see oldies with style get a second chance. Wilshire is largely modernized (some exceptions) but lots more between Western and DT has great bones and is worth rehabing if you have faith in the neighborhood.

The city's job is to improve streets and streetscape; get rid of red tape; and, of course, improve education and safety.

[Illithid Dude]

Boom, baby. Groundbreaking at the Hollywood Emmerson Campus.


(image from Curbed L.A.)

First One Santa Fe. Now this. 2012 is going to be a good year.

EDIT: And in other Hollywood news, the Hollywood (formally Madrone) has already sold two penthouse units. Not bad, not bad...

[RST500]

Was the Weatherly and 3rd Project canceled?

[Illithid Dude]

Originally Posted by RST500

Was the Weatherly and 3rd Project canceled?

No. I'm sure it is just waiting for the right moment to break ground. Which will be soon, I think, as a couple large apartment buildings have broken ground in that area.

[RST500]

Originally Posted by Illithid Dude

No. I'm sure it is just waiting for the right moment to break ground. Which will be soon, I think, as a couple large apartment buildings have broken ground in that area.

Was it scaled down?

[Illithid Dude]

Originally Posted by RST500

Was it scaled down?

Not that I know of... still 12 stories and 94 apartments.

[sopas ej]

Being that I live in Bajadena ( ), I'm surprised I missed this, a few months ago.

The proposed Gensler-designed IDS Playhouse Plaza in Pasadena, which included only one five-story, 160,000 square foot office building and 11,000 square feet of open space, mostly a breezeway through the center of the structure...

pasadenan.com

...has been redesigned by Pasadena architects and urbanists Moule & Polyzoides, to the joy of all parties who were involved in a lawsuit against the City of Pasadena for approving the project without full compliance with the California Environmental Quality Act. Many thought it was too big, ugly and out of character with the neighborhood. The new design incorporates 3 separate buildings totaling 145,428 square feet, including 137,000 square feet of office and 8,000 square feet of restaurant and retail. The buildings facing El Molino Avenue and the historic Pasadena Playhouse will only be 1 story, and two public courtyards and a pedestrian crossing to the Playhouse will now be included.

Here are the renderings, from pasadenaplayhouseplaza.com:

[Illithid Dude]

I've been following a building that's going up off of Wilshire in Santa Monica. It's a UCLA Medical Building, but a damn fine one, and worth showing here. No stucco, too.



The building.







And now things get interesting....



This is the first automated parking structure in Southern California. Very futuristic, with the bay doors. Good use of space as well. I suspect we will be seeing much more of these in the future...



In the front there is a little garden, with benches and such. Not the greatest pedestrian connectivity, but not terrible either.

[Kingofthehill]

nice! reminds me of a better, improved version of a recently-opened addition to the universidad de buenos aires:


luli pop/ssc

[pesto]

That's really classic Pasadena: a bow to the Mission style, a bow to East Coast brick, a bow to deco. Done with taste, if not exactly bold or edgy. Probably exactly what the city fathers/mothers wanted.

UCLA in SM has a problem in that Wilshire is commercial, but most of the surrounding area is still single story residential. The move over time will probably be toward low-rise medical services, but this will always be resisted by existing homeowners. This seems appropriate for the "dense suburban" that most of SM will eventually become. One or two more stories (ala Buenos Aires) wouldn't have killed them either.

[ChelseaFC]

Originally Posted by pesto

That's really classic Pasadena: a bow to the Mission style, a bow to East Coast brick, a bow to deco. Done with taste, if not exactly bold or edgy. Probably exactly what the city fathers/mothers wanted.

Best city in America IMO

[pesto]

Originally Posted by ChelseaFC

Best city in America IMO

If you like Pasadena, you may also like: Santa Barbara

[ChelseaFC]

Originally Posted by pesto

If you like Pasadena, you may also like: Santa Barbara

Santa Barbara is pretty good, but it's pretty far from LA. Plus the neighborhoods around the Rose Bowl, Lake Avenue, and Arroyo Seco are just beautiful.

[Trojan]

The UCLA building is okay... but I really don't like the use of exposed concrete!!! I think that it looks bad and cheap in a couple years.

[pesto]

Originally Posted by Trojan

The UCLA building is okay... but I really don't like the use of exposed concrete!!! I think that it looks bad and cheap in a couple years.

Bruins don't have a Trojan budget.

But, actually, you're right, they could have done better. It's pretty "civic institutional" in look. But it's on a side street in a relatively obscure part of Santa Monica and part of a public hospital complex, so not really a likely place for great design. They probably would have tried harder on campus.

[LosAngelesSportsFan]

Anyone know if there is a set date for when Blvd 6200 is supposed to break ground? This is such an important project for Hollywood.