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

[blackcat23]

The Vermont, today. They've gotten through the seven floors of the podium, and are starting on the individual towers now.

[colemonkee]

Wow, growing like a weed, this one is. Thanks for the updates, blackcat. Always appreciated.

[JDRCRASH]

Originally Posted by colemonkee

Wow, growing like a weed, this one is. Thanks for the updates, blackcat. Always appreciated.

And hopefully, like a weed, the action spreads to the surroundings.

[blackcat23]

Originally Posted by JDRCRASH

And hopefully, like a weed, the action spreads to the surroundings.

Funny that you mention that. I was just reading through the bi-weekly case filings from the LA City planning office, and someone has filed plans for a 7 story apartment building one block west (corner of New Hampshire and 7th).

[IMBY]

I flew down to L.A. yesterday, for the day only, to try out your light rail system, but only had time for the Green, Blue and Gold lines, will leave the Red and Expo lines for my next trip.

Stopped off at Chinatown for lunch/shopping, hadn't been there in 12 years or so, and I'm surprised, given the number of Asians/Chinese in L.A. why Chinatown, over the years, hasn't grown into a miniature Hong Kong, with scores of mid and high rise residential buildings. It doesn't look like much has changed there in years, the same old Chinatown!

I'm comparing it to my trip to Flushing (Queens, NYC) to their Chinatown.
Yes, Manhattan has their Chinatown, but I was told to go out to Flushing for their bigger Chinatown.

Anything on the drawing boards for L.A.'s Chinatown?

[Mojeda101]

Originally Posted by IMBY

Anything on the drawing boards for L.A.'s Chinatown?

Chinatown is considered part of Downtown, so you'd have better luck in the other thread Here

But to answer your question, one of the notable additions is the Jia Apartments right next to the Chinatown Gateway.

[blackcat23]

Originally Posted by IMBY

I'm comparing it to my trip to Flushing (Queens, NYC) to their Chinatown.
Yes, Manhattan has their Chinatown, but I was told to go out to Flushing for their bigger Chinatown.

Anything on the drawing boards for L.A.'s Chinatown?

Interesting parallel here.

Downtown Los Angeles also has it's Chinatown, but the Chinese population in LA County has moved to the San Gabriel Valley. Chinese businesses have a huge presence in Monterey Park and Alhambra, since they account for close to half the population there.

[IMBY]

So there's my explanation!

I had heard only negative stories about East L.A. over the years, never been there, but I took the Gold Line out there expecting to see wide open-air markets, omnipresent grafitti, a strong slice of Mexico, but perhaps I missed it, you need to walk a ways from the train station to see it. From the train stop, it didn't look any more distinguishable than anything I saw from the train in south L.A.!

They did a gentrification job out there? Perhaps a similar story: they took over some suburb to call their own!

[202_Cyclist]

Originally Posted by IMBY

I flew down to L.A. yesterday, for the day only, to try out your light rail system, but only had time for the Green, Blue and Gold lines, will leave the Red and Expo lines for my next trip.

Stopped off at Chinatown for lunch/shopping, hadn't been there in 12 years or so, and I'm surprised, given the number of Asians/Chinese in L.A. why Chinatown, over the years, hasn't grown into a miniature Hong Kong, with scores of mid and high rise residential buildings. It doesn't look like much has changed there in years, the same old Chinatown!

I'm comparing it to my trip to Flushing (Queens, NYC) to their Chinatown.
Yes, Manhattan has their Chinatown, but I was told to go out to Flushing for their bigger Chinatown.

Anything on the drawing boards for L.A.'s Chinatown?

I agree. I used to go to Yang Chow in Chinatown as a kid, two decades ago. I grew up in suburban Orange County and so this was both enjoyable and somewhat exotic. My girlfriend and I ate a Yang Chow again this past summer when we were visiting LA and I was surprised at how much the neighborhood looked the same. It was still enjoyable and interesting but it looked like two decades had passed the neighborhood by.

In the Los Angeles downtown thread, there are a couple of photos of the Jia building (formerly Chinatown gateway). This will add some density to the neighborhood.

[DistrictDirt]

Originally Posted by blackcat23

Funny that you mention that. I was just reading through the bi-weekly case filings from the LA City planning office, and someone has filed plans for a 7 story apartment building one block west (corner of New Hampshire and 7th).

In addition to that, there's another project going up 1 block west of that, at 688 S Berendo. I walked past yesterday and saw the construction is 2-3 stories high already.


Source: Curbed LA

So within a 4 block stretch, we have:

• 688 S Berendo
• 7th & New Hampshire
• Vermont/Wilshire towers
• Southwestern Law School expansion

Not too bad. Now if we could just replace some of those stripmalls on 7th and 8th with some nice street-fronting mixed use projects, southern K-town will be looking pretty good

[Chef Boyardee]

That K2LA project (688 s berendo) has actually grown to 3 buildings now.

http://centurywestpartners.com/k2-los-angeles.html

[Quixote]

^ Good infill, but they reserve their best work for Santa Monica?

[DtlaCuriousity]

Originally Posted by DistrictDirt

In addition to that, there's another project going up 1 block west of that, at 688 S Berendo. I walked past yesterday and saw the construction is 2-3 stories high already.


Source: Curbed LA

So within a 4 block stretch, we have:

• 688 S Berendo
• 7th & New Hampshire
• Vermont/Wilshire towers
• Southwestern Law School expansion

Not too bad. Now if we could just replace some of those stripmalls on 7th and 8th with some nice street-fronting mixed use projects, southern K-town will be looking pretty good

Anyone have a recent picture of the apartments on Mariposa? I think they should have finished it by now?

[DistrictDirt]

Originally Posted by Chef Boyardee

That K2LA project (688 s berendo) has actually grown to 3 buildings now.

http://centurywestpartners.com/k2-los-angeles.html

I had heard that too, but when I walked by the site, there was definitely only one building under construction. The location where the other 2 buildings are supposed to be is a parking lot very much filled with cars. I don't know if this is a phased project, or if the info on the Century West Partners website is just out of date.

[mdiederi]

This might slow down at least one nimby organization:

Lawsuit Says Beverly-Wilshire Homeowners Group Mishandled Money It Got From Suing Developers

http://la.curbed.com/archives/2013/0...developers.php

More details are emerging in the "greenmail" practices of the Beverly-Wilshire Homes Association, one of Los Angeles's notoriously obstructionist NIMBY organizations. Greenmail is the dirty little secret of land use and development practices around California and Los Angeles, where homeowner groups and unincorporated community associations sue developers under the auspices of the California Environmental Quality Act and then often collect settlements. Two actions taken against BWHA allege that the organization's lawsuits and settlements don't actually benefit the community or the environmental impacts of development projects. Instead, mounting evidence shows that money gained via greenmail activities is used for the personal financial gain of individual members of these organizations.

[Easy]

Originally Posted by DistrictDirt

I had heard that too, but when I walked by the site, there was definitely only one building under construction. The location where the other 2 buildings are supposed to be is a parking lot very much filled with cars. I don't know if this is a phased project, or if the info on the Century West Partners website is just out of date.

The curbed article that you linked mentioned two phases for 303 units. Sounds like the third building is phase 3. Maybe curbed missed it because its on New Hampshire not berendo.

[202_Cyclist]

Hopefully the Army Corp of Engineers is successful with this. The LA River can be a great asset for Southern California residents, providing excellent public space. When I lived in Sacramento, I enjoyed the American River bike trail and parkland that stretches thirty miles east of the city. Similarly, DC is making a great effort now to restore the Anacostia River.

Be sure to watch the video and check out the slide-show with this article.


Los Angeles Reimagines Its Waterway

Options Explored for Restoring Habitat

By Erica E. Phillips
January 11, 2013
Wall Street Journal

"LOS ANGELES—Eighty years after the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers cast the Los Angeles River in concrete, turning this city's original lifeblood into a storm drain, a new generation of Corps members is working to bring back at least some of its natural habitat.

Strewn with trash, the 51-mile river's mostly concrete route is lined with industrial yards, freeways and train tracks. Over the decades, residents and developers have come to see it as something that should be hidden—the city's "backyard," some have said.

"It's the great L.A. joke—they even paved their river," said Michael Manville, a professor of city and regional planning at Cornell University who earned his urban-planning degrees and conducted postdoctoral research at the University of California, Los Angeles. But, he added, planning experts have begun to see it differently..."

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1000...Tabs%3Darticle

[LAsam]

Originally Posted by mdiederi

This might slow down at least one nimby organization:

Lawsuit Says Beverly-Wilshire Homeowners Group Mishandled Money It Got From Suing Developers

http://la.curbed.com/archives/2013/0...developers.php

I knew the name of the game was extortion... but this takes it to another level. Can't say I'm surprised though...

[blackcat23]

Originally Posted by 202_Cyclist

Hopefully the Army Corp of Engineers is successful with this. The LA River can be a great asset for Southern California residents, providing excellent public space. When I lived in Sacramento, I enjoyed the American River bike trail and parkland that stretches thirty miles east of the city. Similarly, DC is making a great effort now to restore the Anacostia River.

Be sure to watch the video and check out the slide-show with this article.


Los Angeles Reimagines Its Waterway

Options Explored for Restoring Habitat

By Erica E. Phillips
January 11, 2013
Wall Street Journal

"LOS ANGELES—Eighty years after the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers cast the Los Angeles River in concrete, turning this city's original lifeblood into a storm drain, a new generation of Corps members is working to bring back at least some of its natural habitat.

Strewn with trash, the 51-mile river's mostly concrete route is lined with industrial yards, freeways and train tracks. Over the decades, residents and developers have come to see it as something that should be hidden—the city's "backyard," some have said.

"It's the great L.A. joke—they even paved their river," said Michael Manville, a professor of city and regional planning at Cornell University who earned his urban-planning degrees and conducted postdoctoral research at the University of California, Los Angeles. But, he added, planning experts have begun to see it differently..."

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1000...Tabs%3Darticle

I would imagine that the revitalization effort will be similar to what they've been done with Ballona Creek west of Centinela. Clean out the trash, plants along the water's edge and improve the water flow.

The train tracks running along both sides of the river in downtown will be an obstacle, though.

[Leo the Dog]

The army corps of engineers restored the Salt River in Central Phoenix with a more natural habitat with large trees and other aquatic plant species native to the area. Overall it is much better, but it's still largely unused space.

The San Diego River through Mission Valley is quite nice. It has bike trails that lead out to the sea with the green line trolley serving the area, promoting in-fill.