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

[RAlossi]

Anyone else noticed a whole lot of streets in Central LA (Koreatown, Westlake specifically) getting repaved recently? It's a nice change from the potholed mess that these streets usually are. Now, if only they can get Wilshire started...

[Ivan]

look at hollywood!

[LAofAnaheim]

Thanks to Antonio Villairaigosa and Measure R! There will always be haters about it....but, in reality, a lot of that funding is due to the 3% local return from Measure R, which we wouldn't have had if it wasn't for Antonio's push in 2008.

[pesto]

Originally Posted by ThreeHundred

http://la.curbed.com/uploads/2011_04_worknotice.jpg

"May release a natural gas odor" sounds like it could be a problem for locals. Hopefully it's minimal.

[DistrictDirt]

Originally Posted by RAlossi

Anyone else noticed a whole lot of streets in Central LA (Koreatown, Westlake specifically) getting repaved recently? It's a nice change from the potholed mess that these streets usually are. Now, if only they can get Wilshire started...

I hadn't noticed yet but that's great to hear. Hope they do Wilshire, 5th, 6th, and 7th...they all need it. I commute via the 720 Rapid bus mostly, and you can feel the potholes just destroying those vehicles. Whatever money the city has saved by deferring road maintenance for this long, they have undoubtedly paid for and then some in the damage done to Metro buses.

[dktshb]

Originally Posted by RAlossi

Anyone else noticed a whole lot of streets in Central LA (Koreatown, Westlake specifically) getting repaved recently? It's a nice change from the potholed mess that these streets usually are. Now, if only they can get Wilshire started...

They repaved my street here in Hollywood and some dumb azz ignored the yellow tape and drove thru it before it was dry F'n up the whole street.

[sopas ej]

Originally Posted by Illithid Dude

The 710 tunnel is going to be a big 'ole new freeway that will connect two existing freeways.

Hopefully this will never be built. I'm totally anti-710 tunnel/surface route extension. Not only is South Pasadena against any kind of 710 extension, so are the cities of Glendale and La Cañada Flintridge and the LA neighborhoods of El Sereno and Eagle Rock.

[SD_Phil]

Originally Posted by dktshb

They repaved my street here in Hollywood and some dumb azz ignored the yellow tape and drove thru it before it was dry F'n up the whole street.

If it's someone in your neighborhood you should call the cops on them. That kind of slurry will stick to tires.

[ChelseaFC]

Originally Posted by sopas ej

Hopefully this will never be built. I'm totally anti-710 tunnel/surface route extension. Not only is South Pasadena against any kind of 710 extension, so are the cities of Glendale and La Cañada Flintridge and the LA neighborhoods of El Sereno and Eagle Rock.

I see it differently. I live in South Pasadena, and I wouldn't mind a tunnel route at all. The traffic on Fair Oaks and Fremont is ridiculous and totally takes away from our small-town vibe. During rush hour you literally cannot move through our city because of the congestion that we get from all the 710 traffic that dumps off in Alhambra. But if they go under us, what should we care? It gets everyone who DOESN'T live in our city out of our way. Frankly I'm tired of people using South Pas as a commuting link.

That said, the notion that this state could ever come up with the BILLIONS needed to build a tunnel from Alhambra to Pasadena is quite amusing.

[Easy]

Hollywood

New $1 billion project with the tallest of two towers at 48 stories.



Big building project planned around Capitol Records Tower

After going mostly on hiatus during the economic downturn, Hollywood is poised to debut a major development project around the famed Capitol Records Tower near Hollywood and Vine.

The owners of the Capitol Records building on Vine Street are seeking approval to build 1 million square feet of structures, including two skyscrapers, surrounding the famous cylindrical office tower resembling a stack of record discs. The mixed-use complex could be valued at as much as $1 billion.

The Millennium Hollywood project, proposed by developers Millennium Partners and Argent Ventures, would be primarily residential but also have a hotel, offices, restaurants and stores. It would be built on the Capitol Records parking lot and another parking lot across Vine Street.

The New York developers bought the 13-story Capitol Records Tower in 2006 and the parking lot across Vine Street next to the Avalon theater in 2007. They shelved plans to develop the properties when the economy collapsed but are restarting the approval process, which they expect to last 18 months or more.

Millennium Hollywood's appearance and uses would be influenced by the review process, the developers said, but they hope to build a large-scale complex that would change the dynamic of the neighborhood.

[LosAngelesBeauty]

Here's the headline picture that came with the article that shows the two towers:

[Easy]

I'd love to see this get built. I wonder how many lawsuits there will be?

[JDRCRASH]

^

Don't know, but i'm more worried about red tape and regulation. I'm sorry, but it should not take 1 1/2 years for a development to go through the approval process.

Completely unacceptable.

[Easy]

Originally Posted by JDRCRASH

I'm sorry, but it should not take 1 1/2 years for a development to go through the approval process.

True, but I doubt that they are in a hurry.

[sopas ej]

Originally Posted by ChelseaFC

I see it differently. I live in South Pasadena, and I wouldn't mind a tunnel route at all. The traffic on Fair Oaks and Fremont is ridiculous and totally takes away from our small-town vibe. During rush hour you literally cannot move through our city because of the congestion that we get from all the 710 traffic that dumps off in Alhambra. But if they go under us, what should we care? It gets everyone who DOESN'T live in our city out of our way. Frankly I'm tired of people using South Pas as a commuting link.

That said, the notion that this state could ever come up with the BILLIONS needed to build a tunnel from Alhambra to Pasadena is quite amusing.

I beg to differ. The plans for the tunnel call for NO onramps or offramps to or from the tunnel. The tunnel would take care of through traffic, but local traffic would still travel our streets. So even locals who wanted to get to the 710 or 210 freeway would have to travel our streets to get to those freeways, being that they wouldn't have direct access to the tunnel. And, the tunnel is planned as a toll tunnel. I think this will also turn off many drivers; it's been my experience traveling through south Orange County that most people still take the 5 and/or 405 instead of the 73 tollway, simply because those freeways are free, though more congested through that area. The tunnel would mainly be used by big rig trucks-- which would at least get those off of our streets, but I don't think the tunnel would get rid of that much traffic off of our surface streets. Plus, there would have to be ventilation shafts built, and those would more than likely be a blight.

[Illithid Dude]

Originally Posted by Easy

Hollywood

New $1 billion project with the tallest of two towers at 48 stories.



Big building project planned around Capitol Records Tower

Wow. That came out of nowhere. It's sort of strange that all of the Big L.A. Metro projects somehow materialize on late night Friday. I remember being surprised when they announced the Vermont/Wilshire project on Friday night, and now there is this. Huh.

[ChelseaFC]

Originally Posted by sopas ej

I beg to differ. The plans for the tunnel call for NO onramps or offramps to or from the tunnel.

Dude you're missing the whole point of the tunnel. No on-ramps or off-ramps is what you WANT. Fair Oaks and Fremont would be for locals only. As things stand, South Pas currently serves as one massive "off-ramp" for people who don't live here. Off-ramps are what give non-locals an excuse to get off in your city and create that ghetto rest stop-vibe you get with Covina, Inglewood, Commerce, and other LA cities that have a major surface freeway splitting the city down the middle. Part of the small town charm of South Pas is that it doesn't feel like just any other city or stop along the way. It definitely used to be a pocket of serenity, but rush hour these days makes it insufferable.

The tunnel would take care of through traffic, but local traffic would still travel our streets.

This is confusing. Not sure why you're so against LOCAL traffic. If the only cars that ever traveled Fair Oaks were from South Pas and San Marino, there would be ZERO traffic in our city.

And, the tunnel is planned as a toll tunnel. I think this will also turn off many drivers; it's been my experience traveling through south Orange County that most people still take the 5 and/or 405 instead of the 73 tollway, simply because those freeways are free, though more congested through that area. The tunnel would mainly be used by big rig trucks-- which would at least get those off of our streets, but I don't think the tunnel would get rid of that much traffic off of our surface streets.

As much as we hate having commuters creating thru-traffic on our streets, I can guarantee you they hate sitting in our traffic even more. Having to deal with that nightmare 710 off-ramp at Valley and then making your way north currently adds 30-35 minutes AT LEAST to one's trip to Pasadena or Glendale. And the toll would probably be at the very most $20-30/month for that amount of time savings. Trust me, people only go through South Pas because they have to.

Plus, there would have to be ventilation shafts built, and those would more than likely be a blight.

As for the ventilation "shafts", I don't think they are what you think they are. I think people have this image of ventilation ducts being these turn-of-the-century 5-story monstrosities with carbon monoxide pouring out. With today's technology, they can make them very inconspicuous and wouldn't look all that different from a simple grate in the ground or rainwater gutter.

[edluva]

so does anybody want to take bets on this one not going up? another of the pie-in-the-sky proposals that la has seen all too often?

seriously though where is the demand for this kind of development? we are in the midst of a double dip in housing and commercial's in even worse shape here. they have to be out of their minds

[202_Cyclist]

so does anybody want to take bets on this one not going up? another of the pie-in-the-sky proposals that la has seen all too often?

seriously though where is the demand for this kind of development? we are in the midst of a double dip in housing and commercial's in even worse shape here. they have to be out of their minds

I'm not in the development industry but I wouldn't be so pessimistic. As someone said, 1 1/2 years to be approved, construction would last 2-3 yrs. This means it would come on the market in 2014-15. We might not have the 1990s-booming economy then but the unemployment rate has been coming down for months (although not fast enough) and GDP continues to expand. The WSJ also had an article yesterday about global elites becoming major players in real estate markets across the world, such as French in NY or Russians in London. While the US economy continues to slowly putter along and recover, Asian and Latin American economies continue to do well. With this, combined with domestic demand, I don't think it is unrealistic at all to expect buyers for these units in 2014-15, especially if some of these are offered as rentals rather than condos.

[pesto]

Lawsuits, funding, red tape: all legitimate concerns. Assuming them all away for the moment, to me th big concern is to make this fit with what's already there. It looks like they are making a decent effort to be loosened up modernism and blend with the Capitol Building. This is good since they are part of a community not a one-off showpiece.

The plazas are good since the Boulevard is rather crowded, but they should be limited. This is a good place and good opportunity to avoid Bunker Hill, Century City and LA Live that ended up with too many plazas and metal/glass and lost much sense of an urban community. Hollywood has the potential to have this in spades, and the alley utitlization ordinances are pushing in this direction. There should be non-linearity and quick access from doors (building or parking) into street life or active passageways.

If done right, this area could attract thousands at night and be very active in the day as well. Do it right.