the NEW Downtown Los Angeles thread: the 100 suburbs have found their city, so roll over Dorothy Fuckin Chandler you shrill witch!!

okay so ....any thoughts/ comments ?? cutting and pasting and imging was not the most pleasurable activity i could've done w/ my hand all this time you know so i hope this gets at least a few responses. would any of you be interested in moving downtown?

Of course not, sweetie.

Will this building boom really change downtown or will it be the same place with more ugly skyscrapers?

More of the same with more ugly skyscrapers. The reason downtown LA is a wasteland is lack of community infrastructure to maintain residents. Like, why live in DTLA when you could live IN THE VALLEY or etc. LA in wanting to be like NYC and its location-enforced density SHOCKAH.

Also, I don't know anything about the downtown economy but I have to wonder, what businesses and industries are newly arrived or newly booming in downtown that would require a lot of middle class people moving there?

first of all, downtown la is not a "wasteland," it just hasn't had a "nightlife" since the 1940s for MIDDLE TO UPPER CLASS WHITE AMERICANS since the 1940s onwards, due to growth of western development and expansion. more people work in downtown la than any other city after manhattan and chicago, and it has more governmental employees than anywhere outside DC. rich white people just don't _live_ there since for the past three decaedes the LAPD has been letting all of the acquitted convicts of the prison system onto its streets, instead of returning them to their original communities. which is how and why Skid Row developed...

also, don't call me "sweetie" until you change your name back to that "funnier" handle of "wanting to bed women down."

darling. :)

anyway what is pretty ridiculous is the real estate. i have a friend who got a co-op on figueroa 4 months ago and since then the price of her place has already increased $30,000

and she hasnt moved in yet

additionally, a lot of the lofts even as far east as the la river as going for over a million. if you _do_ think you might want to move downtown, and own a place, you should have done it already

Well, what they're going for is a revitalization (minorities out, property values up, taxes up) of an area and attempting to create, in a sense, a localized, island-ized civic area that is self sufficient, right?

1. Can there be a middle-class driven rehabilitation of a downtown? Are there any succesful, thriving downtown areas that don't have some element of wealth? Will LA's most wealthy people give up their houses in the hills and move downtown? It seems to me that the model for rehabilitation is almost always built around poor artists movng in and money following after them over a period of time.

2. For example look at the areas in LA which have been successfully overhauled like Santa Monica, Venice, or Silverlake (still in progress?). How long did it take for Venice to go from being kind of a rough neighborhood to artists and galleries moving in, to architects moving in and redoing the suburban houses, to architecture firms and other businesses moving in, and finally all of the boutique shops, fancy restaurants and newly built lofts that follow. Didn't this take 20 years and it's still ongoing? How can downtown be transformed overnight simply through construction?

3. I often think Downtown is doomed simply by geography. Is there still any reason to be located by the river and train tracks (or whatever reason it sits where it does)? Everyone visits downtown from time to time and everyone visits the beach, the actual geographic center of town is Hollywood, Culver City, etc.

4. The area around Disney Hall seems like a strange place to focus development because it's situated up on a hill and feels very disconnected from the rest of downtown.

SUCK ON THAT BEL AIR AND PACIFIC PALISADES!

And to correct my question about the geographic center of LA, if you look at a map of the city limits, it looks like the vicinity of Studio City / Sherman Oaks, would roughly be in the middle (if you ignore the tiny sliver that stretches down to San Pedro). Not that this means anything but I thought it was kind of interesting. I was picturing the center being further south.

from the Times (who else)

32 towers over 11 stories.

Downtown Housing Demand Feeds a Bloom in High-Rises
By Cara Mia DiMassa, Times Staff Writer

Downtown Los Angeles — which hasn't seen a skyscraper built since Tom Bradley was mayor and the Raiders were playing at the Coliseum — is in the midst of a growth spurt that promises to significantly alter its skyline in the coming years.

The building boom marks the fourth time since World War II that a spate of construction has altered the downtown landscape. But although previous booms focused on commercial space, this one is different: The vast majority of the new high-rise space is for housing.

The phenomenon mirrors patterns in Chicago, Las Vegas, San Diego and Miami, where residential towers are going up at a rapid clip. Architect Santiago Calatrava recently announced plans to construct the nation's tallest building, a 2,000-foot residential and hotel tower called the Fordham Spire, in Chicago.

From 1986 to 1992, almost two-thirds of towers 20 stories or more built in the U.S. were for office use, according to McGraw-Hill Construction, which tracks projects nationwide. But recently, said McGraw-Hill economist Jennifer Coskren, "this has really flipped."

Between 2003 and June 2005, about 84% of new towers were for residential, multifamily use — an indication, said Coskren, of "this investor and consumer appetite for multifamily condo development. Luxury high-rises are what's being demanded."

The return to tall towers will be a marked change for downtown Los Angeles, whose last new skyscraper was the 750-foot, 52-story Two California Plaza, completed in 1992.

At the south end of downtown, two residential towers already under construction near Staples Center will be joined by a 55-story hotel and condominium complex scheduled to break ground later this year.

To the north, near Walt Disney Concert Hall, at least five skyscrapers are slated for construction as part of the Grand Avenue project, including a 40- to 50-story building to be designed by architect Frank Gehry and scheduled for completion in 2009.

The changing skyline should begin to take shape in the next three years, when the first five buildings that have already won city approval are completed. They include a 33-story loft building at 9th and Flower streets.

In all, 32 towers are on the horizon for downtown, though some still need city approval as well as financing.

Twenty are considered skyscrapers because they climb more than 240 feet, or about 20 stories. One of the most talked about is a proposed 50-story Asian-inspired tower at 3rd and Hill streets. (?!)

Together, said author and historian D.J. Waldie, they represent "an enormous transformation of the city we know to something unknown."

Most of the new residential spaces that have opened so far have been quickly swept up by buyers and renters.

But there are lingering concerns that the downtown residential market could suffer the same fate as office space did in the early 1990s, when far more new buildings went up than were needed. Rents plummeted, buildings sat vacant — and it took a decade for downtown to recover.

Some also question whether downtown's sometimes narrow streets and limited infrastructure — everything from its lack of parks to its aging sewer system — can accommodate all the new towers and residents who will follow.

Waldie says he thinks city planners are "failing to connect the dots."

"They're allowing a neighborhood texture to arrive where one had been lost for 50 years," said the author of "Where We Are Now: Notes From Los Angeles." "They're putting in even taller high-rises … but down on the ground, where are the resources to make that into a place to live?"

The new construction could also push out the underclass that has long called downtown home.

Orlando Ward of the Midnight Mission said he was optimistic that the influx of residents would ultimately help the area, but he thinks it could be a rough transition.

He's particularly worried that new residents expecting an urban wonderland will instead find social problems like homelessness and crime.

"There are certain streets you can't go down or won't go down," Ward said. "That's bound to cause resentment or potential backlash…. We're most concerned that there isn't a knee-jerk reaction by policymakers to Band-Aid or push the problem out of sight of our affluent neighbors."



Downtown Los Angeles has seen several distinct flurries of tower development since City Hall, at 28 stories, became the city's first high-rise in 1927. It wasn't until the late 1960s and early 1970s, however, that the city began to have true skyscrapers, such as the 68-story building now called the Aon Center, completed in 1974.

During the last major construction boom downtown, from 1988 to 1992, investors poured billions of dollars into the area. Eight million square feet of office space was added —enough to fill Century City.

The city's tallest building, the 1,018-foot structure now called the US Bank Tower, was finished in 1990. But demand for office space dwindled, and companies that had long had a foothold in downtown, including Security Pacific and Bank of America, fell victim to corporate restructuring. Commercial real estate prices dropped nationwide. And even as new buildings went up, downtown property values plunged. Buildings sat vacant. Landlords lost money on their rents.

When the commercial real estate market began to recover in the mid-1990s, tall buildings sprang up in other parts of the city, especially Century City and other Westside areas. But downtown building activity remained dormant — until now. The recent rebound is due in large part to a renewed interest in downtown living that comes amid a hot housing market.

While vacancies for office space downtown remain at 15.9%, higher than the national average, there are waiting lists for many downtown lofts and condos.

The area's population has risen from an estimated 18,652 residents in 1998 to about 24,600 today, according to estimates from the Los Angeles Downtown Business Improvement District. And based on developments in the pipeline or under construction, that number could double in the next decade.

Engineering and seismic considerations often make building skyscrapers a financial gamble, said Bill Witte, president of Related Cos. of California, which is developing 25 acres downtown — including a number of skyscrapers — on behalf of the city and county as part of the Grand Avenue project, as well as two 15-story structures in Little Tokyo.

Buildings more than 240 feet high require different seismic reinforcements, Witte said, and cost dramatically more.

"Even we had to think long and hard about whether to do something at that height," he said. "You have to believe that you can sell or rent for enough to justify that cost."

But as housing prices continue to climb, and buyers swoop up high-rise living spaces like those being created in former downtown office towers, building bigger and taller structures has become less of a financial risk for developers and the financial institutions that back them.

"The most vigorous market for new buildings is residential," said Carol Willis, founder and director of the Skyscraper Museum in New York City. "And that's just because the prices are phenomenally high. It's more profitable, and it reverses the historical trend" that most tall structures should be office buildings, she said.



While 32 buildings between 11 and 55 stories have been proposed downtown, experts question the viability of some of the grander designs.

Still, city officials and developers expect at least half to be completed by the end of the decade, barring a major shift in the economy.

Even in 2010, the 73-story US Bank Tower, formerly known as the Library Tower, would remain the skyline's pinnacle. But gone would be the gap that now exists between the Transamerica building to the south and the stretch of tall towers beginning north of 9th Street.

That area, called South Park and near Staples Center, is the hub of most of the initial construction, where cranes and crews are already turning former parking lots into high-rises.

This district has far more open space than other parts of downtown, so residents and city planners expect it to be more dramatically transformed. It is also where many amenities for downtown residents will open in coming years, including a Ralphs supermarket — set to open late next year — and movie theaters.

To the north, downtown will see the completion of Bunker Hill's decades-long transformation from a slightly seedy residential quarter into a zone full of high-rises.

Because almost all of the new construction will be residential rather than commercial, the look of the towers will be different from the rest of the skyline.

Expect thinner, more angular structures.

Office buildings, said urban planner Doug Suisman, who consulted on the Grand Avenue project, often look like boxy slabs, in part because of the nature of what happens inside. While residential towers require significantly more plumbing, for example, and higher ceilings than office space, they also need less ventilation and fewer elevators.

In places like Vancouver, Canada, where high-rise residential towers have proliferated in recent years, buildings are "less bulky and more pleasing…. They tend to read more as true towers rather than walls," said Suisman, whose firm, Suisman Urban Design, is based in Santa Monica.

In addition, he said, the buildings are staggered in their placement along the street so not all of them hug the sidewalks. This allows views — or slivers of views — from other points in the downtown to be preserved.

"That valuable commodity, the view, is distributed and fairly shared…. You see this pretty clearly when you are there," he said.

It's unclear whether some precious views, often a selling point for pricey condos, will be preserved as downtown's new towers spring to life. With the wall of downtown buildings being extended north and south, it seems certain, however, that the new projects will further obscure City Hall and shorter landmarks like Disney Hall.

Councilman Tom LaBonge, long a fan of City Hall's iconic placement in the landscape, said he felt that the building "will always stand tall."

But, he admitted, "it has already been dwarfed."

"I don't mind," he said, "as long as the postcards show the city from the east to the west, and show off that great big beacon."

I also think more people on this thread need to read up more extensively on Tom Gilmore who basically jumpstarted this whole thing...would it make more sense if I added that he's an ex-New Yorker?

Also, however minor you might want to make this (remember that metro map I posted...think 30 years ahead, basically, on everything to consider the full implications, for until this of course there's going to be growing pains and awkward transitional phases) keep this in mind when bemoaning geography (aside from the currently-appearing-as-preposterous plans to revitalize parts of the LA river, including the downtown front): From the LA Times December 4, 2004

Westward Ho

December 4, 2004

Each day, 400,000 motorists form a snaking red ribbon of brake lights along the Santa Monica Freeway. Yet even as this freeway, one of the nation's busiest, grew steadily more clogged in recent decades, uninterested politicians and a knot of vocal opponents kept a planned light-rail line between Santa Monica and downtown on ice. The Metropolitan Transportation Authority is finally poised to give a green light to the first 9.6-mile stretch of what's called the Exposition Boulevard line. That action could get trains rolling in 2010, four years ahead of schedule — and not a moment too soon.

The MTA, sometimes partnering with other transit agencies, has built rail or subway links to nearly every region in the county in recent years, but not the Westside. The biggest losers have been thousands of working people from Boyle Heights or Compton who travel west every day to jobs. But Westside commuters also have suffered.

Years of dogged lobbying by local rail advocates and city officials are finally paying off. The MTA has put aside the local, state and federal dollars needed to cover the $490-million tab. If the agency's board signs off on the project's environmental review next month as expected, bulldozers should be moving dirt by 2007.

Original plans called for a 17-mile line to Santa Monica mostly along Exposition Boulevard. Years ago, the MTA bought up the right of way, an old Red Car route. But fierce resistance from some Cheviot Hills homeowners who feared the trains would bring noise and crime stalled the project.

Now, a first phase will run south from the MTA's transit hub at 7th and Figueroa streets to Exposition, then west to Robertson Boulevard in Culver City. At stops along the way, riders will be able to transfer to existing bus lines, and expanded parking facilities are in the works. For the estimated 45,000 daily riders, the trip time of 27 minutes will be faster and far more pleasant than the freeway's creep and crawl or lurching street buses.

MTA planners say they have learned from problems that surfaced when the Pasadena Gold Line opened in 2003, including noisy trains and fears for pedestrian safety. The Exposition right of way is wider than that of the Gold Line, naturally buffering some train noise and vibrations. Also, the Westside route is straighter, meaning fewer metal-screeching turns. Finally, the trains will carry new, softer bells and benefit from better-designed grade crossings.

Support for the project's second phase to Santa Monica probably will ride on the success of these technical improvements and on Westside leaders who realize that riding the rails to work is not so wild a notion.

Zen' Tower Could Dominate Historic Core

Kawada Group Plans 50-Story, 300-Condo Structure Near Grand Central Market

by Kathryn Maese

A 50-story residential high-rise, 20 floors higher than the Transamerica Building and nearly as tall as the Wells Fargo Tower, is being planned at the northeast corner of Third and Hill streets.
This parking lot at Third and Hill streets could feature one of the tallest residential towers in Downtown, creating more than 300 condos in a slender high-rise overlooking the Historic Core and the Civic Center. Photo by Gary Leonard.

The Kawada Company of America, which also owns the Kawada Hotel on the northern end of the same block, is in the conceptual design phase for the 302-unit condo tower and 10,000 square feet of retail. If built, it would become a dominant landmark on the Downtown Los Angeles skyline and would further the rush of high-rises expected to be part of the Grand Avenue plan.

The Kawada group will seek city entitlements in the coming months, and has hired Skidmore, Owings & Merrill Design as the architect of the Asian-inspired project dubbed "Zen." Construction is anticipated to last 18 months.

"It is near the historic Broadway core so we certainly will have a style that's compatible, but we will not mimic a historic theme," said John Bowman, a land use attorney for the project. "As it is proposed, it would include a podium level with a taller, slender tower on top of that."

The immediate area around the proposed project has become a mini residential hub wedged between the Civic Center and the Historic Core. Nearby projects that are open or under construction include the Pan American Lofts, Grand Central Square apartments, the 50-unit Douglas Building and the 135-unit Higgins Building. The Victor Clothing Lofts is in the planning stages.

The 26,400-square-foot site of the future development is currently used as a Joe's Parking Lot and neighbors Grand Central Market and the senior housing complex Angelus Plaza. The project is being touted by Kawada as the first new mixed-use high-rise in the district.

Bowman said the podium level would include a ground-floor sports-themed restaurant and lounge, and an upscale mini-market, amenities lacking in an area surrounded largely by office buildings that shut down after 5 p.m. He would not reveal a proposed price for the project.

A 576-space parking garage would rise on seven floors above the podium, and would be topped by a two-story, 50,000-square-foot fitness center and indoor pool. According to the design, the developer is offering a heliport and signage rights on the building for a major advertiser.

In keeping with the Zen theme, each condo will feature a private garden or sunroom. A large roof garden will overlook the Downtown skyline. Pricing has yet to be determined for the units, which will range from 500 square feet to 1,800 square feet. Each of the four penthouses will span 2,300 square feet. High-end Sub-Zero and Wolfe appliances will be standard in every unit.

Bowman said the Kawada Company held a community meeting last month allowing local stakeholders to view the tower's early design and comment on the project.

"We got good feedback from the public and are moving forward with getting entitled," Bowman said. "We had quite a cross section with people in the development community, Angelus Plaza senior complex, people from the city and other agencies. They seemed to be favorably impressed by the project."

For one neighbor, however, the Zen could leave a less than peaceful impression. Urban Pacific Builders' 40-unit Pan American Lofts at 249 S. Broadway - which are scheduled to open early next year - bumps up against the future site, and would essentially lose its skyline views if the tower is built. The developer of the $16 million condo project did not return calls for comment.

Zen would not be the first new housing development to go high-rise. At least a dozen condo towers are in the works or planning stages throughout Downtown, including several in South Park near the Staples Center. Just two blocks away from the proposed Zen site, New York-based Related Companies is planning three condo and apartment towers with a total of 1,000 units along Grand Avenue and Olive Street as part of the $1.8 billion Grand Avenue plan. The latter high-rises would range from 22 to 45 stories.

"Certainly the fact that [Zen] is near those uses is a plus," Bowman said. "I would add that we've got excellent access to transit, the Red Line and it's also in close proximity to the Civic Center, the federal courthouse, and the various cultural attractions."

Though Kawada has other real estate holdings in Japan, this would mark the company's first residential venture in the U.S.

The Big Makeover

Fashion District Shakes Off Its Dusty Image, With New Projects Worth More Than $500 Million

by Kathryn Maese

The 90-block Fashion District is in the midst of a half-billion dollar development frenzy that is transforming the gritty garment manufacturing hub into a thriving community filled with a mix of housing, designer showrooms and retail projects.
Sina and Wizeman Kangavari (center) of KI Group partnered with Farhad and Farid Novian (left and right) on the 15,000-square-foot 1000 Maple project, a mall that opened this year. They are some of the new players betting big on the future of the Fashion District. Their next deal is a 100,000-square-foot retail center. Photo by Gary Leonard.

After years of struggling to replace its outdated image with a new name and marketing campaign, the 90-block Fashion District's strategy is paying big dividends. According to a study released last week by the Fashion District Business Improvement District (BID), 32 new projects have cropped up in the sprawling area in the past three years, with 13 this year alone. In total, more than $510 million has been invested in the neighborhood since 2000.

"There is a new generation of property owners replacing many of the people who have held property in the district for a long time," said Kent Smith, executive director of the BID. "These new owners and businesses coming in tend to be younger and very entrepreneurial, and they are going to help further the [growth] of the district."

Perhaps the most significant trend is the boom in ground floor business, up 26% over the last three years to 2,420 shops, according to the study. The increase is partly due to the fact that a number of parking lots were sold and converted into retail. Smith noted that some larger building floorplates that housed one or two businesses have been subdivided into five or six smaller operations.

Among the new retail destinations is 1000 Maple Center on the southeast corner of Olympic Boulevard and Maple Avenue, a joint venture between the KI Group and Bridge Capital. The 15,000-square-foot mall, built on a former parking lot earlier this year, is fully leased to women's apparel and accessory stores. Likewise, a plaza geared toward men's apparel on the southeast corner of Eighth and Los Angeles streets has broken ground, while another on the northwest corner of Pico Boulevard and Maple will soon add more public shopping on the thriving streets around Santee Alley.

"It's a great indication of the growth and vitality of the district," Smith said. "If you break it down, 500 businesses at roughly 1,000 square feet each would be as large as a regional mall."

The biggest ventures, however, will come in the near future: KI Group has announced plans for three mega retail centers, including the 100,000-square-foot Pico Regency Plaza on Olympic Boulevard between Maple and Wall; the 300,000-square-foot Stanford Regency Plaza at Stanford and Pico; and the 100,000-square-foot Maple Union at Maple and Olympic (also with Bridge Capital).

"It's a proven fact that there is over $8.5 billion of transactions annually that run through the Downtown area," said Sina Kangavari, a principal in the KI Group. "That's what's driving a lot of investors from different cities. The appeal in the Fashion District is certainly the foot traffic, and the bargain shopping drives the market."

Diversifying the Trade


The study details a shift in the area's tenant makeup. Since 2001 there has been only a modest 6.2% growth in wholesale-only stores catering to designers and industry buyers; as recently as the last decade, that sector dominated the district. In the same period, new stores that serve both the industry and the public have increased by 32.3%.

Smith said he expects the trend to continue, largely because of the swelling ranks of residents and visitors looking for more street activity. Thousands of local, out-of-state and international buyers who come to the portion of Downtown Los Angeles during the district's five market weeks are also spurring the need for more places to eat and visit.

Indeed, the number of restaurants and snack shops has doubled from 47 to 94 businesses since 2001, according to the study. Typical of the new wave is the spacious, sit-down eatery O'Mamamia Italian Restaurant at the corner of Pico Boulevard and San Pedro Street. Like other newcomers, the restaurant melds into the hustle and bustle of garment stacks, mannequins and showrooms from its location on the second floor of a modern fashion center.

Closer to the major apparel mart hub, the Tiara Café is expected to open later this year on the ground floor of the New Mart. Owner Fred Eric of Los Feliz's trendy Fred 62 is behind the venture, which will include a gourmet eatery and market.

Eric Kessler, a broker with GVA DAUM who specializes in Fashion District properties, said he has recently shown buildings to several restaurateurs looking for space. Last month he sold the building housing one of the district's most popular restaurants, Angelique Café at 832-840 S. Spring St. (it will remain a restaurant for at least the next two years). The two-story property, which includes several additional stores and a two-story loft, was purchased by local industrial and commercial property owner DNR Brothers for $1.24 million. While it was in escrow, more than a dozen bidders made offers on the property where Spring and Main streets converge.

Kessler said a number of factors have come together in the last year to create the strong development climate. Among those are sellers willing to part with contiguous properties that can be made into housing. There is also a strong existing retail component and a large population - residents, designers and shoppers - with disposable income.

"The recipe for success in any area is a sense of community, a lot of those multi-story fashion buildings, and you have to have a retail component to sustain population," he said. "A far more superficial reason is that you have a lot of exceptionally good-looking people walking around the Fashion District."

A Slate of Deals


In some cases, the demand for property has driven up land prices to dizzying heights. Buildings that once fetched $50 a square foot are now getting multiple bids for $100 or more a square foot, said local real estate players. One garment building on Eighth and Los Angeles streets sold for a record $110 a square foot earlier this year.

Jamison Properties purchased the 3 million-square-foot California Market Center in April, the biggest acquisition in the district at $135 million. The complex at 110 E. Ninth St. - which takes up the entire block at Los Angeles, Main, Ninth and Olympic - is considered the hub of the West Coast fashion industry.

Last week, the 165-apartment Santee Court (the first of several phases in the project) was sold to Dallas-based L&B Realty Advisors for an estimated $45 million.

"Given Santee's unique location, area retail tenant mix and demand for housing, this asset will give our client the long-term yield stability consistent with their strategy," said David W. Gleeson, the firm's executive vice president, in a written statement.

The Gerry Building, another property in the multi-edifice Santee Court collection owned by developer Mark Weinstein, was sold two weeks ago to LaeRoc Partners for $15 million. The building is 70% occupied with fashion showrooms, with rents at about $2 a square foot.

Kim Benjamin, president of LaeRoc, said the acquisition is the firm's first in the Fashion District. "The growth pattern in the district is fairly obvious, and if you're in the business, this is ground zero," he said. "It's across from the largest fashion product in the U.S. (the California Market Center), and on one of the key corners. It also just happens to be a beautiful building."

Throughout the district, foot traffic is up, Smith said. Weekend pedestrian counts show a 23% increase over 2000, according to the study, with an estimated 20,000 people flocking to Santee Alley's bargain shopping every Saturday.

Smith said recent LAPD crackdowns on illegal vending, drug activity and homeless encampments are helping to create a safer and more walkable business district. For Smith, it's proof that the 1995 creation of the BID and the formal adoption of the moniker Fashion District - for years before it was known as the Garment District - is paying off.

"With all this traffic it's becoming a more exciting retail area," Smith said. "There are a lot of improved storefronts and access to the streets. It's really been an urban-friendly redevelopment of the ground floors, all oriented to the street.

"All the things we say L.A. shouldn't do when it comes to planning, we've learned those lessons," he continued. "We are creating a pedestrian-friendly environment, which in this case is being led by small businesses and entrepreneurs who are turning the city around."

Projects at a Glance
There are well over a dozen projects planned or in the works in the Fashion District this year, from housing to wholesale centers to ground-up retail plazas. Here's a snapshot of a few of the key developments underway in the 90-block community.

Santee Court, Phase II: Demolition of the Textile Center Building, on the northwest corner of Eighth Street and Maple Avenue, began in early January to make way for 64 condos and 5,000 square feet of retail space. Construction is slated to wrap in December. Phase II is part of MJW Investments' $130 million conversion of nine former garment buildings into live/work lofts and retail space.

LA Face: Construction is underway on the LA Fashion Center at 1444 S. San Pedro St. LA Properties Investment and Management Group's 650,000-square-foot structure will bring nearly 200 wholesale condominiums and add to the thriving wholesale area around the San Pedro Wholesale Mart.

1000 Maple Center: KI Group finished construction earlier this year on a new retail center on the southeast corner of Olympic Boulevard and Maple Avenue. The 15,000-square-foot center features apparel and accessories.

Tiara Café: Renovation of the former Sam's Deli space on the ground floor of the New Mart is nearing completion, making way for an eatery by Fred Eric, known for starting Los Feliz's trendy Vida and Fred 62. Tiara Café is set to open in the fall and will feature a gourmet market.

Maple Alley Fashion Center: Renovation of retail space on the northwest corner of 11th Street and Maple Avenue has resulted in formal storefront spaces, some of which open into the adjacent Santee Alley.

Contact Kathryn Maese at kathryn@downtownnews.com.

page 1, 8/15/2005

Second Act for Linda Lea Theater

Investors to Give Rundown Movie House a New Plot Twist

by Kathryn Maese

The projector will roll once again in the long-dark Linda Lea Theater at 251 S. Main St., as part of a partnership between a new owner and a group of community arts leaders.
Plans are underway to reopen the Linda Lea Theater. The space at Second and Main streets has sat vacant since the 1980s. Photo by Gary Leonard.

The Little Tokyo Service Center Development Corp. (LTSC), along with local arts leaders who will operate the space, plan to revive the 500-seat theater with independent film screenings, film festivals, community events and possibly a rooftop bar. In keeping with the theater's Japanese history, a concessions stand will include items such as Japanese sweets, edamame, sake, soju and beer.

"It will be an independent theater, but we're not going to try and compete with places like Laemmles," said Nic Cha Kim, co-founder of Gallery Row, a collection of art exhibition spaces along Main and Spring streets. "We want to make the theater itself an experience."

Broker Sandy Bleifer of DownTown Enterprises represented the seller, the Los Angeles-based Grace family, and the buyer, an undisclosed family foundation. Escrow closed in late December. The purchase price was not released.

"We had maybe half a dozen interested parties, but because of the special nature of the project, the Graces were very attached to the property," Bleifer said. "They always wanted to see it come back to life. One of the things that attracted the new owners to the property was the opportunity to have an ongoing relationship with the Little Tokyo Service Center."

Kim will serve as artistic director, and will operate the theater along with fellow Gallery Row founder Kjell Hagen, and partners Jared Hungerford and James Kirst.

The 7,700-square-foot Linda Lea, which closed in the 1980s, was one of only three theaters in Los Angeles to screen Japanese language films. During its heyday in the 1960s, visitors would flock to see the latest samurai drama produced by the Toei film company.

"I always thought it was a beautiful building. Who wouldn't want it?" said Kim. "We've had this project in our minds for five or six years, and drew up plans to renovate it long before it was for sale."

The LTSC and the operators are applying for a $1.5 million grant from the California Cultural and Historical Endowment. The deadline is April. The dilapidated property is in need of extensive renovation, Hagen said, and the team is in the process of determining a timeline for completion.

"We're currently trying to get support behind us from many different angles, from the city to the L.A. Conservancy," said Hagen.

Eastern Columbia

Sells for $20 Million


The Kor Group last week closed escrow on the historic Eastern Columbia Building, which it plans to convert into condominiums. The company purchased the 1930 structure at 849 S. Broadway from Denly Investments for nearly $20 million. Ed Rosenthal of CB Richard Ellis brokered the deal, and said a $50 million renovation will start soon. The building is easily identified by its turquoise blue and gold terra cotta exterior and is about 70% vacant.

http://you-are-here.com/downtown/1930_eastern_columbia.jpg

http://www.wynnlocations.com/locations.html

The Palace theatre, one of the oldest movie palaces downtown, has also been bought, is being restored and will feature lofts on its upper floors. I don't know if the theatre part itself will be available for screenings.

Built as the third home of the Orpheum vaudeville circuit in Los Angeles, this is now the oldest remaining original Orpheum theatre in the country.  From its opening day in June 1911 until the move to its final location at 842 Broadway 15 years later, the greatest singer, dancers, comedians, acrobats and animal acts in vaudeville performed here.

http://you-are-here.com/theatre/palace.jpghttp://you-are-here.com/theatre/palace2.jpghttp://www.wynnlocations.com/palace-s/ext1.JPGhttp://www.wynnlocations.com/palace-s/theater3.jpghttp://www.wynnlocations.com/palace-s/2loft3.jpghttp://www.wynnlocations.com/palace-s/stairs1.JPG

http://www.wynnlocations.com/Website%20Pics/Theatres/Los%20Angeles%20Theatre/latheat.gifhttp://www.wynnlocations.com/Website%20Pics/Theatres/Los%20Angeles%20Theatre/DSCN0052_2.jpghttp://www.wynnlocations.com/Website%20Pics/Theatres/Los%20Angeles%20Theatre/DSCN0060_2.jpghttp://www.wynnlocations.com/Website%20Pics/Theatres/Los%20Angeles%20Theatre/DSCN0054_2.jpg

http://you-are-here.com/theatre/orpheum.jpg its back lot: http://you-are-here.com/theatre/orpheum2.jpg

linda lea: http://you-are-here.com/theatre/linda_lea.jpg

But these Wynn ppl also have it on their site...so I'm guessing on the upper levels: also lofts? This is all considerably east fwiw, as Spring is just one block away from Main, and to answer your earlier question Main, they are loft-ing 5th Street, or rather already have (the Los Angeles and San Fernando bildings, at 4th and Main.) So now you will know where to get drunk on Skid Row

Built in 1904, Farmers & Merchants is the first bank building in Los Angeles. Its founder, Isaias Hellman, was the leading banker to Southern California's growing agricultural and merchant economy. The bank's ceiling is a large barrel-vaulted glass skylight that was covered up during the bomb scares of World War II.

http://wynnlocations.com/farmers-s/DSCN7283.JPGhttp://wynnlocations.com/farmers-s/bank1.jpghttp://wynnlocations.com/farmers-s/black2.jpghttp://wynnlocations.com/farmers-s/vault1.JPG http://wynnlocations.com/farmers-s/vault%20room.jpghttp://wynnlocations.com/farmers-s/bank3.JPG

okay thats all 4 now!!!

FELICITY WHEN CAN WE HANG OUT??! I STILL HAVEN'T MET YOU YET - LET'S GO TO THE EDISON.

SPENCER CHOW TOLD ME YOU ARE GOOD ENOUGH TO PASS MY HOTNESS HANGING-OUT-WITH REQUIREMENTS, THAT I STRICTLY ENFORCE ON ALL TRANSPLANTS

"transplant"

You were the one asking us for LA advice just the other day.

Yeah we need to bump the LA #4 thread and organize something. Has tremenoid had the kid yet?

Haha, ok Spencer-by-proxy. So glad I am on the "A" list.

tremendoid has had the kid, as of about 3 hrs ago. wife and baby resting. happy birthday sarah naomi :D!!!! *collapses* good night!

congrats dude!

Major Congrats, duuude!

http://www.yehey.com/ecards/images%5Cthumb%5CBaby-Wave.gif

p.s. what is your baby's email addy (for top secret newborns-only borad)?

CONGRATS TREMENDOID!!!

HAHA - that's awesome you found that old thread! I had already lived in LA for years then but was new to Hollywood Tourist Central - and as this is my 5th anniversary in this apt, oh how I can reminisce about the rent before those ZILLION dollar lofts being built down the street caused it to increase (jumped up again this month :(
and will again annually.. i'm really starting to wonder how much longer this studio is going to go before comparing with something even in new york - it's ridiculous here.

Rah Tremendoid! Yay baby!

You have also been given 2 thumbs up and a clearance from NYU/Library Mary... so Felicity how am I supposed to get in touch with you - are you on Spencer or Remy's social networking menu... my current email is v i k t o r i a n . x @ geemail USE IT

I IM MR. TABREN LAST NIGHT - but Arthur wrote back when I wasnt here we must rope him into our socialization plans

IF none of you are doing anything this week every night from Monday to Thursday is the AFI showcase @ the Arclight --> MY FILM IS PLAYING TOMORROW night - 7:30 PM

i am technically only supposed to pass this along to "industr foax" due to a finite # of seats but since no one cares ...RSVP HERE -> http://www.afi.com/showcase/

FREE BOOZE AFTER ALL THE SCREENINGS AT AFTER-PARTY

thanks guys booze/glitz it up for me laxorz. peace

aw, massive urban economic development project can't secure a loan!

Grand Avenue Construction Pushed to 2009
Developer Delays Phase One Completion Another Year

by Anna Scott
Staff Writer
Developer Related Companies has announced that it is delaying construction on the $3 billion Grand Avenue project until next year, a company official said Monday afternoon. The company previously planned to break ground this summer.
Under the revised schedule, phase one construction would begin on Feb. 15, 2009, and finish in 2012 instead of 2011 as previously anticipated.
Initially, Related intended to begin construction on the project in October 2007, but the schedule has been pushed back multiple times.
The latest rescheduling stems from the difficulty in securing a construction loan in the ongoing credit crunch, said Related of California President Bill Witte. The previous schedule, he said, was based on the assumption that Related would be able to secure construction financing based on partially completed construction documents.
"As the financial world tightens and tightens, it's clear that's not going to be possible," said Witte.
"Nothing has changed in the timing of the documents," he added. "What has changed is our assessment of whether we can get a loan right now."
The developer plans to finalize construction documents for the Bunker Hill complex, which will include design details and help determine building costs, by the end of the year. Related will then move forward with demolishing a multi-level parking structure at Grand Avenue and First Street, probably in November, Witte said. Related previously intended to demolish the structure this past March, but decided to wait in lieu of the current fiscal situation. He said the parking structure, currently closed, could reopen in the interim.
"No one wants to have a big hiatus between the time we complete demolition and the time we start excavation," said Witte.
Plans for the approximately $1 billion first phase of the Frank Gehry-designed project, officially dubbed The Grand, call for a 48-story Mandarin Oriental Hotel & Residences with 295 rooms and 262 condominiums, a 19-story residential tower with 126 market-rate apartments and 98 affordable units, retail, a nightclub and a 16-acre Civic Park.
Construction on the park, Witte said, will proceed as scheduled, with groundbreaking slated for next spring and completion in 2011. The budget for its "base" design is $56 million, though additional amenities will cost more, officials have said.
Witte said that in June, Related will go before the Grand Avenue Authority, which is overseeing the project, to ask for formal approval of the construction delay.
Contact Anna Scott at a✧✧✧@downtownn✧✧✧.c✧✧.
www.downtownnews.com.

but yay the civic park is still going ahead! will it have a "ramble" for cruising?