[danparker276]

Everyone that I know that visits "Sunny California" are impressed with the palm trees.
People are used to seeing on tv on the streets of Beverly Hills. Almost every movie shows palm trees as part of a cut to show southern california.

[citywatch]

Hell, Street trees ARE the basics!Exactly. And when many streets in LA either have no trees or quite a few semi alive or dead ones---& when I was in the Little Tokyo area of DTLA several months ago, I noticed some of its trees along the sidewalk were missing or dead----spending time arguing over whether we should have palms or oaks, or maples or ficuses or whatever, is kind of like a person working on his job resume & complaining that he can't list a degree from Harvard or Stanford when he hasn't even gotten a high school diploma.

And I believe this photo was taken from the New Jersey side of the NY harbor area. No wonder ppl rag on Jersey. :D


http://images.amazon.com/images/P/B000008USI.01._SCLZZZZZZZ_.jpg

[Wright Concept]

^ The decision between what tree it is makes a difference in terms of which ones are drought tolerant and provide shade yet low maintenance and won't die the minute you plant them.

[Art]

Palm trees make sense in certain areas. They need enough moisture, plus proper care, and they need to get replaced when they get old and die.

Too many places in So Cal are wrong for palm trees. Like up and down many of the hot boulevards in South L.A. They stand there for years, dead. A dead palm tree is not glamourous. Ask any local residents, I'm sure they'd prefer a nice oak tree to a dead, shadeless palm tree.

To me, Pasadena's Green Street (parallel to Colorado one block south) is a model for how streets can be used to make a street beautiful and comfortable. There is a variety of So-Cal trees along Green, including palms put also several other species like walnut.

Green street is a great example LBU, I have thought of that street as a model for the comfortability a canopy offers for years. We must be on the same page, as I have dreamed of being able to plant a nice shade tree sidewalk canopy on front lawn edges and the parkways on so many of those south and east LA neighborhoods where the sun just tortures pedestrians.

sadly, I worked inthe tree forest service in LA for several years and I get the impression that much of the city's rhetoric is just rhetoric. Our "Trees For a Green LA" program had bad attendance in south and east LA, and besides the obvious problem that they did not adequately advertise the program, we had told those who run the program in the DWP about other programs in low income areas that take a more proactive/aggressive position in providing free trees. Basically the idea is that in poorer neighborhoods people are more weary of free programs and many do not have the time or resources to plant trees on their property no matter how positive the results, so several programs in the pacific northwest would have a trained tree forester(like what I was trained for in the program) walk these low income communities and mark where and what people can place on their property. Then a community planting is planned and watering captains are assigned, and you focus on orienting the trees in such a hot place like LA to form a nice canopy over sidewalks. You basically take the work out of the equation in these areas or few trees get planted, it had proven successful and we showed the evidence and info to those coordinating the program from the. You know what they did(in true LA fashion)? Ignored us and continued to under advertise the program, then they cut our jobs without informing us in advanced(5 days before last Xmas) and cut the workshops from 15 to 3 a month. The kicker was that they then made their marketing department(who were responsible for the inept advertising) run the workshops instead of trained professionals who work in the fields.

I have talked until my face turned blue to Villaraigosa's people and not gotten any action on it. It really sad.

[Wright Concept]

That would be very nice for South and East LA. It would bring investment to the entire city without massive gentrification because it would be spread out rather than focused in one spot. Even the Valley would appreciate that.

[citywatch]

All I know is that, regardless of palm vs oak trees, because we've taken so long to really clean up & improve the city, a lot of ppl, inc many SSPers, don't seem to be placing LA too high on their popularity list (http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/showthread.php?t=115142).

BTW, I think LA is a more interesting place to visit, & has a better cultural scene, than San Diego, & yet does that town's reputation for being more attractive than we are, & having fewer dive hoods than we have, now really starting to crunch down on us?


http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2095-2360948,00.html

CRYSTAL RESENDEZ was working in the Virgin Megastore in New York’s Union Square on the morning of 9/11, and vividly remembers crowds of people fleeing the World Trade Center covered in ash.

Today Resendez, 30, is general manager of the store, next to Mann’s Chinese Theatre in Hollywood Boulevard, one of the hottest tourist spots on America’s West Coast. “There’s no doubt we’re still suffering much more than New York from the drop-off in foreign visitors,” she said. “The Union Square store is beating its sales records, but we’re definitely not.”

Midwest accents seemed to dominate the throngs jostling around the freshly made hand and foot prints of actor Kevin Costner in the Chinese Theatre forecourt, but few of them were going into the Virgin store.

Last year 49m people visited America, 1.5m fewer than five years earlier. But these figures disguise a u-shaped trend in which visitor numbers slumped for two years after the attacks in 2001 but have been climbing again since 2003.

Ground Zero has proved a potent international magnet. New York expects an extra 500,000 international arrivals this year compared with 2005, when the 6.8m foreign visitors exactly matched the figure for 2000. But the West Coast, which has suffered no terrorist attacks, has had a drop in tourism. Last year Los Angeles had 2.5m foreign tourists, 1m fewer than in 2000.

[POLA]

^accoriding to that article you just posted, Los Angeles is the 11th most popular city in the country for people to want to live at and our state is number one. how is that bad?

[citywatch]

^accoriding to that article you just posted, Los Angeles is the 11th most popular city in the country for people to want to live at and our state is number one. how is that bad?Because as the 2nd largest city in the US, & one that gets lots of free publicity from the entertainment business, it should be doing a lot better. But it nonetheless ranks surprisingly low, even worse when you average the city's ratings from 1997 to 2006 & then compare it with the averages for San Diego, SF, Chicago or NYC.

And notice how most of the SSPers who've responded to that thread don't even bother to mention LA as being among their top picks. In comparison, a lot of them do list San Diego.

However, I'll admit that what ppl say in a survey & how they actually behave in real life may be 2 different things:

:(

California Residents Decide Golden State is Tarnishing

Housing costs have become too rich for many, making this the most popular state to leave.

By Muhammed El-Hasan
DAILY BREEZE
September 17, 2006

Go west, young man.

Or maybe not.

The popular 19th-century adage urging Americans to move westward in search of new opportunities has been turned on its ear -- at least where California is concerned. The nation's most populous state, a traditional magnet for throngs of daring, ambitious people seeking everything from gold nuggets and great weather to good jobs and Hollywood glamour, now carries an unflattering designation. The Golden State is No. 1 in outward migration of residents to other states, according to the most recent figures provided by the U.S. Census Bureau.

From July 1, 2004, to July 1, 2005, the net flow of residents from California to other states -- those moving to the state minus those leaving -- was negative 239,000 people. That's higher than any other state in the union. California even edged out former No. 1 New York by 7,000 people.

"You think of California as kind of a growing state. And overall, California did gain population," said Robert Bernstein, a Census Bureau spokesman. "But (it was) because a natural increase and immigration from abroad exceeded the loss to other states."

California has been losing residents to other states each year since the period of July 1, 1988, to July 1, 1989, when the outflow began as a trickle. As of last year, the state's outflow was at its highest point since the mid-1990s, when a severe recession and aerospace industry slump drove engineers and other professionals out of California in search of work. Back then, the departures peaked from July 1, 1993, to July 1, 1994, with a net outflow that surpassed 400,000 residents.

But instead of returning to California's historical trend of a positive net inflow of residents, the outflow has continued nonstop. And after a lull of a few years, the net departures again seem to be accelerating. For example, the period from July 1, 2000, to July 1, 2005, saw a net outflow of 664,000 people from California, an average of nearly 133,000 a year. That average is about half of the latest figure.

As a percentage of population, New York still has greater outward migration of residents to other states than does California.

"But that still begs the question: Why are nearly 240,000 people leaving (California)?" said Paul Ong, a demographics expert at the UCLA School of Public Affairs.

The current outflow comes at a time of relative economic strength and moderate job growth in the state. In contrast to the recession of the 1990s, this most recent outflow has been driven mostly by an economic boom. The housing boom has made buying a home or even renting much more expensive than just a few years ago. That has inspired many of the state's residents to eye cheaper homes in other states while giving pause to those considering a move to California.

"California is an extremely expensive place to live, particularly compared to some of the markets close by like Phoenix or Las Vegas, (where) you can get a lot more house for your money," said Steve Cochrane, senior managing director of Moody's Economy.com in Westchester, Pa.

In July, the median price for an existing, single-family detached home in California was $567,360, according to the Los Angeles-based California Association of Realtors. The figure for Torrance was $610,000. For California, Torrance and many other cities statewide, you would have to go back only five years to find prices at half their current value. This has made otherwise robust home appreciation in other parts of the nation look downright meager.

"Look at San Francisco and parts of Los Angeles," Ong said. "If you look at the last decade or so, the people who can afford to stay tend to be better educated and higher income. It's driving out working-class people with children. They're moving to the suburbs. Some of that must spill into moving to other states."

As a result, Los Angeles County saw a net outflow of 154,320 residents to other counties from July 1, 2004, to July 1, 2005, according to the Census Bureau. Ong added that even with the current slowdown in home appreciation, the damage already has been done since the prices have reached a "very high plateau."

California's high cost of living may help explain why about four in 10 Nissan employees followed their jobs out of state when the company's North American sales and marketing headquarters moved from Carson to Nashville over June and July.

So, where are Californians moving to? From 1995 to 2000, the most recent period with available statistics from the Census Bureau, the top destination state was Nevada. Arizona came in second, followed by Texas, Washington state, Oregon, Colorado and Florida. Each of these states had a positive net migration of residents into their borders, according to the latest census figures. Most are relatively close to California. And all are less expensive.

That's good news for Jason Braford, ZipRealty's Las Vegas district director. "We're seeing a continual influx of people from California," Braford said. "The lion's share are people coming in from California."

Home prices, lower taxes, shorter commutes and a burgeoning community in Las Vegas entice many Californians, Braford said. "In California, you can (sell) your $500,000 or $600,000 property, you can come here and usually you get something that's in the $300,000 to $400,000 range and gain in lot size," Braford said.

In addition, people moving from the East Coast and Midwest in search of a warmer climate usually first look either to Los Angeles or Las Vegas, Braford said. But often Las Vegas wins out because of California's higher cost of living, he said.

A survey conducted by UCLA demographers found that most Southern Californians still see this region as attractive. The top three positive elements cited were the weather, economic opportunity and cultural diversity, said Ong, who worked on the survey. "Transportation and traffic emerged as the least attractive aspect of Southern California," Ong said. Pollution, crime and public schools also were viewed as problems.

"We've reached the point where our amenities are being outweighed by some of the perceived costs -- air pollution, crowding, congestion and so forth," Ong said.

In addition to so-called "push" forces such as high home prices that make California seem less hospitable, a big "pull" comes from other states, Economy.com's Cochrane said. "The rate of growth of employment in California is OK, but it's not great. It's average at best," Cochrane said. "There are a lot more fast-growing areas (like) Arizona, Nevada, Colorado, Utah, Washington state. And increasingly, Texas is back on its feet.

"So, for economic reasons, there's a pull from the surrounding region because of employment opportunities, and there's a bit of a push from California because of the expense of staying in California."

Despite California's net loss of residents to other states, in a seeming contradiction, the Golden State remained No. 1 in attracting foreign immigrants, drawing about one in every five entering the U.S., according to Office of Immigration Statistics figures for Oct. 1, 2004 to Sept. 30, 2005, the latest available. Indeed, California's 232,000 foreign newcomers in that period were nearly double that of the second top immigrant magnet, New York.

California's ethnic diversity is a big reason for the attraction despite the high cost of living, Cochrane said. "Migrants go where there's a place to live and where there's a support system," Cochrane said. "And certainly all of California, and L.A. in particular, provide that for migrants in many regions of the world."

Another reason for California's popularity with immigrants is the state's massive economy that offers vast job opportunities, Cochrane said. He added that coastal cities such as Los Angeles traditionally have served as points of entry for foreigners.

California's immigrant inflow plays an especially critical role, given the state's outflow of residents to other states, Cochrane said. Notably, the number of immigrants admitted to the state from Oct. 1, 2004, to Sept. 30, 2005, almost equaled the net loss of residents to other states from July 1, 2004, to July 1, 2005.

California's immigrant infusion appears to effectively nullify the population loss to other states, in terms of numbers.That reality bears heavily on the state's economy, Cochrane said. The pace of economic growth is based partly on the work force's rate of increase. A slow rise in the work force's size could stunt economic expansion by limiting the labor supply. "California depends so much on international migration, particularly to maintain positive (economic) growth," he said.



http://www.brookings.edu/es/urban/livingcities/losangeles.htm

Los Angeles's population growth in the 1990s derived almost entirely from its significant immigration flow, which has made the city among the nation's most racially diverse. Over 40 percent of city residents were born outside the U.S., and Mexico, Central America, and East Asian countries all contribute heavily to the city's workforce. These inflows have made Los Angeles one of the nation's most youthful cities, and explain the large number of families with children who call the city home.

Unfortunately, the economic difficulties that plagued southern California for much of the 1990s seem to have further separated Los Angelenos by race and income. The City and County of Los Angeles lost a significant number of white residents over the decade. Median household income fell precipitously between 1990 and 2000, at a faster rate than in any other Living City. Annual household incomes for the city's blacks and Latinos trail those for whites by large margins, mirroring differences in educational attainment by race. Homeownership in Los Angeles, already low by large-city standards, declined overall in the 1990s.

International migrants continued to arrive in Los Angeles in the 1990s, but other groups left the city and region. Los Angeles added 180,000 new foreign-born residents over the decade, so that by 2000 immigrants accounted for over 40 percent of the city's population—the second-highest presence among the Living Cities. Mexico is by far the most common country of origin for the city's foreign-born, though populations from El Salvador and Guatemala each number over 100,000.

As immigrants grew in number and importance in the 1990s, however, other groups left the city. Most notably, the white population declined by 200,000 in the city, and by 460,000 in the remainder of the county. These population dynamics contributed to separation by race and ethnicity in the region. Los Angeles-Long Beach has the fourth-highest level of segregation between whites and Hispanics among the 100 largest cities in the U.S.

Educational attainment trends point to the emergence of "two economies" in Los Angeles. Just over one-fourth of Los Angeles adults possess a bachelor's degree, somewhat higher than the national average. However, the proportion that has graduated from high school fell slightly between 1990 and 2000—one of only a few cities in which this occurred. This trend reflects not only the scale of Latin American immigration to Los Angeles, but also the location—and relocation—of more educated workers in other parts of the region.

Education statistics by race and ethnicity further suggest that the city is dividing into "two economies" —a high-skill sector in which whites and Asians are disproportionately represented (over 40 percent hold college degrees), and a low-wage sector composed disproportionately of blacks and Latinos (17 percent and 6 percent, respectively, hold college degrees).

Los Angeles's overall economic profile worsened in the 1990s. The effects of economic recession and restructuring in southern California in the early to mid-1990s are revealed in Los Angeles's economic profile in Census 2000. Where manufacturing once played a pivotal role in the region's economic stability, that sector employs fewer than one in seven of the city's workers today. Meanwhile, only six in ten adults participate in the labor force, ranking Los Angeles 80th among the top 100 cities. Median household income in the city fell by nearly 12 percent over the decade, reflecting a drop in middle- and higher-income households and rapid growth in low-to-moderate-income households.

[POLA]

:koko:

[Vangelist]

Citywatch, you need to chill out instead of parsing thru and analyzing all the minutiae of disparate rankings. The simple fact remains that Los Angeles is not going to be highly rated by the rest of the country until it effectively revolutionalizes its transportation system, and mass transit that is speedier and present in a more potent form than the bus system, is both highly available and highly publicized, with old tenants and newcomers alike testifying to their friends in other parts of the country that it's convenient. Maybe then the air quality will improve as well, but that would remain to be seen

If you add the downtown reviltaization to this fantasy, as well as perhaps Hollywood making a few better movies ("haha" - of course that has nothing to do with quality of life here, but for good or bad our reputations are inevitably linked), then perhaps the old rep could see a makeover; no amount of electrical wires being replanted underground is going to do the trick alone. The people from walkable cities want...walkability! More than pockets of pedestrian activity, but a metropolis full of it.

The damage has been done; until then, LA will always be seen as a hellhole of traffic by outsiders, which is something I've stopped worrying over: better for the people who actually live here and enjoy its pleasures and secrets. Our gain, their ignorance, especially when we ARE trying to rectify the problem (albeit very, very slowly).

[citywatch]

The simple fact remains that Los Angeles is not going to be highly rated by the rest of the country until it effectively revolutionalizes its transportation system....The people from walkable cities want...walkability! More than pockets of pedestrian activity, but a metropolis full of it.

The damage has been done; until then, LA will always be seen as a hellhole of traffic by outsiders, which is something I've stopped worrying over: better for the people who actually live here and enjoy its pleasures and secrets.But is San Diego, which a lot more ppl give high marks to, so much more of a transit city than LA? And even though its DT has filled out nicely over the past several yrs, is SD really sooo much more of a walkable town than LA? Is SD really so much more ideal to a lot of SSPers, or at least to the ppl who've replied to this thread (http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/showthread.php?t=115142)?

I wish lousy transit & jammed roads were the main reason many ppl rate LA way down on their list.

[citywatch]

:koko:uh, all the ppl at SSP who include SD, but not LA, as one of the top cities they'd like to move to? OK.

[Vangelist]

I think it IS our traffic problem that forms the bulk of our negative image - well it accounts for two-thirds of the triad anyway: traffic, smog/air pollution, and gangs/crime. The amount of traffic directly correlates to the smog. Gangs are just a negative stereotypical holdover from the Dr Dre 90s. It's unfortunate that perception of LA as a crime-ridden apocalypse hasnt changed much at all. Snoop singing so much about "da LBC" hasn't helped.

San Diego by contrast is a quaint little manageable beach/ resort like town, filled with beaches and sunshine and pretty buildings and good times, and so close to Mexico. If you're trapped in the cold mid-west, etc when THAT is the national image of SD (instead of miltary base, yuppie-dominated senior Republican stronghold with just as much autodependency, in most parts, as LA)...dude, what is there not to like?

I'm not talking reality, I'm talking perception. LA's is negative, but as reality is all that matters, who cares? Why should we be that concerned (a little concern is okay, but obsessing over this is futile) ? In the 70's NYC also had a despised reputation; didn't alter the fact that some of the greatest art was made there in the day

[POLA]

uh, all the ppl at SSP who include SD, but not LA, as one of the top cities they'd like to move to? OK.

:koko:

[LA/OCman]

I live in OC but own property in LA. I have lived in SD as well so here is my perspective. I realize this should be a new thread, but I would like to respond.

I prefer LA to San Diego because the most interesting place on the planet. That said, LA really needs to improve its freeways and train routes because so many people see LA from these vantage points. There used to be an organization in LA called LA Beautiful who planted trees and flowers near the freeways/exits. Caltrans does a horrific job. The 5 freeway is the ugliest freeway south of Downtown...graffiti, trash and lack of interesting vegitation. LA needs to develop a "garden district" surrounding downtown.

Hollywood has so much promise..but there is a real lack of interesting landscape. They even took out the flower planters on Hollywood Blvd recently. Look at Michigan Ave, Park Ave....even Beverly Hills. Landscaping would have an immediate impact on the look from eyes of a tourist. Great landscaping is why cities such as Paris are so beautiful.

Hollywood has such a dynamic nightlife now and I see a lot of promise if they can improve the quality of life issues. Downtown LA has a bigger task. Perhaps South Park should really begin to look like a "park" with landscaped medians. Hopefully someone from the mayor's office will see this....LA Beautiful needs to become active once more! With our weather, we should have the most beautiful streets and freeways. We should not settle for mediocrity.

[citywatch]

I realize this should be a new thread, but I would like to respond.When I have to read things like this....

Today Resendez, 30, is general manager of the store, next to Mann’s Chinese Theatre in Hollywood Boulevard, one of the hottest tourist spots on America’s West Coast. “There’s no doubt we’re still suffering much more than New York from the drop-off in foreign visitors,” she said. “The Union Square store is beating its sales records, but we’re definitely not.”

New York expects an extra 500,000 international arrivals this year compared with 2005, when the 6.8m foreign visitors exactly matched the figure for 2000. But the West Coast, which has suffered no terrorist attacks, has had a drop in tourism. Last year Los Angeles had 2.5m foreign tourists, 1m fewer than in 2000.

...this part of the Hollywood thread, as far as I'm concerned, isn't OT.


There used to be an organization in LA called LA Beautiful who planted trees and flowers near the freeways/exits.I bet a million bucks that if our traffic was just as bad as it is today, & our transit was no better than it is now, but if more of LA looked like the best parts of DTLA or Westwood, Bev Hills, Pasadena, Weho, SaMo, or mid Wilshire, a lot more ppl wouldn't be so down on the city.

The 5 freeway is the ugliest freeway south of Downtown...graffiti, trash and lack of interesting vegitation.In a way I think the city would be in better shape today if more of its ppl through the yrs, esp pols & leaders, such as all of LA's mayors & council members, had been driving & walking around LA, & saying, damn it, this place looks like shit!!! Unacceptable!!! What the hell is wrong with is for allowing our city to be like this??!!!


http://i38.photobucket.com/albums/e135/jreeves76/DSC00175.jpg


I prefer LA to San Diego because the most interesting place on the planet.I think so too. But it's interesting how many ppl, even here at SSP, seem to have warm fuzzies for SD, but not LA. If you ask me, I think that preference is kind of boogie or burban like, because LA to me is a more interesting, culturally happening place. But when ppl who love NYC & SF or Chicago----which aren't bourgoisie type places----also want to give high marks to SD, but not to LA, you know we've got big problems.


:koko:Are you saying this is the extent of the way you debate a topic, Pola? :(

[POLA]

Are you saying this is the extent of the way you debate a topic, Pola? :(

There is no debating with you. Absurd statements beget absurd responses.

[citywatch]

There is no debating with you. Absurd statements beget absurd responses.Absurd? How so?

I hope you're not the type of person who when he hears a message he doesn't care for, puts his fingers in his ears & goes "naw, naw, neener, naw, neener, naw, naw....I can't hear you, I can't hear you..."

[POLA]

sigh

[RAlossi]

Office Building Is A Hollywood Hit

By DANIEL MILLER
Los Angeles Business Journal Staff

A two-decade drought is over: Hollywood is getting a new office building.

Next month, Sunset Gower Studios, an independent production facility, will break ground on a six-story, 97,000-square-foot building for Technicolor Inc. at Sunset Boulevard and North Gower Street.

Redevelopment and real estate industry professionals have supported the project, noting that Hollywood needs more office space to support the growth of the area’s housing market, which has ballooned in recent years.

Though Technicolor, a division of France-based Thomson, signed a lease to occupy the entire building several months ago, an appeal made to the Los Angeles Central Area Planning Commission by a neighboring business owner threatened to derail the $40 million project.

That appeal, made by East-West Studios LLC owner Doug Rogers, was rejected 3-0 by the commission at its Sept. 12 meeting; the project is now moving forward, with construction slated to begin in October, said Robert Papazian, Sunset Gower Studios’ chief executive.

“A real renaissance could take place in Hollywood,” Papazian said. “Hopefully this will kick off other developers to refurbish existing structures or take old ones down and build new office buildings. It would be good for the community and great for businesses that participate.”

The office project has received the support of L.A.’s Community Redevelopment Agency and the Los Angeles Mayor’s Office business team, among other groups that cite the long drought in office construction.

The last Class A office building erected in Hollywood was the Mercedes-Benz tower, which was built in 1984 at 6353 Sunset Blvd. Klasky Csupo Inc., an animation production company, currently occupies that building.

According to John Perfitt, senior real estate development agent for the CRA, the construction of the Mercedes-Benz tower also followed several years during which there had been no office construction.

Balance issue
“We are very concerned about the jobs and housing balance in Hollywood,” Perfitt said. “We would like to see more Class A office space in Hollywood specifically targeted at the entertainment industry.”

The new Technicolor facility at 6040 Sunset Blvd. will be built on the northeast corner of the 11-acre Sunset Gower Studios lot, between North Gower Street and Gordon Street. The building area is currently a surface-level parking lot.

Technicolor is already a tenant on the Sunset Gower Studios lot and has outgrown its current space, where it does sound production work. As part of the new Technicolor building construction, other upgrades will be made to the studios’ lot, including a new entrance and landscaping.

“With a big company like Technicolor placing its mark on Sunset, it’s a bona fide statement that says we believe in this area,” Papazian said.

In recent years, through Los Angeles’ Adaptive Reuse Ordinance, large chunks of Hollywood’s office space – often in antiquated buildings – have been converted to condos and lofts.

“If you look at construction and land costs and rent, the for-sale residential properties still pencil better in terms of other land uses,” Perfitt said. “The equity money follows that.”

The new Technicolor building is slated to open by the end of 2007 and will house some of the company’s post-production, editing, and dubbing operations.

“We are thrilled,” said Bob Hoffman, vice president of marketing for Technicolor. “Technicolor has a long history of involvement in the Hollywood neighborhood and we are thrilled that there is a re-emergence of that neighborhood.”

Technicolor also operates a post-production facility across the street from Sunset Gower Studios at 6087 Sunset Blvd.

In its appeal to the Planning Commission, East-West Studios, a recording studio, argued that operational and construction noise created by the building would be a detriment to the studio’s recording operations, according to Planning Commission documents.

“The Sunset Gower folks went out and did testing on noise levels and presented it to commission,” said Tim McOsker, attorney with Christensen Glaser Fink Jacobs Weil & Shapiro LLP, who handled the appeal for Sunset Gower Studios. “The area Planning Commission agreed with Sunset Gower’s findings.”

Papazian said that Sunset Gower Studios is working with other area landowners to make sure they are comfortable with the construction. “We are doing anything possible to mitigate sound problems so they can continue in their business,” he said.

East-West Studios did not return calls seeking comment.

With the Technicolor project now moving forward, those in redevelopment say that it could jump-start other projects.

Perfitt said that among potential office projects in Hollywood, the CRA is working with a group of entertainment industry real estate professionals – including Dana Arnold, chief executive of Culver Studios – on a 100,000-square-foot project at 1601 N. Vine St. The environmental documents for the project are currently being written, and construction could begin in fall 2007.

Linda Dishman, executive director of the Los Angeles Conservancy, said that the goal in Hollywood is to create a community that is more than just a thriving residential neighborhood.

“It is about a balance,” she said. “We don’t want Hollywood to simply be a residential neighborhood. Since Hollywood is the entertainment capital of the world I think the office space essential.”

[DJM19]

Good to see Technicolor is opening some operation in Hollywood. Currently they are all in North Hollywood (and offices around the world)

[cookiejarvis]

That appeal, made by East-West Studios LLC owner Doug Rogers, was rejected 3-0 by the commission at its Sept. 12 meeting...

I think that's where Green Jelly Studios used to be.

[LAMetroGuy]

Not sure if this was already posted:

City, Developer Reach Deal on W Hotel

By DANIEL MILLER

Los Angeles Business Journal Staff

A deal has been reached between a group of local officials and Hollywood business owner Robert Blue to incorporate his Bernard’s Luggage Co. store into the planned Hollywood Boulevard and Vine Street development that will feature a W Hotel.


City officials said Blue was the last holdout fighting the development.


Blue worked out the deal with Los Angeles City Councilman Eric Garcetti, the Community Redevelopment Agency of Los Angeles, and project developers Legacy Partners Inc. and Gatehouse Capital Corp., said Josh Kamensky, spokesman for Garcetti.


“This agreement is the result of a lot of late night meetings,” Kamensky said.


Details of the deal are to be released at a press conference in Hollywood this morning.


The mixed-use project, which will be located south of Hollywood Boulevard between Vine Street and Argyle Avenue, includes the hotel, condos, apartments, and retail space. The price of the project has been estimated at $400 million.


The deal takes place against the backdrop of Proposition 90, which would limit eminent domain to public uses, such as parks, roads and schools. Blue received attention last year when he fought the CRA’s use of eminent domain to clear property for a private developer. Blue’s case has been cited as an example for boosters of the proposition, which is on the November ballo

[Damien]

You know what, for all of the ridicule the guy got from everyone on this board (myself included), this is exactly what should happen.

I truly hope the deal will be structured in a way that it can serve as a model for developers who want to cash in on the densification of Los Angeles, and we who are concerned about the Starbuckization of our local communities.

[Damien]

You know what, for all of the ridicule the guy got from everyone on this board (myself included), this is exactly what should happen.

I truly hope the deal will be structured in a way that it can serve as a model for developers who want to cash in on the densification of Los Angeles, and we who are concerned about the Starbuckization of our local communities.

[DJM19]

The problem is that often the businesses located in the area are directly contributing to how bad or melancholy its doing. So if you dont replace the business, you arent doing much better in terms of making the place attractive to visit. Not many people need crappy luggage. Its a niche store that has no use to people more than once every 10 years. Its not like replacing a coffee shop that could be visited 3 times a week by a person. And coffee shops are all about location. A luggage store could easily be 3 blocks down and nobody will know the difference.

[POLA]

Now the juice shop next door, that should have been saved because that is a great local place that will never survive changing locations. But, there building isn't historical, so they can't put up as much of a fight. That luggage store was not adding to the hood.

[Damien]

My concern is the high rents that come with the new developments, which prevent anyone but Borders, Starbucks, Gap and Olive Garden from opening up shop. Creating businesses that pay $8 an hour with all profits going to multi-nationals with headquarters in another state, region or country is not exactly my idea of growing the local economy.

I don't want to see every community to look like the same faux-tuscan towncenter brought to you by the latest could-give-a-shit-about-the-community developer, and I hope someone can figure out a way to add homes and apartments to Los Angeles without doing that.

[cookiejarvis]

Now the juice shop next door, that should have been saved because that is a great local place that will never survive changing locations. But, there building isn't historical, so they can't put up as much of a fight. That luggage store was not adding to the hood.

Apparently Juices Fountain has found a new space to do business on Hollywood Blvd.

[danparker276]

I'm sure that luggage store will change the quality of things they sell. Probably target the people staying at the hotel. Who knows, maybe it's inside the hotel.

[Wright Concept]

^ Good Point. If this luggage store may become a convienent assest to the Hotel for things like locks, name tags, and smaller goods, rollered carriers. With the changing demographic of Hollywood and really the city trying to cater to the Business traveler, a local luggage store might be the small thing that might not seem needed but it does makes a difference.

[citywatch]

A deal has been reached between a group of local officials and Hollywood business owner Robert Blue to incorporate his Bernard’s Luggage Co. store into the planned Hollywood Boulevard and Vine Street development that will feature a W Hotel.That's good news. I know one of the SSPers several wks ago gave a hint (in this thread?) about a settlement being reached between the luggage store & the CRA, but I wasn't sure if I should believe it until I saw it in hard print.

I hope this means the predicted start up of construction by November (or in about a month or two) is realistic.

The clock is ticking!

[POLA]

Apparently Juices Fountain has found a new space to do business on Hollywood Blvd.

Hurrah!

I don't want to see every community to look like the same faux-tuscan towncenter brought to you by the latest could-give-a-shit-about-the-community developer, and I hope someone can figure out a way to add homes and apartments to Los Angeles without doing that.

great point, I totally agree with you and see your point.

I really shouldn't be so hard on the luggage store. And man, I love it when everyone on this message board has really smart and insightful things to say!

[RAlossi]

My concern is the high rents that come with the new developments, which prevent anyone but Borders, Starbucks, Gap and Olive Garden from opening up shop. Creating businesses that pay $8 an hour with all profits going to multi-nationals with headquarters in another state, region or country is not exactly my idea of growing the local economy.

I understand your sentiments, and it might be hard for the luggage shop unless it gets reduced rents (a very likely possibility as part of the settlement). But keep in mind that there will be so many more potential customers walking past the luggage shop with a hotel/retail/condo development than there have been on that block for years. The luggage shop can do a lot more business once the project is completed.

[Wright Concept]

^ Which is probably the reason why they fought as hard as they did.

Some folks on this forum need to own their own business on a street and watch as someone tries to force you out to build a development on your property. I bet some of you here will try to do the exact same things the luggage owner is trying to do. Going by how strong some of these posts are I doubt any of you will just say "Ok, let's go". You'll try to fight it because it directly effects your livelihood and income.

[LosAngelesBeauty]

^ HAHA, do you guys really think his luggage shop will be tied in with the infamous W Hotel? lol

First of all, to be associated with such a high end name like the W, the luggage store owner will probably have to restock his entire inventory with luggage that matches with the W name. Nothing lower than Samsonite or Tumi would be accepted.

And secondly, from my understanding, he'll have to go thru the process to be authorized to sell those kinds of high-end names.

Anyway, all this talk is ridiculous about keeping the status quo of a neighborhood to maintain it's "character." All neighborhoods change and evolve. What is today, was not that way it was yesteryear, and will likely change again. And the change is only dramatic in a setting like Los Angeles, where it grew up as a "quiet" suburb, and now is becoming a bustling metropolis more akin to Sao Paulo. In addition, I am around Hollywood/Vine a lot and I don't see many people going into the luggage store or any of those other small businesses around there. So it didn't work in attracting people, so it's time to move on.

[RAlossi]

^ Which is probably the reason why they fought as hard as they did.

Well, initially there was a very big fight to stop the process entirely. I don't think the luggage owner had a long-term plan in place when the lawsuit was filed. Those guys were going for blood when they started arguing that federal/CRA money/land couldn't be used to build for-sale condos and/or retail.

They had a valid argument on that basis (valid in the eyes of the law, not valid in what's best for the city and district), but since there's no formal opposition anymore AFAIK, it won't be an issue. I think the developers are shifting some money around to make the CRA grants apply only to the affordable housing portion, or something.

It's kind of like how the MTA is using federal money to tunnel for the Eastside Gold Line even though there's a ban on using local funds for subway construction. Whether they're allowed to intermingle funds like that is questionable, but again, there's no opposition.

[Damien]

I understand your sentiments, and it might be hard for the luggage shop unless it gets reduced rents (a very likely possibility as part of the settlement). But keep in mind that there will be so many more potential customers walking past the luggage shop with a hotel/retail/condo development than there have been on that block for years. The luggage shop can do a lot more business once the project is completed.

Of course. And my guess is reduced rents as well. How do you determine what a fair period of reduced rent is? Does it end after some arbitrary negotiated date or after the business starts bringing in a certain amount of sales/customers? Or is there another concession in addition to or in place of reduced rents?

I really hope they make the details of the deal public, because when it comes to redevelopment projects the national chains that come with them is one of my major beefs. This question isn't unique to Hollywood Blvd. We have plenty of streets in the Southland where 75%-plus of the buildings can/should/must be demolished and rebuilt as multi-story residential possibly with retail on the bottom. I constantly wonder how to fill those retail spots with small businesses that give a street its attraction and uniqueness. And what's the point in creating more fertile economic soil if the only people reaping the benefits are paying poor wages and are out of state?

The result is more detrimental to a community like those in South LA along Crenshaw or Vermont, where a new develop with new paint looks nice, but the jobs pay just as poorly, no one in the store is making enough decent money to live in the condos above, and the entire community is forced to pay increased property taxes and apartment rents.

[Damien]

First of all, to be associated with such a high end name like the W, the luggage store owner will probably have to restock his entire inventory with luggage that matches with the W name. Nothing lower than Samsonite or Tumi would be accepted.

And secondly, from my understanding, he'll have to go thru the process to be authorized to sell those kinds of high-end names.

Do you think businesses survive for decades in this city, especially those in areas that have seen their socio-economic make-up change numerous times without being able to adjust? He'll either adapt or be forced to close up shop. I'm saying based on how well he played this in the media, he probably isn't a fool, and he may be around longer than you think he will.

Anyway, all this talk is ridiculous about keeping the status quo of a neighborhood to maintain it's "character." All neighborhoods change and evolve. What is today, was not that way it was yesteryear, and will likely change again.

No one is talking about keeping the status quo. I'm saying I don't want every corner in Los Angeles look the same and question the rationale of dumping lots of precious tax dollars building new developments that increase rents and property taxes only to send local money out the region. I'm talking about community empowerment.

I seriously suggest you go and live in an older city where local communities have been thriving for over a century, so you can take a look at just who rents those retail spots. The Subways, Starbucks and Olive Gardens are few and far between. It's small business owners that keep that local economy moving and the residents employed not the corporate nationals. It's the small businesses and local businesses that make the Inman Square experience different than the Copley Square experience, and therefore keep both economies moving.

[LosAngelesBeauty]

^ I am concerned as much as you regarding WHAT KIND of retail leases out spaces in new developments. It's fun and interesting to come and theorize our view points and opinions on here (almost like a virtual college course discussion class), but I am personally involved with some retail developments in Downtown LA right now, and I am usually the one advocating independent businesses to set up shop. Independent businesses, if maintained well, are much more interesting to people. BUT, certain business chains also validate that an area is doing well. For example, I am very excited that LA Live will be getting many chains like PF Changs, Gladstones, etc. because everyone in the industry knows that those kinds of restaurants would never come into Downtown LA if it wasn't getting better.

Overall, an area should include a healthy mix of chains and independent mom and pops. This has been done nicely if you look at LA as a whole, or a condensed Manhattan. The best area for interesting shops used to be Main St. in Santa Monica or Westwood Village. Downtown LA has the potential to become truly a slice of Manhattan, or even a condensed version of it. The historic core has some of the most potential in becoming the next shopping haven, esp. Broadway and the numbered streets.

[DJM19]

Its not like taking out the luggage store will automatically mean some big chain will take its place. The property owner could even say "I want a small business or a chain un/under-represented in LA".

[RAlossi]

It kind of saddens me that LA Live will be getting PF Chang's and Gladstone's... While people from rural areas in the Midwest may be wow'd by the "diversity" and "culture" of those types of places, what will be there that someone can't get in Burbank or Century City? Not to mention the food at those places isn't the best. It's too suburban, IMO.

If those places are set in stone (i.e., signed leases), it's too bad that we couldn't have gotten some places that really represent LA -- even if they are successful chains or whatever.

I'm sure the surrounding area will have a dramatic increase in really good non-chain restaurants, but if LA LIVE wants to be an amazing place (and for more than a billion dollars, it should be) rather than just a "good" place or a "nice" place, then it has to do something different than all the boring "Shoppingtowns" in Southern California! ugh!

[bobcat]

If those places are set in stone (i.e., signed leases), it's too bad that we couldn't have gotten some places that really represent LA -- even if they are successful chains or whatever.



There's supposed to be Katsuya (http://www.sushikatsu-ya.com/home.html), a branch of one of the top rated local sushi restaurants. Also, they had originally wanted to do something with Lawry's, but I don't know if that's still in the works. A branch of Lawry's Prime Rib would be perfect for that location.

ETA: There was also mention of a branch of the highly acclaimed French 75 (http://www.gayot.com/restaurantpages/info.php?tag=OCRES00602&code=OC) restaurants.

[RAlossi]

I love Katsu-ya. Very good to know.

[Damien]

^ I am concerned as much as you regarding WHAT KIND of retail leases out spaces in new developments. It's fun and interesting to come and theorize our view points and opinions on here (almost like a virtual college course discussion class), but I am personally involved with some retail developments in Downtown LA right now, and I am usually the one advocating independent businesses to set up shop.

Excellent. So please tell us what you think could be done to better attract mom and pops into downtown LA.

And more germane to this discussion, in places like Hollywood, which is very different than South Park in that there is an existing population with particular income levels, yet still needs new mixed-use developments, how do we make space for the good small businesses selling products affordable to the old residents (READ: people who make less per month than a mortgage payment on a $600K condo) in the new developments? If there are models I'd love to see them.

While people from rural areas in the Midwest may be wow'd by the "diversity" and "culture" of those types of places, what will be there that someone can't get in Burbank or Century City?

With so few spots ever offering anything unique, and so few shopping centers actually providing community services, the race is simply to be newer.

[bobcat]

I love Katsu-ya. Very good to know.

Here's the website (http://www.sbeent.com/katsuya/) for the "Katsuya" restaurants as opposed to the "Katsu-ya" restaurants. Same chef but different concept, apparently. The unhyphenated restaurants appear to be going after the younger, hipper crowd. Locations include restaurants in Brentwood (recently opened), Hollywood (Spring '07), Miami (Fall '07), and Downtown (Winter '08).

[citywatch]

I'm going to slot this here because, even though the thread is about Hollywood, the postings right now are wandering into a debate about retail & DTLA, or about what should or shouldn't be created in a hood that's fallen on hard times for yrs & yrs, meaning a place like DTLA or Hollywood, compared with a hood that's never fallen apart to begin with.

And I'll say at this point in time, for us in LA to be fussing over the pluses & minuses of a small luggage store in a hood long full of dives & starving shops is kind of like ppl stranded in Death Valley arguing over whether their glass of water should or shouldn't come with ice.

Meanwhile, some ppl in a stretch limo (folks from SF? from NY? from Chicago?) just drove by us at 80 miles an hour, with a mini fridge stocked full of every drink imaginable.


San Francisco Mall May Supply Concept for L.A.

A tall mall must draw shoppers in and up. It could serve as a model for other cities.

By Roger Vincent, Times Staff Writer
September 28, 2006

SAN FRANCISCO — A new style of high-rise mall that may serve as a model for downtown Los Angeles and other big city centers will open its doors here today as the largest urban shopping center west of the Mississippi River. The expanded San Francisco Centre in the heart of this city's historic commercial district at 5th and Market streets combines department stores, supermarkets, movie theaters, restaurants, shops, a spa and office space in two buildings, one nine stories and the other eight.

City leaders hope that the mall will further invigorate once-seedy Market Street and serve as a bridge between Union Square — now the city's main shopping attraction — and the grittier former industrial district south of Market Street known as SoMa, which includes new museums and hotels. If successful, San Francisco Centre eventually could be a blueprint for renewing the once-vaunted shopping district of downtown Los Angeles, experts said. But it is a bold and risky bet that residents and tourists will frequent a so-called vertical mall that goes upward instead of outward in the style of most sprawling suburban shopping centers.

"Most American consumers, save for San Francisco and Chicago, aren't really attuned to vertical retailing," said Peter Lowy, chief executive of U.S. operations for Sydney, Australia-based Westfield Group, which owns the mall with Forest City Commercial Group. "Even New Yorkers tend to not shop vertically unless they are in a department store."

Los Angeles' most recent experiment in vertical malls, the four-story Hollywood & Highland Center, was widely shunned when it opened in 2001 in part because shoppers found it difficult to navigate. The developer sold it at a loss of hundreds of millions of dollars, and the new owners have labored to make it easier to get around inside. Angelenos are expected to get another taste of vertical retailing in the $1.8-billion Grand Avenue project planned for Bunker Hill downtown that is to include a grocery store, shops, theaters and other entertainment features. Construction is slated to start next year.

But a high-end reworking of some of Los Angeles' historic department stores that have long since been turned to other uses will probably have to wait several years because downtown L.A. lacks the density of San Francisco. Not enough people live in downtown L.A. yet, and it would take a lot of new development to restore its long-lost reputation as a daytime shopping destination, said Los Angeles retail consultant Greg Gotthardt of Alvarez & Marsal. San Francisco is also hotel-rich, with about 15,000 rooms near the city center, compared with about 3,000 rooms in downtown L.A.

Nonetheless, many shoppers are ditching traditional indoor suburban malls for so-called lifestyle centers that mimic Main Street, such as the Grove in the Fairfax district of Los Angeles.

The expansion of San Francisco Centre, which cost $460 million, is part of an industry trend toward making existing successful malls much bigger by adding shops and other uses, including apartments and condos. With the new addition, San Francisco Centre has tripled in size to 1.5 million square feet.

Remodeling and ambitiously expanding malls "is clearly something that is going to continue to happen across the U.S.," said competitor Art Coppola, chief executive of Santa Monica-based mall operator Macerich Co., which is also expanding some of its malls. Retailers prefer to join proven centers, and the neighbors are less likely to object to expanding an existing center than they would to the creation of a new one. And if the properties are near public transit hubs, public officials are often quick to approve the addition of office space and residential units, Coppola said. "It makes sense because it's smart growth."

San Francisco Centre is above an underground rail station and along one of the city's busiest bus routes. Across Market Street, the city's main thoroughfare, a turntable spins cable cars around and relaunches them back up Nob Hill toward Fisherman's Wharf. "The whole mid-Market area has been difficult, but now I think it will come to life," San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom said. "It will ignite some long-range development." He said he was also looking forward to the 25 million visitors the mall is expected to attract and the estimated $18 million it should contribute to the city's general fund through taxes.

The expanded San Francisco Centre combines the original Centre, a nine-story venue that opened in 1988 with a Nordstrom store, with an aged eight-story building that once housed the Emporium. It will contain, among other things, the nation's second-largest Bloomingdale's and a gourmet Bristol Farms market. The Emporium building was built in 1896 and survived San Francisco's devastating 1906 earthquake but was destroyed by the subsequent fire. The building was rebuilt and has been a local landmark, offering through the years the city's first escalators, a circular bandstand for free concerts and a Christmastime department where only men could shop for women's gifts.

Restoring life to the cherished relic was a 10-year ordeal for owner Forest City Commercial, President Jim Ratner said. A combined project with San Francisco Centre next door made the most sense, but its owners weren't interested until Westfield, the world's largest shopping center owner, took it over in 2002. "Melding the two buildings was the key to keeping the historical architecture while giving us the critical mass to go forward," Westfield's Lowy said.

The Market Street facade renovation brought back windows and storefronts on the sidewalk that had been boarded up for at least half a century, said architect Norman Garden of RTKL, the principal design firm for the renovation. "It restores the street fabric and original intent." Bright natural light reaches most of the revamped addition through the facade windows, dome and new glass roofs, bathing floors below that open to the central core and are staggered in shape to evoke San Francisco's hilly topography. The light is a central part of the design scheme intended to coax shoppers to travel up and down several floors, which is rarely attempted in American retail centers.

"The challenge with vertical malls has always been getting the foot traffic flow worked out to attract people to each level," said consultant Gotthardt. "Otherwise you have significant dead zones and poor performance."

San Francisco Centre's multiple tiers are a gamble, Lowy acknowledged, but if the center works, the successful elements can be duplicated elsewhere. It's now one of very few vertical-style malls in the country. After today's opening hoopla, including Cirque du Soleil acrobats dangling from the high ceiling ends, San Francisco Centre will face the challenge of attracting enough of the region's demanding shoppers to prosper.

Former Emporium patron Lillian Markinson gave it thumbs up so far. "It's in good taste and not showy," said Markinson, who was there for a pre-opening tea. "It's one of the loveliest malls I have ever seen."

[citywatch]

Hollywood Luggage Shop Won't Have to Pack Its Bags

Owner wins his fight against the plan to raze his luggage store, so a massive development at Hollywood and Vine will be built around the 1928 landmark.

By Bob Pool, Times Staff Writer
September 28, 2006

Hollywood's luggage king refused to pack his bags and go when Los Angeles officials tried to seize his 60-year-old family business to make room for a high-end hotel development. Shopkeeper Robert Blue fought back by blasting the city's use of eminent domain with a mocking billboard atop his Bernard Luggage store on Vine Street just south of Hollywood Boulevard. Then he filed a lawsuit alleging a violation of his right to due process, and in the process became a symbol of what some residents considered Hollywood redevelopment run amok.

And on Wednesday the luggage man bagged a victory.

The city and Community Redevelopment Agency leaders announced that Blue's business will stay — and the largest commercial development in Hollywood history will literally be built around the historic 1928 building containing his valises, suitcases, trunks and travel accessories. The planned $500-million Hollywood and Vine project will include a glitzy, 300-room luxury W Hotel and 150 condominiums, 375 modern apartment units and 61,500 square feet of upscale retail space.

Tucked into it will be the Bernard Luggage building, set back from the street an additional 12 feet and restored to its original, vaguely Spanish Colonial Revival glory. Architects changed the plans for the sprawling development to notch in the building, which will be bordered on two sides by the new construction.

Blue, 46, will retain permanent ownership and use of the one-story, 5,475-square-foot structure, originally called the Herman Building. The structure cannot compete with Hollywood's more glamorous architectural landmarks like the El Capitan Theatre, Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel and Capitol Records building. But fans see it a symbol of Hollywood's golden era. It was designed by architect Carl Jules Weyl, who also drew the plans for the now-destroyed Hollywood Brown Derby restaurant next door. Weyl went on to win an Academy Award for art direction on the 1938 Errol Flynn-Olivia de Havilland classic "The Adventures of Robin Hood."

"This is a proud day for Los Angeles!" Blue shouted over the noise of a 12-story crane parked a few steps away on Vine Street. It was hoisting building materials onto the roof of a former Broadway department store building that is being converted into posh condominium units in another city-sanctioned redevelopment project.

The fate of the luggage store had become an issue of much debate in Hollywood, which is in the midst of a major revitalization and building boom. Hollywood and Sunset boulevards, both symbols of decay in the early 1990s, have seen a string of new retail and housing projects rise in the last few years as the neighborhood has become a hip destination again. But some merchants and community activists have expressed concern that rebirth has come at the expense of Hollywood's past, including several movie houses and TV studios. Preservationists have battled to save the Florentine Gardens, the Hollywood Palladium and CBS Columbia Square.

Blue credited Hollywood-area City Councilman Eric Garcetti for setting up negotiations with developers and the city's redevelopment agency that led to Wednesday's breakthrough. But he still got in a dig at eminent domain. Such government land seizure should be reserved for public projects, not commercial developments like the one that will rise around his tiny shop, he suggested. "You can't always count on a good City Council president" being there to help the small property owner, Blue said.

Before Wednesday's storefront sidewalk ceremony, Blue painted over the sign protesting eminent domain that he placed in March on the antique, iron-framed billboard on the roof of his shop. It resembled a movie poster and read: "Reverse Robin Hood Pictures Presents, 'Murder on Vine Street: Eminent Domain Kills Small Businesses.' " It listed Garcetti, Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, the redevelopment agency and developers as its "stars."

"This Story Tells It All: Greed, Corruption and Gridlock," the billboard's tagline said.

"I took it down as a gesture of goodwill," Blue said.

The peaceful resolution of the dispute will allow work to begin on the Hollywood and Vine project. Jeff Cohen, senior vice president for acquisitions and development for one of the project's principals, Dallas-based Gatehouse Capital, said ground will be broken for it by year's end. "I'm very appreciative of the outcome and humbled by the experience," Cohen said of the property dispute.

Redevelopment agency head Cecilia Estolano was equally relieved. Preservation of the luggage shop building "allows us to maintain the best" of old Hollywood while bringing in the new, she said. "Those who stuck it out in Hollywood's worst days will get to benefit from Hollywood's best days."

Garcetti thanked Blue for taking his stand. "You made me grow as an elected official and as a person," he said. "Bob was standing up for his business. He will be able to keep his business here. They will build around him," Garcetti said.

Blue's supporters showed up with cameras to capture what they called a "historic moment for Hollywood." Some said they hope the agreement sets a precedent for Los Angeles redevelopment. "I'm glad they did it, however they did it," said Robert Nudelman, director of preservation issues for Hollywood Heritage.

Community activist Chris Shabel, who has long criticized the disappearance of historic buildings from Hollywood, grinned as Victoria Valentine presented a wrapped bottle of champagne to mark the preservation's success. "We'll take it," Garcetti said as Valentine puzzled over whom to hand it to.

Other property owners and business operators in the project zone will have to move, however, including billboard figure and sometime actress Angelyne. Her small office is located in the development site. Hair salon operator Vam Nguyen, who has rented space in Blue's building since 1996, said she hopes to move back into her shop after the reconstruction is complete.

And Blue — who has also retained ownership of the old billboard on his roof — said he could have space for Angelyne too. "I might put her picture right up there," he said, pointing upward.

[Damien]

And I'll say at this point in time, for us in LA to be fussing over the pluses & minuses of a small luggage store in a hood long full of dives & starving shops is kind of like ppl stranded in Death Valley arguing over whether their glass of water should or shouldn't come with ice.

I think most people consider this more than a discussion about Bernard's Luggage.

San Francisco Mall May Supply Concept for L.A.

I hope not.

[LosAngelesBeauty]

Excellent. So please tell us what you think could be done to better attract mom and pops into downtown LA.




I do it every day lol I contact anyone I think might be a good fit for downtown, and a lot of the times, they're mom/pop stores. I went throughout Soho in NYC and went into many different shops asking them if they were interested in expanding their business into LA. Many are interested to this day and I talk to them semi-regularly (as deals take a VERY long time to go thru---esp if they're in NYC!).

The latest business to open in downtown LA (that's mom and pop) I was directly involved with is BLENDS sneaker boutique at 4th/Main. I went to their store in Costa Mesa a couple of years ago, gave the "Brigham Downtown LA" spiel, gave them walking tours of downtown LA, and a year and half later they're now open. I had to hold their hand (so to speak) thru a lot of the process. I had to give a presentation at the Nike headquarters in Marina Del Rey to convince them to give BLENDS the sneaker contract to sell the more exclusive sneakers. It's not easy.

I am working on a few more things right now. Very exciting stuff. :tup:

[LosAngelesBeauty]

Yeah! Let's keep all the old, and junkie shops right where they are and block developments like the W Hotel!!! lol Pah leez. Ditch the PC-crap and the counterproductive principles. If the street ain't alive when they're there now, what makes them think they'll add to the vibrancy of new developments? Them blocking development is annoying and slows down LA becoming a city people actually LIKE.

Keeping the historic structure and building around it is every interesting. In fact, it might work out quite nicely. In NYC, they build around and on top of historic buildings with new ones and it provides for an interesting urban landscape. And since the Bernard luggage store ain't gonna be there forever, having the building there for a future tenant is great!

[RAlossi]

Here's the website (http://www.sbeent.com/katsuya/) for the "Katsuya" restaurants as opposed to the "Katsu-ya" restaurants. Same chef but different concept, apparently. The unhyphenated restaurants appear to be going after the younger, hipper crowd. Locations include restaurants in Brentwood (recently opened), Hollywood (Spring '07), Miami (Fall '07), and Downtown (Winter '08).

Thank you for the information!

But COME ON! What a damn gimmick. I hope their sushi is good, but I have a strong feeling that it won't be. Obviously, this isn't a thread about Katsuya, but I feel that this will be another Fat Fish (half-assed, poor quality, overpriced, "trendy" sushi). It will serve its purpose, I suppose.

[Steve2726]

San Francisco Mall May Supply Concept for L.A.

A tall mall must draw shoppers in and up. It could serve as a model for other cities.

By Roger Vincent, Times Staff Writer
September 28, 2006

SAN FRANCISCO — A new style of high-rise mall that may serve as a model for downtown Los Angeles and other big city centers will open its doors here today as the largest urban shopping center west of the Mississippi River. The expanded San Francisco Centre in the heart of this city's historic commercial district at 5th and Market streets combines department stores, supermarkets, movie theaters, restaurants, shops, a spa and office space in two buildings, one nine stories and the other eight.



Here are the photos of this mall from the article. I think they are pretty impressive and development like this would do wonders for downtown and hollywood.-

http://www.latimes.com/media/photo/2006-09/25620712.jpg

http://www.latimes.com/media/photo/2006-09/25620713.jpg

[DJM19]

Today's LA Times has a picture of the new design. Seems instead of building the original design, and sticking the luggage owner in it, they are building around his building. I think it will totally screw up the flow of it.

[Damien]

I think they are pretty impressive and development like this would do wonders for downtown and hollywood.

L.A. needs another indoor mall like it needs a 10.5 earthquake.

Please buy The Death and Life of Great American Cities (http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_ss_gw/002-2202972-9439242?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=the+death+and+life+of+great+american+cities&Go.x=7&Go.y=8&Go=Go) by Jane Jacobs.

Seems instead of building the original design, and sticking the luggage owner in it, they are building around his building. I think it will totally screw up the flow of it.

Yea, I'm not much of a fan of the design or the apparent deal.

Yeah! Let's keep all the old, and junkie shops right where they are and block developments like the W Hotel!!! lol Pah leez. Ditch the PC-crap and the counterproductive principles.

I guess I see the issue from a somewhat different perspective than you LosAngelesBeauty and that's fine. But, what I will stress, again, is that I find it counterproductive to assume, as I see throughout the development and commercial real estate industry, that existing communities are going to roll over (or can be easily pushed over) for new dense mixed-use developments, when the new ammenties don't appropriately serve the existing residents or provide ample opportunity for local businesses/current residents to benefit.

And call me crazy, but if the private and public sector are going to spend billions on something, we might as well do it right and fix as many problems as we reasonably can along the way. Adding density through new developments in existing areas with troubled/underperforming retail economies are an opportunity to fix a hundred years of bad city planning and empower a community.

[Steve2726]

L.A. needs another indoor mall like it needs a 10.5 earthquake.


While I agree with you on this, all I am suggesting is that instead of another Grove or Citywalk, I think there is alot of potential to restore buildings downtown in a similar fashion as this project in San Francisco. And even though the Sanfrancisco Center is an indoor mall, I think it has the feel of being open to the outdoors with the huge wall of glass windows. Imagine if they were to open up Macy's plaza in a similar fashion, or the former May Co. building on Broadway-

http://www.you-are-here.com/downtown/1906_hamburger.jpg

[Damien]

^ Of course I want the old gems like the May Co building restored. But what's wrong with putting residences on top and the retail on the bottom? (Anyone know what type of businesses occupy the building?)

I just hate hate hate indoor malls. The activity is on the street and LA has the best weather in the country. I'd much rather see 100 retail spots spread out on the street in a one block radius than in one enclosed vertical building.

[LAMetroGuy]

that building is not viable for residencies because the building is too deep and the inner units will not have windows. at least, that is what potential developers said and is why they have stayed away from it. I think that building would make a great IKEA or Target.

[WesTheAngelino]

^ Of course I want the old gems like the May Co building restored. But what's wrong with putting residences on top and the retail on the bottom? (Anyone know what type of businesses occupy the building?)

I just hate hate hate indoor malls. The activity is on the street and LA has the best weather in the country. I'd much rather see 100 retail spots spread out on the street in a one block radius than in one enclosed vertical building.


Took the words outta my mouth regarding residences on top. I think it would be way better to fit a retailer(s) on the bottom level and have residential on top rather than devote the entire space to retail.

As an aside...we're all aware of the old derelict theatres downtown. Many want to restore all of them to entertainment venues. Sounds great, but is it going to happen? I have my doubts. I work in Studio City now (driving on open road on the 101 every morning blazing by Valleyites stuck in a crawl on the other side is quite a thrill) and drive by an old threatre which has now become....yup, Barnes Noble. Perhaps that could work downtown

[SunMonTueWedThuFriSa]

Very disappointed about the news concerning the redesign of the Hollywood/Vine project. Why couldn't they incorporate the luggage store into the new building rather than leaving the old ugly one and building around it? I feel Vine is too important a street to have this kind of frontage.

[POLA]

because the owner of the luggage store played the "its historical" card.

[SunMonTueWedThuFriSa]

What is the owner's stake in playing the historical card? I would think in a new sleek pocket below a huge luxury hotel (fitting for a luggage store) commercial development would be greater for business. I don't believe anyone considers the original building an architectual gem. He would be both paid for the land and allowed to continue operating business.

[RAlossi]

While I agree with you on this, all I am suggesting is that instead of another Grove or Citywalk, I think there is alot of potential to restore buildings downtown in a similar fashion as this project in San Francisco. And even though the Sanfrancisco Center is an indoor mall, I think it has the feel of being open to the outdoors with the huge wall of glass windows. Imagine if they were to open up Macy's plaza in a similar fashion, or the former May Co. building on Broadway-


The Coulter & Mandell Building are being developed into an indoor shopping center. It's a lot smaller than the San Francisco project mentioned, but it's right near Macy's Plaza.

[WesTheAngelino]

What are we going to do with Macy's Plaza? Seriously, SOMETHING must be done.

[Damien]

that building is not viable for residencies because the building is too deep and the inner units will not have windows. at least, that is what potential developers said and is why they have stayed away from it.

That's unfortunate. Maybe the May Co building is best being offices on top.

I think that building would make a great IKEA or Target.

On Labor Day, I went to my first IKEA in years (the Burbank one) and by the time I was done walking through the maze I needed a stiff drink.

COMPLETE AND TOTAL MADNESS!

Nonetheless, the problem with IKEA is you have to drive there (or take a taxi from there), because a lot of the products are far too big and heavy to carry home. It would make an already horrible traffic nightmare worse. Target less so, but still somewhat.

Somewhat related, when a large retailer sets up shop in a place like downtown they shouldn't leave a big footprint. They shouldn't hog an entire street with ground-floor retail stretching the entire block. Hopefully if the store is that big and needs that much space the bulk of it would be on upper levels or below ground, so that the street can have a variety of stores, allowing the small business community to profit from the major retailer's massive marketing campaign that has made it a retail anchor.

What is the owner's stake in playing the historical card? I would think in a new sleek pocket below a huge luxury hotel (fitting for a luggage store) commercial development would be greater for business. I don't believe anyone considers the original building an architectual gem. He would be both paid for the land and allowed to continue operating business.

That's what I was hoping for.

[RAlossi]

^^Re: Macy's Plaza, add some retail entrances around the three streets with none at all... and reorient the retail inside to face the street after that's accomplished. Add some really big, bright signs at the street or second-story level... other than that, I don't think there's much hope for it. That's a major project in and of itself right there...

[bjornson]

Sell it to Westfield.

[DJM19]

I think what a lot of urban cities do with stores like Ikea or Home Depot is that the store will ship your items to your house. That way you dont need a car, and its not like the street can accomodate one anyway.

[Damien]

^ Make sense. But wouldn't it be better if the store was east of Central or even in South Park, as opposed to 8th and Broadway?

[WesTheAngelino]

Aren't there plans for Big Box Retail in South Park? Like, Wash/Fig area?

[LAMetroGuy]

Capitol Records Tower Sold

By DANIEL MILLER

Los Angeles Business Journal Staff

The Capitol Records Tower, one of Hollywood’s most enduring landmarks, has been sold, but it also will retain its original use as an office building.

Capitol Records Inc.’s parent, EMI Group PLC, has agreed to sell the 13-story building and adjacent property to Argent Ventures LLC for $50 million. As part of the deal, the famed circular building will not be converted to condominiums as had been speculated but will be leased back to EMI so Capitol’s operations can remain there.

However, New York-based Argent Ventures, a commercial developer and property owner, will develop the remaining land on the two-acre parcel at Vine Street and Yucca Street, and a mixed-use development with a residential component is one possibility. The sale also includes a parking lot on Argyle Avenue.

Capitol Records and Capitol Studios will continue to occupy the tower at 1750 Vine St. as well as the Gogerty Building. EMI has agreed to a long-term lease with Argent, though terms of that deal have not been disclosed, said Chris Bonbright, chief executive at Ramsey-Shilling Commercial Real Estate Services Inc.

“One of the strong qualities of the buyer is that they are historically sensitive,” said Bonbright, who represented Argent in the deal.

Jeanne Meyer, EMI spokeswoman, said that the company did not actively seek a sale, but looked over several offers. “We made it very clear to several interested parties that we were only interested in the sale with an opportunity to remain in the building for many years to come,” she said.

The tower was built in 1956 and is meant to look like a stack of vinyl records. Musicians like Frank Sinatra and The Beach Boys recorded there.

[RAlossi]

^Excellent news. I was hoping it wouldn't be turned into condos. Hollywood needs all the office space it can get. And if the mixed-use development is office/residential/retail, that would be great.

[citywatch]

carealestatejournal.com, Sept 18, 2006

Hollywood Attracting Entertainment Office Tenants

Proximity to studios lures tenants from the Westside

BY KEELEY WEBSTER
CREJ Staff Writer

Longtime Los Angeles residents marvel at the changes wrought in Hollywood as developers reinvent the district block by block. But one of the quieter changes may not even be seen by Hollywood residents. Companies with ties to the film industry are moving from the Westside to office space in Hollywood. The migration is driving vacancy down and rents up, making early area office owners a pretty penny.

"Some of the old office buildings have been bought for conversion to residential," said Howard Sadowsky, vice chair and partner in Creative Environments of Hollywood Inc. "The demand for office wasn't there. Now it is, and it is creating a dual demand for space, both office as well as residential."

The growing demand is allowing office owners to increase asking rents. In fact, the Hollywood/Wilshire Corridor market experienced the greatest annual increase in average asking lease rates in Los Angeles County in the second quarter, with rates escalating 19.5 percent, from $1.79 to $2.14 per square foot, according to CB Richard Ellis.

"Hollywood is edgy, it's hip, it's the place to be," said Bob Safai, a Madison Partners principal. "Combine that with the lack of office space and increasing rents on the Westside. It's made buildings in secondary locations primary choices."

Vacancy rates in the Hollywood/Wilshire Corridor, at 9.3 percent, offered more opportunity than the neighboring Westside office market, which posted a 6.9 percent vacancy rate, according to a CB Richard Ellis market report. However, both locations remain tighter than downtown Los Angeles' 13.7 percent vacant market. The average asking lease rates for Westside office tenants were $3 per square foot, and Hollywood/Wilshire tenants were paying $2.14 per square foot in the second quarter, according to the CB Richard Ellis report.

Safai expects to see Hollywood office rents increase by 10 percent to 15 percent over the next 18 months, because of a lack of inventory. Smart money, like Broadreach Capital Partners LLC, is making bets on this trend, he said. Broadreach purchased in April the 200,000-square-foot CNN building at 6430 Sunset Blvd. from ScanlanKemperBard Cos. for $52 million. ScanlanKemperBard sold the 14-story CNN Tower for an $18 million profit to Broadreach after holding the building for less than two years.

From Pariah to Prom Queen

Few would have believed in the mid-1990s that the high-end W Hotel would want to locate in what was then one of the seediest areas of Los Angeles. However, in November, Gatehouse Capital in partnership with HEI Hospitality plans to begin construction on a 300-room W hotel in a mixed-use project at Hollywood Boulevard and Vine Street that includes 150 condominiums, 375 rental units and 50,000 square feet of retail.

"Back in the mid-1990s, Hollywood was a pariah," Safai said. "No one believed in the gentrification of Hollywood. It wasn't ever going to be a place people would live like they live in SoHo in New York."

But now, not only are Angelenos willing to pay top dollar for a condominium in Hollywood, but the amenities and atmosphere are luring companies away from the beach. "Within the last three or four years, they started realizing the Westside might not be the best location," Sadowsky said. "Although the air is cleaner and it's cooler, being in Hollywood is better, given the proximity to the studios."

With the majority of new development in Hollywood focused on retail and residential projects, the majority of office tenants is going into existing buildings or expanding within ones they occupy, Sadowsky said. It's not necessarily big-name companies looking for space but smaller entrepreneurial companies seeking 3,000 square feet to 5,000 square feet. Technicolor is one notable exception. The digital imaging company will double its space by moving from the 45,000-square-foot building it occupies at the intersection of Sunset Boulevard and Gower Street into a 115,000-square-foot building on Sunset Boulevard, Sadowsky said.

However, he estimated that as much as 80 percent of the live/work lofts on Hollywood Boulevard are being filled by entrepreneurial companies serving the movie industry. These include casting agencies, pre-production businesses and computer animators. "The market is so tight, they could use anything: more housing, retail and office," Safai said. "There is unbelievable demand in Hollywood."

Safai brokered the sale of the 300,000-square-foot 6255 Sunset Blvd. three times since 1998 and watched the price escalate with each new deal. In 1998, a private owner sold the building, which was 65 percent leased at the time, to Kennedy Wilson for $28 million. Kennedy Wilson turned around in 2000 and sold the building for $41 million to the real estate arm of The Goldman Sachs Group Inc. In 2005, the building sold again, to Archon Group LP for $80 million.

Lynwood Fields, a partner with Madison Partners, also brokered the $66 million sale of Columbia Square, the CBS broadcasting complex located at 6121 Sunset Blvd., to Las Vegas-based developer Molasky Pacific LLC on Aug. 1. The mix of retail, office and residential planned for Columbia Square hasn't been determined because Molasky just began working with the city on plans for the building, Safai said.

Such well-known television shows as "I Love Lucy" and "The Jack Benny Show" have been broadcast from the studio, originally built in 1938 as a CBS Radio studio. CBS plans to relocate operators for its CBS Studio Center to nearby Studio City. "They are going to go through the process and build something in mutual agreement with the city," Safai said. "It could be mixed use. It could be multifamily. It could be office. It still has to go through the development process, and there is demand on all fronts."

This demand is being reflected in an increase of Hollywood land prices. Land prices have never ventured north of $200, but now Sadowsky said developers have purchased unentitled land for $200 to $275 per square foot and entitled land for more than $300 per square foot to build condominiums, apartments or offices. "Hollywood has always been one of the weaker markets in Los Angeles," Sadowsky said. "Rarely did anyone build any new buildings. Now Hollywood has been legitimized by an increasing number of developers who are recognizing the opportunities."

To believers, Hollywood has the 24/7 lifestyle to which downtown is aspiring. "The production companies are moving back; the people are finding this is a good place to live," Sadowsky said. "We have the restaurants, the nightclubs and hotels already. The 24/7 atmosphere they are trying to create in downtown Los Angeles already exists in Hollywood."

[bjornson]

Hollywood Learns There's No Place Like Home
The entertainment industry is warming to a newly refurbished and trendy Hollywood.
By Roger Vincent, Times Staff Writer
10:29 PM PDT, September 29, 2006

Hollywood wants to be in Hollywood again.

After decades of drift, when entertainment businesses turned off by the Hollywood district's decay decamped for other neighborhoods such as Santa Monica and Burbank, many in the industry are electing to stay, expand or move in.

The latest player to commit to remain in the industry's historical home is cable giant CNN, which confirmed Friday that it planned to retain its Los Angeles bureau on Sunset Boulevard after contemplating an exit. On Thursday, Capitol Records said it would stay in its landmark tower for years to come.

Many entertainment companies believe that Hollywood has been sufficiently refurbished after years of neglect that gave the district an unsavory reputation and an undesirable address. Now, the streetscape is improving and trendy retailers, bars and restaurants are thriving.

"It's the epicenter for nightlife, and young entertainment executives from New York and Chicago would rather stay in Hollywood now than Santa Monica because that's where entertainment is in the evening," said Frank Buckley of Ramsey-Shilling Co., one of the real estate brokers who put together Capitol's deal to sell its landmark Hollywood home while agreeing to remain as a tenant.

Industry tenants have helped drive Hollywood vacancy rates below 10% in all types of office and industrial properties, brokers said, and rents were expected to rise quickly as competition for space heats up.

CNN considered moving to the San Fernando Valley or the Wilshire Boulevard corridor east of Beverly Hills before renewing its lease for the next 15 years in Hollywood, said real estate broker Robert Chavez of Guardian Commercial Realty, who represented the cable broadcaster.

CNN agreed to pay $24 million to stay in the 40,000 square feet at 6430 Sunset Blvd., home of "Larry King Live" and other broadcasts. The building is almost fully leased, said David Simon, managing director of owner Broadreach Capital Partners.

Broadreach, a Palo Alto-based investment firm, bought the 14-story building for more than $50 million this year. It is joining with CNN to make about $35 million of improvements to the public spaces and broadcast facilities starting early next year, Simon said.

"We're very bullish on the market," he said. "Media and entertainment-related companies of all sorts are trying to find homes here and it's tough right now."

Buckley of Ramsey-Shilling calculated that potential tenants, including half a dozen well-known in the entertainment business, are hunting for close to 1 million square feet to rent in Hollywood. One of his clients is Hollywood-based marketing firm Trailer Park, which is seeking an additional 150,000 square feet in the area.

Other companies are searching quietly, brokers said. Among them are divisions of Viacom Inc., corporate parent of Paramount Pictures Corp., MTV Networks Co. and Comedy Central. Also looking is concert promoter Live Nation Inc.

Part of Hollywood's appeal is its central location.

"You can get anywhere quickly from there," CNN spokeswoman Laurie Goldberg said. "So that location is quite good for a news organization."

Hollywood is still a small node among the region's entertainment industry sites, which snake almost contiguously from Burbank, Glendale and Universal City through Hollywood, West Hollywood, Beverly Hills, Santa Monica and Playa Vista, said broker Carl Muhlstein of Cushman & Wakefield, who represents many entertainment businesses.

"Hollywood has always been dead center and now it's rebounding," Mulhstein said. "It has leveled the playing field with a lot of other submarkets in terms of amenities. It's also relatively pro-growth compared to other areas."

Los Angeles' Community Redevelopment Agency said Wednesday that it had reached an agreement with the owner of a small property on Vine Street. The deal would allow construction to begin on a $500-million mixed-use residential and retail complex, including a luxury W Hotel, adjacent to the Hollywood/Vine Metro Red Line subway station. Other hoteliers are also looking for Hollywood locations, brokers said.

"It's just a funky, cool place to be," said Jeff Kreshek, who is in charge of leasing for CIM Group Inc., one of Hollywood's largest commercial landlords.

In 2000, CIM lured TV Guide Inc. into becoming the anchor tenant in a Sunset Boulevard tower, a milestone in resurging interest in Hollywood.

This summer, Technicolor Inc. agreed to lease a new six-story office tower on the Sunset-Gower Studios lot. The building won't be completed before the end of next year.

"The lights are coming back on," Kreshek said.

[bjornson]

This one's kind of odd considering I just posted the last one.


Hooray for West Hollywood
Skip the kitsch, head to star territory -- and hey, isn't that Kate Bosworth?


Shelley Fralic, Vancouver Sun
Published: Saturday, September 30, 2006

LOS ANGELES - Forget Grauman's Chinese Theatre, and those cheesy concrete handprints.

Forget the double-decker bus tour of movie star homes.

Forget, too, the blocks-long Hollywood Walk of Fame, where Tom Cruise's bronze-plated star sits in the shadow of a Hooters and a Hamburger Hamlet.

Because if you really want to do Los Angeles these days, then you'll need to escape the shabby tourist trap that is Hollywood Boulevard and its tacky souvenir shops, and head west, where there's something of a Hollywood renaissance under way.

From the refurbished nightclubs along Sunset Strip to the hip, new shopping areas around Beverly Boulevard, West Hollywood is now the place to be, and be seen.

Celebrities and visitors alike are drifting toward the old haunts and hotels of yore, but also prompting an explosion of new development and hot spots to shop, sleep, dine, party and launch their new movies, television shows, CDs and books.

- - -

The Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel, the beacon of Hollywood history, is today set against a booming backdrop of construction cranes and work sites, as loft conversions and revitalization projects score the skyline.

The vaunted hotel, just north of Sunset and across the street from the new Kodak Theater, is a majestic Spanish Revival built in the 1920s by a movie syndicate that included Douglas Fairbanks and Louis B. Mayer, to house East Coast stars shooting on location.

This is the place, with its cool dark interior and polished terra cotta tiles, where the first Academy Awards were held, where stars like Marilyn Monroe once lived, and where, more recently, movies like Beverly Hills Cop II and Charlie's Angels 2 were filmed.

Today, the hotel's famous pool, ringed by firepits, terry-covered lounges and private rooms, is home to a new generation of Hollywood royalty, the pretty young starlets and TV studs who recline poolside flanked by mojitos and hangers on.

On a mid-September weekend, the pool's Tropicana Bar is abuzz with preparation for the press junket of Jackass: Number Two.

Television crews, including host Daryn Jones of MTV Canada, jostle for position, awaiting the arrival of the movie's stars, Johnny Knoxville and Steve-O. Security is tight and even hotel guests require a wristband to enter the pool deck.

- - -

There's no question that one comes to Hollywood, be it for business or pleasure, expecting to spot a celebrity.

The problem, of course, is that everyone is sun-tanned and skinny and looks famous and, holy cow, was that pin-thin Kate Bosworth who just walked by with an armful of shopping bags?

Probably, especially if your retail therapy finds you browsing Robertson Blvd., just before its zip code morphs into Beverly Hills.

The stores here are low-slung and modern, so hip they have names like Surly Girl, Yellowman and Camper.

It's here you'll find the Kitson empire, founded six years ago by Toronto-born Fraser Ross (Kitson's his middle name), a fashion franchise largely credited with revitalizing the once-dead retail zone.

Kitson's three stores (women, men, kids) are located within a stone's throw of each other, and are so in that rarely does a day go by without a visit from a member of the "it" crowd -- Tara Reid, Sierra, Brittany Murphy, Paris Hilton and Nicole Richie are all customers -- whose shopping expeditions are religiously recorded by paparazzi and gleefully detailed in the tabs.

Jen Cooper, the 23-year-old manager of Kitson women, is explaining that theirs is one-stop fashion shopping, from clothing, makeup, shoes and accessories.

Prices range from about $50 for a basic T-shirt to $2,500 for a Mandalay dress.

It's here the infamous "team" tee was born, brain child of the owner and, along with the store's own Kitson line, the chain's biggest seller.

Team Jessica and Team Nick shirts, at $48 US each, are moving fast these days what with locals having to choose sides between just-divorced Newlyweds Jessica Simpson and Nick Lachey.

Clearly, at $30, Team Aniston and Team Brangelina shirts are on the popularity wane, though Team Paris is holding strong at $48.

"We just can't keep those things stocked," says Cooper, who adds that Madonna was in not long ago to pick up Little Miss Kitson shoes for daughter Lourdes, while Hilton recently stopped by for a little spree.

"She's just so fun and so sweet," says Cooper.

The secret to Kitson's success?

"People like shopping where they feel like celebrities shop," says Cooper.

Well that. And the publicity.

Kitson is reportedly suing US Weekly magazine for intentionally omitting references to the store in its photographs of stars shopping there.

- - -

Just down the street from the Kitson dynasty sits one of the hottest restaurants in southern California: The Ivy.

It's here, on the outdoor patio framed by a white picket fence and shaded by umbrellas, that celebs like Lindsay Lohan and Ben Affleck come to be fed, and publicly adored.

The weekday power lunch keeps the Ivy's valet parkers hopping, as a queue of Mercedes, Rolls-Royces, Escalades, BMWs and Corvettes unloads carload after carload of bony, blonde barely-clad young women, a parade of possibilities for America's Next Top Model.

The Ivy itself a lovely place, all roses and chintz, with deferential waiters in pink Polo shirts and white Levi's jeans.

There's a $20 minimum per table, but lunch is divine, fresh and artfully presented, from the kiwi frappe to the Louisiana crab cakes and caprese salad to the chocolate truffle cake.

It's a $50 ringside seat for spotting Hollywood royalty and the paparazzi that stalk them, though on this Tuesday the pickings are slim and the waiters aren't telling.

The wonder is that Al's Newsstand, across the street, can keep up.

It's five days since the U.S. debut of Suri Cruise, spawn of TomKat, in Vanity Fair, and hawker Eddy Becerril has moved nearly 1,500 copies of the magazine.

It is by no means the newsstand's biggest seller -- Becerril's personal best in five years was last fall's VF cover featuring Jennifer Aniston. He sold 500 in one day.

"This is Hollywood," he says, with a shrug. "It's all about the divorces and, now, the babies."

A cab ride away, on Rodeo Drive, the clean streets are quiet in the afternoon heat.

A Maserati, its licence plate boasting UBER-ICH, purrs down the Drive, which is only a few blocks long and is anchored on one end by the Beverly Wilshire hotel, where Julia Roberts famously snagged Richard Gere in Pretty Woman.

Strolling in the sun, and looking not the least bit out of place, is a handsome man wearing a crisp white hospital coat, green pants and matching green surgical booties over his leather loafers. Embroidered on his chest, in script, is his name, along with MD, Plastic Surgery.

There's far more action a few miles away at The Grove, a gorgeous outdoor shopping centre with a concierge, central fountain, movie theatre, outdoor cafes and a charming trolley for those not into walking.

This is a spotless big-money complex, with Nordstrom, Barney's New York, Pottery Barn Kids, American Girl Place, Abercrombie & Fitch, Anthropologie and Barnes & Noble, and it's no surprise to see Jon Cryer, star of Two and A Half Men, waiting at the entrance while the valet fetches his car.

- - -

While the Ivy and Koi and Mr. Chow's are where new Hollywood gets its limited calories, you really haven't fit in until you hit the drive-through at In N' Out Burger.

This fast food joint is where Britney Spears packed on all that baby weight, and where Nicole Richie makes sure photographers capture her sucking on a milkshake.

It's also where our favourite heirhead, Paris Hilton, was headed in her Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren a few weeks back, in the wee hours, when she was busted for DUI, explaining to officers that she'd had only one drink all evening and really needed a burger because she hadn't eaten.

What's all the fuss about junk food, you might wonder.

Well, how about a fresh, warm bun, lean ground beef smothered in fried onions, melted cheese and Thousand Island sauce, served up with a stack of shoestring french fries, chopped from raw potatoes and cooked in hot oil right in front of you.

[LosAngelesBeauty]

Just got back from spending a night out "everywhere." Went to Sofitel on Beverly/La Cienega for a drink, then up to Sunset Strip, and finally ended up in Hollywood on the blvd.

My conclusion? There is seriously NOTHING in LA better than Hollywood Blvd. at this moment in time if you're looking for a grittier, more "authentic" urban experience 24 hours of the day. After walking from Sofitel to Le Meridian Hotel (past the Beverly Center) to get another drink, then driving up to Sunset Strip when the clubs were already closing (around 1:30AM), I realized that it is REALLY hard for a pedestrian in LA in general.

The ONLY place that feels like a REAL city, with action, people, a variety of shops, some grit, some history, some compelling force that gives you a sense of "connection" as a pedestrian is Hollywood Blvd. We were there at 2:30AM and there were still literally TONS of people on the streets walking around. Cars honking and even street performers still playing music on the sidewalk!

I seriously hope that people in power (that fuckit up for us all) don't feel that this phenomenon is "too much" and needs to be diluted because I don't think it's enough! It would be SOO NICE if Hollywood Blvd. was completely transformed with the coolest shops (which already exists in some quantity now like smokers lounges open at 3AM).

I think Downtown LA connected by Red Line to Hollywood Blvd. will seriously be the only two places "happening" in our lifetime in LA. The Westside has been irreparably damaged by auto-oriented development and ONLY a subway down Wilshire Blvd. could help with that. Without it, the Westside is a lost cause.

What do you guys think about Hollywood Blvd? I seriously felt like it was a geniune urban environment. The people I went with (who don't care about urbanism or cities) even mentioned that they liked it and thought it reminded them of NYC.

[SunMonTueWedThuFriSa]

Hollywood definitely has the momentum right now, much moreso than downtown in my opinion. With all the talk of L.A. Live being the west coast Times Square, the only thing really close to that vision is Hollywood Blvd. I agree with you LAB that it's not enough. I would like to see even more clubs, shops, mixed-use all lighted up line the boulevard from Sycamore to Gower, all connected via the red line. And it's not just Hollywood Blvd. Sunset, Selma and Yucca are also getting infill that will make the district "two-dimensional", as compared to single-street arterial nature of a lot LA neighborhoods. In fact I would hope the vision is more like Shinjuku than Times Square. Hollywood/Highland has to be one of the busiest crosswalks in LA.

[bjornson]

You're right LAB, and it makes me want the Hollywood and Vine development to come even sooner so that it will spur more development in that area.

[LosAngelesSportsFan]

i was there last night as well and i came to the same conclusion. i think were all crazy in a good way though! If only the bars were open till 4 or 5 it would be even better, but the fact that the development of Hollywood is not Linear, just on Hollywood or just on Sunset makes a HUGE HUGE difference. Cahuenga, Las Palmas, Vine, they all have their spots and people everywhere > IT needs to continue (it is with allt he new development) and now we need to get quick bites that stay open past 2 so that people can eat on the street, something like Duner shops in Germany or a Zankou express (made that up) or a tommy's , the more the merrier.

[ksep]

i always wanted to see that entire area bordered by sunset and hollywood and vine and highland being developed with nightlife, shopping and entertainment venues. it's a perfect candidate for that, because there are no single family homes (read nimby's) that would throw a fit and stand in the way of construction. unlike the sunset strip in weho, which has residential to it's immediate north and south, so you can't really expand anything there; not to mention the lack of parking and the constant problems between noisy bar patrons and residents who just wanna sleep. (yes, i know. they should have known better before moving there.)

what hollywood should do know is build a bunch of strategically placed parking structures (with groundfloor retail), to draw an even bigger crowd.

btw, i also always thought that the downtown fashion district should be made in to a barhopping nightlife district like that. i mean the crowds are already there during the day - why not give them a reason to stay and get blastered? - and no residents there either. it's always so sad to see that area completely wiped out each and every evening after it's been busy like a beehive all fucking day...how the hell is that even possible?

anyway. hollywood is definitely on it's way. let's hope the momentum continues. i like LUCKY DEVILS (http://www.luckydevilshollywood.com/). :evil:

[ksep]

and now we need to get quick bites that stay open past 2 so that people can eat on the street, something like Duner shops in Germany or a Zankou express (made that up) or a tommy's , the more the merrier.

"FUCK YEAH!" döner kepab and currywurst - yummy... and bakeries with seating areas that are open late, like canters - only better. :slob:

[SamBronco]

I hear the Broadway Condos were selling on average at about $800/ft and the W is obviously selling at around $1,000/ft. Do you guys think these prices will hold up 3-5 years from now?

[ReDSPork02]

Longoria finds Los Angeles "superficial"!

From ANI

London, Oct 8 (ANI): Los Angeles may be the place where work is, but for actress Eva Longoria, her home is still her native state of Texas.






The 'Desperate Housewives' star, in an interview to Britain's Maxim magazine revealed that the one thing that she didn't like about Los Angeles, was that though the people in the city were indeed "beautiful", that beauty was only on a "superficial" level.In Los Angeles everyone's beautiful but it's so superficial. Everyone relies on their beauty," Femalefirst quoted her, as telling the mag.

And, that lack of artifice is what the actress misses most about her home state Texas, which she thinks, is like a whole "different country".

"Texas is a different country - we're the only state that flies our flag at the same height as the American flag. That's ballsy. It's a different way of growing up," she said.

As for what she misses most about her home state, well Longoria says that it's the sense of chivalry that still exists in the state.

"There's chivalry. A man's a man and a woman's a woman. People say it's slower, but people are enjoying life," she added. (ANI)

http://www.dailyindia.com/show/67316.php/Longoria_finds_Los_Angeles_superficial!ANI

[Marrson]

Enjoyed all the INFO & PICS!!!!
Whatz w/ the Sunset & Vine Tower????

[DJM19]

Longoria finds Los Angeles "superficial"!

From ANI

London, Oct 8 (ANI): Los Angeles may be the place where work is, but for actress Eva Longoria, her home is still her native state of Texas.

The 'Desperate Housewives' star, in an interview to Britain's Maxim magazine revealed that the one thing that she didn't like about Los Angeles, was that though the people in the city were indeed "beautiful", that beauty was only on a "superficial" level.In Los Angeles everyone's beautiful but it's so superficial. Everyone relies on their beauty," Femalefirst quoted her, as telling the mag.

And, that lack of artifice is what the actress misses most about her home state Texas, which she thinks, is like a whole "different country".

"Texas is a different country - we're the only state that flies our flag at the same height as the American flag. That's ballsy. It's a different way of growing up," she said.

As for what she misses most about her home state, well Longoria says that it's the sense of chivalry that still exists in the state.

"There's chivalry. A man's a man and a woman's a woman. People say it's slower, but people are enjoying life," she added. (ANI)

http://www.dailyindia.com/show/67316.php/Longoria_finds_Los_Angeles_superficial!ANI

I have a few issues with what she said:

1) Who cares what she thinks
2) LA is not even close to as superficial as she makes it seem. Maybe thats the people she hangs out with, but there is and LA outside of the west side.
3) There is nothing against flying your state flag at the same height as the American flag. Any state can and does do it in random situations.

[Vangelist]

Um, and who's going to argue with the fact that we'd ALL have been much better off if Texas HAD remained its own country? ;) Aside from Austin, I don't think we'd miss anything if it seceded right now, even...

[ksep]

she must be very superficial to think that people in l.a. are superficial.

[dktshb]

Longoria finds Los Angeles "superficial"!

From ANI

London, Oct 8 (ANI): Los Angeles may be the place where work is, but for actress Eva Longoria, her home is still her native state of Texas.






The 'Desperate Housewives' star, in an interview to Britain's Maxim magazine revealed that the one thing that she didn't like about Los Angeles, was that though the people in the city were indeed "beautiful", that beauty was only on a "superficial" level.In Los Angeles everyone's beautiful but it's so superficial. Everyone relies on their beauty," Femalefirst quoted her, as telling the mag.

And, that lack of artifice is what the actress misses most about her home state Texas, which she thinks, is like a whole "different country".

"Texas is a different country - we're the only state that flies our flag at the same height as the American flag. That's ballsy. It's a different way of growing up," she said.

As for what she misses most about her home state, well Longoria says that it's the sense of chivalry that still exists in the state.

"There's chivalry. A man's a man and a woman's a woman. People say it's slower, but people are enjoying life," she added. (ANI)

http://www.dailyindia.com/show/67316.php/Longoria_finds_Los_Angeles_superficial!ANI

Well that's pretty narrowminded of this actress. :sly:

[POLA]

You know, that’s the real reason people have a bad image of LA, because all of our representatives are these corn-fed actors and actresses who are just the worst! People go to other cities, but actors are forced to come here, and if they don't like it, then they have a platform (any media outlet) to bitch about LA in... Hence people think these things are true about LA. I honestly think that the negative view of LA that Citywatch talks so much is mostly fueled by actors talking about how they miss home.

[slock]

One quick interjection about the Bars closing so early. It really does make a difference. Restaurants, stores, everything can then stay open later, bringing more money to the City and those establishments, and creating a more lively environment for everyone. New York would not have its reputation at all if the bars closed at 2a.

I've read that San Francisco has been trying for years to make last call 4a, but it keeps getting shot down. I'm sure if LA hopped on board, it would pass.

[Bernd]

Ironic that Ms. Longoria would talk about the superficial nature of Angelenos in a discussion with Maxim magazine.

As for Texas chivalry, one need only Google the phrase "It's Thanksgiving. Be nice. FUCK!" to see it in action.

[citywatch]

I honestly think that the negative view of LA that Citywatch talks so much is mostly fueled by actors talking about how they miss home.I wish it were as simple as that.

I just came across the following comments (http://sakshijuneja.com/blog/2006/10/14/city-of-los-angeles-nothing-more-than-hollywood/#respond) on the net & they really make me :pissed:. They're from some person who lives in rundown, poverty stricken India, ferchrissakes!!!


On the whole, I would say that LA City is entertaining with its tiny tourist pockets but somehow it didn’t really have that punch in it. At most times of the day the streets (besides Sunset Strip) were empty and seemed untouched. It just didn’t have that spark like San Francisco did or for that matter even Vegas to a certain extent. LA is hyped only for its Hollywood sign and the famous residences. At the most for all the sleek posh cars that drive its roads. But otherwise there is nothing much to it.

Frankly, if you are too hotch-potched with your vacation time, then you can surely look at dropping this city out of your plans.


And I still remember the SSPer from St Louis (from friggin St Louis!!) who traveled to CA several months ago & said he liked SF & SD, but didn't care for LA.

:gaah:

So whether it's movie or TV stars, ppl from India, SSPers from the midwest or east, relatives of mine, or friends & neighbors I've spoken with over the yrs, all I know is we've got a problem.

Even so, I'm still surprised when that same woman from India (http://sakshijuneja.com/blog/2006/10/05/san-francisco-a-tourist-hot-spot/), from a country on the other side of the earth, & full of slums & beggars, no less, almost sounds like the SSPer from St Louis when she says:


If there is any other place, other than Sydney that I would love to settle down in than it would be San Francisco. The city is absolutely beautiful, a little on the colder side (I am not very fond of summer) and the people are warm and friendly. It has a lot to offer not only from a tourist point-of view but also to its local residents.

I will end this post by saying that SF is a “paisa vasool” city for tourists and it surely deserves thumbs-up for its impressiveness.^ :yuck: :shrug:


I think her "nothing much to it" remark about LA is a bunch of crap. However, it's another example of the power of the superficial over other things. IOW, a city that looks nice will automatically get higher marks than a town that looks like crap. So after yrs of observing & hearing ppl's reactions to this place, I really do think it all comes down to this. (http://72.14.253.104/search?q=cache:rctul8biGE4J:forum.skyscraperpage.com/showthread.php%3Ft%3D91973%26page%3D2+city+officials,+or+NIMBYites+in+particular,&hl=en&gl=us&ct=clnk&cd=4)

[bjornson]

Well, apparently she's extremely ignorant and doesn't know anything at all if she considers Hollywood Boulevard the "Sunset Strip."

[Tanster]

hahahahh^^

[Wright Concept]

Longoria finds Los Angeles "superficial"!

From ANI

London, Oct 8 (ANI): Los Angeles may be the place where work is, but for actress Eva Longoria, her home is still her native state of Texas.


The 'Desperate Housewives' star, in an interview to Britain's Maxim magazine revealed that the one thing that she didn't like about Los Angeles, was that though the people in the city were indeed "beautiful", that beauty was only on a "superficial" level. In Los Angeles everyone's beautiful but it's so superficial. Everyone relies on their beauty," Femalefirst quoted her, as telling the mag...

As for what she misses most about her home state, well Longoria says that it's the sense of chivalry that still exists in the state.

"There's chivalry. A man's a man and a woman's a woman. People say it's slower, but people are enjoying life," she added. (ANI)



If she was screwing someone on the Lakers rather than the San Antonio Spurs (Does Tony Parker ring a bell) then she would be singing a different tune, I guarantee you.

[LosAngelesBeauty]

Citywatch is right. Looks do matter. But that's not all that matters.

When I visited Taipei, I gave the town LOWER marks because it was so ugly. If it weren't for the ubiquitous colorful signage everywhere (like Tokyo), and the wonderful energy on the street with people walking around everywhere, I would have detested Taipei for its lack of architecture.

On the same page, LA is surprisingly much prettier than Taipei but would probably get lower marks as a city from tourists because of its lack of CONNECTIVITY (between all the "little pockets") and a MAIN AREA that is filled with energy like Union Square in SF. Downtown LA is the developing MAIN AREA and will prove every doubter wrong when it becomes a thriving urban center filled with everything a downtown should have: entertainment, living, work, culture, food, shopping, etc.

The paradigm is nothing new (citywatch). Cities with thriving downtowns just get higher marks no matter what. And with a Purple Line extended down Wilshire, "Downtown LA" is essentially EXTENDED as well and your urban playground becomes that much bigger and better. The subway will create the connectivity between the "little pockets" along Wilshire: LACMA/The Grove, Beverly Hills, Century City, Westwood Village, Brentwood, Santa Monica. These are the dots on a white piece of a paper that much be connected by a bold, purple line!

Even after just Downtown LA becomes a very fun place to go, people will already change their view of LA because there is a FOCAL POINT instead of just some ambiguous swath of land that is devoid of any strong character except strip malls and post-WWII tract homes. That is why everyone who loves LA is so happy to see Downtown LA finally becoming the downtown it should be...because it'll finally be something we can be proud of and that visitors and residents alike will enjoy and embrace. :)






http://img400.imageshack.us/img400/2529/disneyhalljk0.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

[MapGoulet]

POLA, Bernd, and PV, your comments are so funny and so true. It's so good to read insightful, humble, and witty comments like this from you guys. You made my day.... well, at least my hour.

:)

[ThreeHundred]

Longoria finds Los Angeles "superficial"!

From ANI

London, Oct 8 (ANI): Los Angeles may be the place where work is, but for actress Eva Longoria, her home is still her native state of Texas.






The 'Desperate Housewives' star, in an interview to Britain's Maxim magazine revealed that the one thing that she didn't like about Los Angeles, was that though the people in the city were indeed "beautiful", that beauty was only on a "superficial" level.In Los Angeles everyone's beautiful but it's so superficial. Everyone relies on their beauty," Femalefirst quoted her, as telling the mag.

And, that lack of artifice is what the actress misses most about her home state Texas, which she thinks, is like a whole "different country".

"Texas is a different country - we're the only state that flies our flag at the same height as the American flag. That's ballsy. It's a different way of growing up," she said.

As for what she misses most about her home state, well Longoria says that it's the sense of chivalry that still exists in the state.

"There's chivalry. A man's a man and a woman's a woman. People say it's slower, but people are enjoying life," she added. (ANI)

http://www.dailyindia.com/show/67316.php/Longoria_finds_Los_Angeles_superficial!ANI

Because what Eva Longoria says is gospel.

Seriously..she came from Texas. So did George Bush: The Return. She fails by default.

[SunMonTueWedThuFriSa]

Does anyone believe citywatch actually cares about Los Angeles? This guy lives in Ventura and has no stake in this city. What he does care about however are impressing his friends and family by telling them he lives in a metropolis with lots of shiny skyscrapers. This is gathered by the fact 90% of his posts are concerned with what people from OTHER cities think of L.A. Well I actually care about this city and I can say how this city LOOKS is the least of this city's problems. I just find it ironic in a thread we are calling out an actress for being shallow about L.A. that we have some unknowingly shallow urbanists among us.

[citywatch]

Does anyone believe citywatch actually cares about Los Angeles? And who are you? I don't recall seeing your screen name until quite recently. Strange too, because you seem to know more about me (even though inaccurate) than I know about you.

And there must be a lot of SSPers, much less Americans in general (http://www.travelandleisure.com/afc/results.cfm?cat=14), who are "shallow" (http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/showthread.php?t=115142).