[DJM19]

I think its the summer league games played away from staples, not preseason.

[danparker276]

Yeah, actually the first preseason game in Staples is Oct 19th, Lakers vs Clippers.

[bobcat]

Grammys dig downtown
New museum celebrates music biz

By PHIL GALLO, Daily Variety 9/26/06



The Recording Academy is a couple of weeks away from formalizing plans to create a museum honoring Grammy winners and the music industry, housing it in AEG's massive downtown project L.A. Live. It will open in time to celebrate the awards' golden anniversary.

But the first phase of L.A. Live, which will include restaurants, hotels, ESPN studios and a club, involves the opening of a 7,100-seat venue to attract every awards show not locked into a long-term agreement -- essentially every kudocast except the Oscars.

The museum will be built as part of the second phase of L.A. Live, which is slated to open in late spring or early summer 2008. Its timing could not be better: The Grammy Awards were first handed out for recordings made in 1958.

Plans call for a 30,000-square-foot building within the 4 million-square-foot development.

AEG prexy-chief exec Tim Leiweke said plans for the museum will be finalized in about two weeks. "We see this as a critical part of the mix -- a huge point of destination," he said. A Recording Academy spokeswoman said there are "not a lot of hard dates" nor details about the museum's contents.

Leiweke also announced Monday that AEG had hired Lisa Herzlich, marketing director of a Denver shopping center, as senior VP and managing director of L.A. Live.

Herzlich will be responsible for the overall operation of the completed project, the implementation and fulfillment of sponsor and tenant obligations, booking of all programming and special events as well as overseeing security, parking and maintenance of the district's common areas in addition to community relations. She will report directly to Leiweke and Ted Tanner, AEG senior veep for real estate.

Herzlich has worked for the Taubman Co. and its Cherry Creek Shopping Center for the last 14 years.

The first phase of L.A. Live calls for the construction of Nokia Theater Los Angeles, a 7,100-seat venue adjacent to the one-acre open-air Nokia Plaza. Theater, which will compete with the Nederlander-run Greek and Live Nation-House of Blues-owned Gibson Amphitheater for musical acts, is slated to open in October 2007. It's expected to vie for a number of awards shows, including a portion of the Grammys. Currently, the Grammys hold their pre-telecast in the Los Angeles Convention Center and their televised kudocast in Staples Center.

The $2.5 billion L.A. Live will be located adjacent to Staples Center, which AEG also owns and operates. AEG is a wholly owned subsidiary of the Anschutz Co. that owns and operates live-entertainment venues and books concerts.

The Nokia Theater, Leiweke told Daily Variety, "is designed as state of the art for awards shows. It has 1,000 more seats than Gibson (Amphitheater), and it's more intimate and acoustically perfect. We're out to steal shows from the Shrine, New York, Las Vegas and other buildings."

Leiweke identified the Emmys, ESPYs and the American Music Awards as "high priorities." The Grammys "we view as using the whole campus," he noted.

The second phase of L.A. Live, slated to open in mid-2008, will include 2,200-capacity music venue Club Nokia, television and radio broadcast studios to serve as a West Coast headquarters for ESPN and the Conga Room plus nine restaurants. A 15-screen Regal Theater will open in fall 2009.

In 2010, a tower containing two hotels and private residences will be opened at Olympic Boulevard and Cherry Street. Leiweke said a non-entertainment company would also be making L.A. Live its world headquarters.

[LAMetroGuy]

So the tower will open in 2010... that makes a 4 year construction if they start now.... Also, I'm curious who will be that non-entertainment company will be????? I hate it that they have not made any formal announcements or provided newer renderings of the project. Well, at least we will have the Nokia theater next year!

[SoCal]

hmm a non-entertainment company... any guesses anyone ??

[logandankr]

Well, a while back (end of '05) there was an article (which has since been taken down), that said:

Other key components of the entertainment district include:...
Building space earmarked to host a major food brand. The four-level building will include restaurants, a unique marketplace, cooking classes with celebrity chefs, culinary retail, food channel broadcasting, thematic/educational attractions, research and development kitchens, corporate offices, and garden terraces...

Could this be the "non-entertainment company"? Sounds a bit like Food Network to me, but I can't imagine them relocating from NY.

:eat:

[LAMetroGuy]

Well, food network would be classified as Entertainment... this is a NON entertainment company.

[LongBeachUrbanist]

Well, food network would be classified as Entertainment...

I guess that could be debated...:babyeat:

[bjornson]

Would you consider Rachael Ray entertainment? Hmmmm...the mystery lives on...

[Buckeye Native 001]

I don't know about that, but I could watch that Italian girl all day long. What's her name?

[LAMetroGuy]

Giada De Laurentiis.... "it's soooo gooood"

[SunMonTueWedThuFriSa]

This area will probably get lots of camera time meaning the new developers of the ex-Fig Central project should shine up their design. The one from the latest renderings are quite drab.

[edluva]

yeah, i'll take giada de laurentis:naughty:

[bjornson]

Ohhhhhhhhh man I wouldn't mind having her here either! Did you know she's based in L.A.? Her show is filmed here...sooooooooooooooooooo...

[LAMetroGuy]

Yeah, in one episode, she took her husband a picnic to his work and she walked passed the Orpheum Lofts and theater! Kinda cool!

[bjornson]

Haaaaaa. Sweet.

Completely irrelevant, but her husbands a designer for Anthropologie (women's clothing).

[ocman]

Haaaaaa. Sweet.

Completely irrelevant, but her husbands a designer for Anthropologie (women's clothing).

Her grandfather Is Dino De Laurentis, the famous film producer and her grandmother is Silvana Mangano, the Italian film actress.

As for the new headquarters, I bet it's just some company moving from the Westside.

[bjornson]

She also went to Le Cordon Bleu in Paris...she has hot written all over her.

[Westsidelife]

Must be a major company.

[latennisguy]

She also went to Le Cordon Bleu in Paris...she has hot written all over her.

excuse my ignorance...but who the hell are you guys talking about? some pics would help

[bjornson]

http://images.scrippsweb.com/FOOD/2003/12/16/Giada_De_Laurentiis2_e.jpg

[BrighamYen]

*yaawn*

[ksep]

enough with the bitch already. she's not even all that hot. she is homely at best.
now, what's the deal with LA Live?

[LA420]

enough with the bitch already. she's not even all that hot. she is homely at best.
now, what's the deal with LA Live?



LOLOLOLOLOLOLO:haha: :haha: :haha: :haha: :haha: :jester: :jester: :jester: That was funny :haha: you guys are crazy, ok thats all i have to say. ;) :drunk:

[latennisguy]

http://images.scrippsweb.com/FOOD/2003/12/16/Giada_De_Laurentiis2_e.jpg

what an abnormally large head!! wobble wobble

[ThreeHundred]

Does this woman have golden nipples or something?

[LongBeachUrbanist]

She's a cute heiress. A bit short for me though (~4'11'').

[WesTheAngelino]

REALLY?

The loveo f my life was 4'11''.....once you go that short and skinny you never wanna go back.

[danparker276]

Changing the subject.
The LA Live weekly festival was really good. A lot of people showed up. I think it shows a good crowd can always show up in downtown LA.

[JRinSoCal]

Does anyone know if the Ritz Carlton/Marriott is supposed to breakground this month? Thats what I thought I read somewhere a few months ago, that the hotel would start rising in October.

[Westsidelife]

I think it's supposed to be going vertical in January. That's what I heard at least...

[Codex Borgia]

I was doing some research and came across this article - don't believe it's been posted before - thought some of you guys might appreciate it...


Unique Partnership To Combine Convention Center 'Headquarters Hotel,' Luxury Hotel and Privately Owned Residences in One Landmark Tower

Prominent Interior Designers Peter Remedios, Cheryl Rowley Join Development Team

KB Urban, the high-density, mixed-use subsidiary of KB Home, one of the nation's premier homebuilders and AEG, one of the leading sports and entertainment presenters in the world, today announced an agreement with Marriott International, Inc. to open two luxury hotel properties and private residences at the L.A. Live sports and entertainment district currently under construction in downtown Los Angeles.

Marriott Hotel Services, Inc. will be the exclusive hotel operator of the Los Angeles Marriott Marquis and The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company, LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Marriott International, will manage The Ritz-Carlton Hotel, Los Angeles. KB Urban and AEG are co-developers of the approximately 2 million square foot property.

Under the terms of the agreement, the complex will include the Los Angeles Marriott Marquis, an 876-room property, which will serve as the headquarters hotel of The Los Angeles Convention Center, and The Ritz-Carlton, Los Angeles, a 124-room boutique hotel. Above the hotels, and towering over the downtown Los Angeles skyline, will be approximately 216 residential condominiums developed by KB Urban known as The Residences at The Ritz-Carlton, Los Angeles. The sales center is scheduled to open in the first quarter of 2007. Opening dates for the properties are scheduled for 2010.

The hotel and residential complex will be housed in an architecturally stunning, Gensler-designed 54-story tower, which will serve as a beacon for L.A. Live. Hotel guests and condominium residents will be at the center of an energetic, world-class sports and entertainment campus, mere steps from STAPLES Center, 7,100-seat Nokia Theater Los Angeles, a 15-screen, 3,800-seat Regal Cineplex, which will include an 800-seat premiere presentation theater, The Grammy® Museum and numerous premier restaurants, nightclubs and cafes, and minutes away from Southern California's world-renowned museums and arts institutions, cultural centers, universities, and concert halls.

"We are very pleased and excited to be selected as the hotel component of L.A. Live, one of the largest and most important downtown developments to take place anywhere in the country over the next few years," said J. W. Marriott, Jr., chairman and CEO of Marriott International, Inc. "We look forward to working with our partners AEG and KB Urban to bring the world-class service and luxury experiences of our Ritz-Carlton and Marriott brands to what surely will be a total experience like no other at L.A. Live."

The Residences at The Ritz-Carlton, Los Angeles will include approximately 216 luxuriously appointed private condominiums, ranging from one to four bedrooms. Owners of The Residences will be afforded access to many of the legendary services and world-class amenities of The Ritz-Carlton, such as concierge, valet, housekeeping and in-room catering services. Conceptual plans also include a soaring two-story sky lobby on the 36th floor, a private elevator entree to The Residences, a library, multi-seat home theater and a spa with a fitness center. Additionally, the benefits of ownership will include VIP access to events at STAPLES Center, Nokia Theater Los Angeles and Club Nokia, as well as other special events at entertainment venues owned and operated by AEG around the world.

"KB Urban and AEG's partnership with The Ritz-Carlton and Marriott Hotel brands represents a significant milestone for L.A. Live and for the City of Los Angeles," said KB Urban President Jeffrey M. Gault, AIA. "The prestige of owning a luxury condominium, with Ritz-Carlton amenities and attentiveness, in the heart of downtown Los Angeles, will be tremendously enticing to those who live in the U.S., as well as those who live abroad but spend a considerable amount of time in Southern California." Continued Gault, "For this buyer, a home at The Ritz-Carlton Residences is about needs anticipated, privacy ensured and living a vibrant lifestyle in the center of one of the world's greatest cities. L.A. Live will offer those unforgettable experiences with dining, live entertainment, sporting events and much more."

Situated atop the Los Angeles Marriott Marquis, The Ritz-Carlton, Los Angeles will offer stunning views of the city skyline. The luxury hotel will feature an outdoor rooftop swimming pool and terrace above a two-story lobby on the 24th floor. A gourmet restaurant and bar will be adjacent to the lobby. The Los Angeles Marriott Marquis will occupy 18 floors, and offer an array of meeting spaces, including the largest ballroom in the city, with capacity for up to 3,000 seated guests. A restaurant, fitness center, and day spa are just some of the special amenities planned for the site.

"This is an extremely momentous agreement not only for L.A. Live but for the Los Angeles Convention Center and the City of Los Angeles as well," said Timothy J. Leiweke, president and CEO of AEG. "The commitment from Marriott International, considered to be the most knowledgeable company on convention center 'headquarters hotels' and their Marriott Marquis and The Ritz Carlton brands, clearly verifies the industry's excitement and enthusiasm for downtown Los Angeles, the convention center and L.A. Live. This incredible property will both energize the Los Angeles convention marketplace, while serving as a central component of L.A. Live, the most significant development ever undertaken in Los Angeles. On behalf of AEG and our partners at KB Urban, we thank the Marriott and The Ritz-Carlton organizations for their commitment to this groundbreaking venture and their commitment to the future of our City."

Peter Remedios, president and managing principal of Remedios Siembieda, Inc., will design the interior spaces for The Ritz-Carlton Hotel, Los Angeles and The Residences at The Ritz-Carlton, Los Angeles. The world-renowned firm has designed hotel interiors, restaurants and spas at such picturesque properties as the Grand Hyatt in Tokyo and Beijing, Four Seasons New York, L'Ermitage Beverly Hills, Mandarin Oriental Hong Kong, and many more throughout North America, Asia, Europe and the Middle East.

Cheryl Rowley, principal of Cheryl Rowley Design, has been selected to design the interior spaces for the Los Angles Marriott Marquis. Rowley's award-winning firm has designed hotels, spas, country clubs and restaurants in such locales as the Four Seasons Buenos Aires, Ojai Valley Inn & Spa, The Ritz-Carlton San Francisco, Hotel Monaco in Washington, DC and others across the globe.

Architectural Description
As the centerpiece of L.A. Live, the soaring hotel and residential high-rise will complement the architectural design of Nokia Theater Los Angeles, STAPLES Center and other buildings in the vast sports and entertainment district. The 54-story building's elegant exterior will feature a metal and glass curtain wall, and will consist of both vision and non-vision glass units in colors of blue and green and patterns to create a distinctive profile, emphasizing the slender proportions of the building. As it rises into the downtown skyline, the building will have an ever-changing sculptural quality as it is viewed from throughout Los Angeles.

Click (http://www.dexigner.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=6622) here for full article



http://static.flickr.com/79/280068537_067f70e89f.jpg

[WesTheAngelino]

Ah, so the larger hotel of the two is the Ritz? I didn't realize that. Perhaps I'm just not in the know, but I always thought Ritz Carlton's didnt get that big

[danparker276]

"will include VIP access to events at STAPLES Center, Nokia Theater Los Angeles and Club Nokia"

What is VIP access? Can you just walk into any Lakers game?

[JRinSoCal]

Ah, so the larger hotel of the two is the Ritz? I didn't realize that. Perhaps I'm just not in the know, but I always thought Ritz Carlton's didnt get that big

Marriott Marquis, 876 rooms

Ritz Carlton, 124 rooms

[WesTheAngelino]

^ Ah, I see. Yet in the rendering the Ritz Logo is atop the larger tower

[Codex Borgia]

And 217 Ritz Carlton Residences from the 27th - 52nd Floors

[luckyeight]

Cheryl Rowley, principal of Cheryl Rowley Design, has been selected to design the interior spaces for the Los Angles Marriott Marquis. Rowley's award-winning firm has designed hotels, spas, country clubs and restaurants in such locales as the Four Seasons Buenos Aires, Ojai Valley Inn & Spa, The Ritz-Carlton San Francisco, Hotel Monaco in Washington, DC and others across the globe.

for your info................on L.A. Live Ritz Carlton and Marriott Marquis hotel

Cheryl Rowley is doing the whole interior design in conjunction with Gensler, S.F. doing the architecture.

Remedios is doing some of the new W Hotels around the world......


:banana: :banana: :banana:

[northbay]

^the rendering above is real nice. is that a exposed garden in the middle of the structure?!

[innov8]

I was in town yesterday and it appeared that one of the
towers or part of the structure is starting to rise above
the ground... I was in a cab and had no time for pixs.

[Tanster]

nokia theatre^^

[tujunga]

:D It looks like they are starting pour some deep footings though

[colemonkee]

^ Construction on the hotel itself has not started. No footings have been installed. All the construction thus far has been for the Nokia Theater (now 2-3 stories above ground) and the parking garage below the restaurants, entertainment venues and ESPN studio, which is either at ground level, or one level below ground, depending on where you stand.

[tujunga]

Thanks for correcting me, it's always tempting to try to figure out a construction site. So what is that second hole to the west nearest the 110 fwy. I saw what looked like some poured footings as I drove by the other day is that part of Nokia and parking? I drive by everyday on my way home from work so I do a little rubber necking.

[BrighamYen]

^ It's going to be the REGAL cinema complex. And apparently space on the south for a possible convention center expansion in the future.

[colemonkee]

I saw what looked like some poured footings as I drove by the other day is that part of Nokia and parking? I drive by everyday on my way home from work so I do a little rubber necking.
I'll try to do a walk-by this weekend to see where these footings are. The hotel is going in at the corner of Olympic and Georgia, in the main "pit" area, not the second "pit" area.

If they have started installing footings in that corner, then the hotel might very well be under construction (it definitely wasn't when I did my photo update last weekend). But if those footings are being installed in the second pit between Georgia and the 110, then they must be getting started on the underground parking that will serve the future convention expansion and the Regal Cinemas.

[DJM19]

A shot from Plinko's helicopter flight on the photos section: (shot taken on the 28th)

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v202/plinko923/LA%20Helicopter%20II/061028LA187.jpg

[colemonkee]

^ That's a great shot! It shows pretty clearly that the footings tujunga was talking about are indeed for the underground parking structure below the future Convention Center expansion and the Regal Cinemas.

The site of the hotel, in the bottom left corner, is still a construction staging area.

[BrighamYen]

AEG acquires producer of Grammys, Emmys

Richard Verrier

November 2, 2006

AEG, the Los Angeles company controlled by Denver billionaire Philip Anschutz, has acquired Ken Ehrlich Productions, producer of such programs as the Grammys, the Emmys and the MTV Movie Awards.

The deal, terms of which weren't disclosed, will provide AEG with a major new source of live entertainment for its venues, including a 7,250-seat Nokia Theatre opening next year in downtown Los Angeles.

Randy Phillips, president and chief executive of AEG's entertainment division, said the deal would help AEG's clients "by providing new marketing platforms and additional ways to exploit their careers."

— Richard Verrier

[citywatch]

I wonder why the construction schedule for the hotel is being dragged out? I had hoped that the predicted completion date of 2009 (or is it even 2010?) was based on earlier problems with funding & sponsorship, or even threatened lawsuits, or whatever, & that once those issues were taken care of the hotel phase would catch up with the Nokia phase of LA Live.

Plinko's photo shows there remains a lot of sites in the hood that are in great need of new infill devlpt. That's why a slowdown in devlpt will be a real patience buster.

[Wright Concept]

^ Well you need plenty of material (steel and concrete) and skilled laborers to build a 55 story hotel at the time where most of the work is being sent in all directions. That's the nature of construction in the So. California area.

[colemonkee]

I think a lack of skilled labor is the #1 delay for this project. I think they're probably dedicating all of their labor currently on getting the parking done so they can open it and alleviate some of the traffic issues around Staples on game days. I still think we'll see work on the hotel by January, though.

[Wright Concept]

^That's another thing I forgot to mention as the reasoning for doing the parking first. Because you can take care of any mitigation that you may have on game days.

[bobcat]

From a business standpoint the project is being developed in the most logical manner: First the Nokia Theatre in late '07, whose success isn't really dependent on a large downtown population. Then the shops, clubs, and restaurants, which will will serve patrons of Staples and Nokia, as well as the growing residential base. Followed by the cinemas in '09, which will need a significant number of downtown residents to be successful. Finally, the hotel in '10, which will capitalize on the (hopefully) by-then booming downtown tourism and convention business.

[LAmetroman]

Do we have any official height numbers for LA Live?

[ferneynism2]

From a business standpoint the project is being developed in the most logical manner: First the Nokia Theatre in late '07, whose success isn't really dependent on a large downtown population. Then the shops, clubs, and restaurants, which will will serve patrons of Staples and Nokia, as well as the growing residential base. Followed by the cinemas in '09, which will need a significant number of downtown residents to be successful. Finally, the hotel in '10, which will capitalize on the (hopefully) by-then booming downtown tourism and convention business.



^ What about the ESPN Westcoast HQ?

[bobcat]

^ What about the ESPN Westcoast HQ?

That's supposed to be part of the 2nd phase along with the restaurants and clubs scheduled to be completed in 2008.

[edkao]

Well,

Was at the Clipper game tonight, took a couple of photos of LA Live. From Staples Center, sorry the image quality is poor.

Looking east.

http://img183.imageshack.us/img183/5408/11082006162nj5.jpg


Large access ramp from Olympic for underground parking. Ramp is in the middle of picture. I would guess new signal lights will be installed there to clog up future traffic. I think that is Francisco St. and Olympic Blvd.

http://img207.imageshack.us/img207/2331/110820061641ye5.jpg

[Easy]

hmm a non-entertainment company... any guesses anyone ??


My guess would be Herbalife.:D

[LosAngelesSportsFan]

cheater!


i remember some article mentioning that they were gonna have a Food Network studio and have live audiences for shows like iron chef. that was a while ago, so im not sure how accurate that statement is now. it would be cool to have that as well.

[MapGoulet]

cheater!


i remember some article mentioning that they were gonna have a Food Network studio and have live audiences for shows like iron chef. that was a while ago, so im not sure how accurate that statement is now. it would be cool to have that as well.


I can see it now.... "LIVE FROM DOWNTOWN LOS ANGELES.. A souffle"

:D Seriously, think of the exposure of a live feed on a regular show with downtown LA in the background. Niiiiiiice.

[citywatch]

My guess would be Herbalife.
I guess it's only right that for future reference LAMG's post (http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/showpost.php?p=2454939&postcount=1) on Herbalife moving to DT, & LA Live in particular, should be inserted here. This news surprises me because I can't figure out where that business will be located. Are they going to occupy space that otherwise would have gone to stores or restaurants, on the upper levels of LA Live?

BTW, the weather cycle we're in for this yr, where record amts of rainfall are staying way up north, esp around Seattle, while SoCA still is experiencing days of mini summers, may create drought like conditions for us in the future, but it is good in one way: it means fewer down days for construction projs like LA Live.

[citywatch]

Herbalife to Move Downtown

By Roger Vincent, Times Staff Writer
November 16, 2006

Herbalife Ltd. said Wednesday that it would move its U.S. headquarters to downtown Los Angeles from Century City in 2008, giving a boost to downtown and the L.A. Live project. The maker of nutritional supplements and weight management products will be one of the anchor tenants in an office building at L.A. Live, the $2.5-billion sports, entertainment and residential complex being constructed next to Staples Center.

The lease, for an undisclosed price, is a big deal for downtown because in past years, corporate headquarters have been leaving instead of coming, said Tony Morales, a broker at Staubach Los Angeles who represented Herbalife. "The office market is still soft," Morales said, "but the amenities are improving."

L.A. Live developer AEG hopes Herbalife will boost the project by using AEG's other facilities, such as Nokia Theatre and Staples Center, for product launches, conventions and meetings. Herbalife could employ studios at L.A. Live to broadcast video to its 60 branch offices around the world and communicate with its 1.5 million distributors.

"They'll also drive a lot of traffic into the new Marriott hotel," AEG President Tim Leiweke said.

"We think this will be a great branding move for us," said Michael O. Johnson, chief executive of Herbalife. "We'll bring distributors from all over the world to see our bricks and mortar and understand who we are."

The company, which had revenue of $1.6 billion last year, is moving to reposition itself as a nutrition business after being known primarily for its weight-loss products before founder Mark Hughes died in 2000. Herbalife sponsors events such as triathlons, bicycle races, volleyball tournaments and soccer games. It has partnered with AEG to put on athletic events at Home Depot Center in Carson.

Herbalife will rent 60,000 square feet in a 160,000-square-foot office building at L.A. Live that is now fully leased, Leiweke said. AEG also will be based in the five-story building, but Leiweke declined to identify the other tenant that will move in when the building is completed in 2008.

[bjornson]

Citywatch, rejoice! Downtown took a business away from Century City!

[logandankr]

cheater!
i remember some article mentioning that they were gonna have a Food Network studio and have live audiences for shows like iron chef. that was a while ago, so im not sure how accurate that statement is now. it would be cool to have that as well.
So there actually was an article about this? I remember seeing right when LA Live was announced that a "major food brand" was coming to LA Live, but I had never seen anything confirming that it would be Food Network. When I brought it up a couple weeks ago in relation to the “non-entertainment company” the conversation quickly digressed to Giada De Laurentis and her golden nipples…

So you were just saying that Food Network isn’t the non-entertainment company (which makes sense), but not that Food Network isn’t the “major food brand” moving in? Am I being confusing enough? Where's this article!?

[colemonkee]

So there's a 5 story office building in LA Live? Where is it located? I don't remember seeing anything like it in the renderings or models.

[LosAngelesSportsFan]

So there actually was an article about this? I remember seeing right when LA Live was announced that a "major food brand" was coming to LA Live, but I had never seen anything confirming that it would be Food Network. When I brought it up a couple weeks ago in relation to the “non-entertainment company” the conversation quickly digressed to Giada De Laurentis and her golden nipples…

So you were just saying that Food Network isn’t the non-entertainment company (which makes sense), but not that Food Network isn’t the “major food brand” moving in? Am I being confusing enough? Where's this article!?

to be honest, im not sure where i read it, but ill try to find an article with the mention of that.

Ya, where is the office building? maybe its the ESPN Heaquarter building.

[bobcat]

The "Major Food Brand" was originally planned to be Lawry's, but I don't know what the deal is with that.

[innov8]

http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a132/mz1613/lalive11-2006f.jpg

I was passing through LA and snapped a pic of the cranes
in the sky. A lot going on south of DT. The only place I could
see down into the hole for LA Live was from the 110 Hwy. going north...
while I was driving, so that did not work out.

[Tanster]

L.A looks so colorful
the area around the staples center is sarting to look
good

[edluva]

so it appears a large HQ will move into DT for once - yeaaaahhhh!

and into a suburban office bdg fit for downtown Burbank - boooooh!

if it weren't for the hotel, I'd be hating AEGs development right now.

[citywatch]

and into a suburban office bdg fit for downtown Burbank - boooooh! if it weren't for the hotel, I'd be hating AEGs development right now.And you, edluva, have accused me in the past of being negative?!

Speaking of Burbank, & large hdqrts moving to DT instead of the burbs, & a burban type bldg in LA Live, here's a photo of the new hdqrts of Yahoo/Overture, now rising in Burbank, & which originally may have ended up in DTLA from its current location in Pasadena.

http://emad.fano.us/blog/pix/post421/yahoo_burbank_building.jpg

I'm not going to grumble about LA Live when I have to deal with things like this. And if I were an employee of Yahoo/Overture, I'd rather have the deal that Herbalife signed up with recently, because based on these 2 pics the burbank location looks like zzzzzz.

http://emad.fano.us/blog/pix/post421/yahoo_burbank_both_buildings.jpg

[Westsidelife]

While browsing flickr for LA Live photos, I came upon these renderings. We all know what the Ritz-Carlton/Marriott-Marquis/Residences at the Ritz Carlton tower will look like. But here's the tower at some other angles. I will post these at SSP as well once it's back up and running.

http://static.flickr.com/80/250137437_799881d300.jpg?v=0

http://static.flickr.com/83/250136733_4d5407188d.jpg?v=0

http://static.flickr.com/96/250136732_ed3665a59e.jpg?v=0

http://static.flickr.com/92/250135128_a9a3ab7752.jpg?v=0

http://static.flickr.com/86/250132435_815c07a0b0.jpg?v=0

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[EastBayHardCore]

citywatch: Yahoo! HQ is in Santa Clara, that's merely a satellite office.

[ksep]

i like how the two sides of the hotel will be slightly curfed towards the upper floors.

nice find.

[JRinSoCal]

Is there an official height for the hotel? It looks to be around 700ft tall.

[colemonkee]

It says here in this elevation drawing, but it's too small to read. My guess - based on the # of stories and the fins - is somewhere in the 620'-670' range.

http://img223.imageshack.us/img223/7602/1892190065f6a9afa64ak7.jpg

[BrighamYen]

Basically, the Ritz Tower will be about the height of the City National Bank Tower if it's around 670 feet tall--a little shorter even.

I'm HOPING it'll be 700 feet tall!

[WesTheAngelino]

Any new renderings/news on what the street fronts will look like? I recall a rendering from the past that looked extremely unwelcomming and fortress like and I also recall an even earlier one that looked extremely inviting, open, buy a little too good to be true.

[ReDSPork02]

Mega-projects could reshape L.A. growth
By Cara Mia DiMassa, Times Staff Writer
December 13, 2006

http://www.latimes.com/media/thumbnails/graphic/2006-12/26858720.gif
Los Angeles is having a city-building moment.


Two massive projects — the L.A. Live entertainment complex next to Staples Center and the Grand Avenue development on Bunker Hill — are underway. A third giant project, a major expansion of Universal City, was unveiled last week. All adhere to a much-ballyhooed planning strategy embraced by Los Angeles power brokers.

The projects, at a combined cost of about $7.5 billion, follow what has become the big planning trend in Los Angeles and elsewhere: mixing dense housing, retail and office space in village configurations near mass transit. The idea is to foster "smart growth" — in which residents leave their cars behind, walk to shops, and take buses and rail to work.

For Los Angeles, "this is the beginning. This will be the place where a model gets created," said Gail Goldberg, the city's planning director. "This is very different from past development in L.A. We have in the past seen sort of a limitless amount of land. And I think that there were opportunities for sprawl that don't exist anymore."

Goldberg and other planners suggest that the current projects demonstrate that Los Angeles has learned from the drawbacks of past mega-developments.

In the 1960s and '70s, for example, city planners created a second downtown in Century City — but they did so far from any freeways or mass transit, a legacy that Westside commuters deal with daily.

But critics are more skeptical, saying that "smart growth" is only a euphemism for more sprawl.

They worry that the sheer size of the projects — Grand Avenue's six skyscrapers, Universal City's 2,900 homes, and L.A. Live's huge shopping and entertainment venues — will overwhelm any small improvements made by increasing the number of people who use mass transit.

That point was underscored in the environmental impact report for the Grand Avenue project, which found that the development could significantly worsen traffic in downtown — despite the fact that it would be built along the Red Line subway.

"The landowner is always going to want to put as much as possible onto their properties, and push off onto the public sector the costs for doing it," said Rick Cole, city manager of Ventura and a longtime L.A. urban thinker, speaking of large-scale projects in general. "The public ends up having to foot the bill."

Los Angeles has long favored mega-developments, from the Century City and Warner Center office developments in the 1970s to Playa Vista, a mixed-use housing, retail and office community started in the 1990s on the Westside.

But as some of those developments age, their shortcomings have become apparent. In Century City, there is now a push to build residential towers alongside the office space, in the hopes of improving the balance.

Though the three projects have some central tenets in common, they approach the idea of city-building in very different ways.
http://www.latimes.com/media/thumbnails/photo/2006-12/26860236.jpg
L.A. Live, the "sports-entertainment" hub, focuses on being a destination for Angelenos and tourists alike. The project, which already is rising near Staples Center, includes plans for a convention center and hotel, a 7,100-seat theater, broadcast facilities, 14-screen movie theater, and nearly a dozen restaurants and clubs. Luxury condominiums are also part of the mix, with completion of the first phase expected next fall.

Grand Avenue is being touted as the much-needed heart for the city's center. The three-phase project ultimately would include eight condo and office towers, shopping arcades, a 16-acre park and a boutique hotel. The first phase, which would be anchored by two towers designed by Frank Gehry, has received several key official approvals and is expected to start construction next year.
http://www.latimes.com/media/thumbnails/photo/2006-12/26860237.jpg
The Universal plan would create an instant neighborhood on the site of the studio's current back lot, with homes and apartment units and a north-south street to serve residents. In addition, the studio's master plan calls for restaurants, stores and a hotel nearby on NBC-Universal property. The plan goes before officials next year.

Despite their differences, all are attempts to create "hubs" that combine denser housing than Los Angeles is used to with shopping and offices near major rail lines.

Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa has hailed this type of development, saying that it provides needed housing in the urban core while giving residents an opportunity to use mass transit instead of cars.

Smaller, transit-oriented, mixed-use projects have popped up in recent years, particularly around the Red and Gold lines. The Times visited one transit village development in Hollywood after it was built in 2004 and found that although residents liked living near a rail line, all the parking spaces in the complex were taken and many residents still used their cars.

Land-use experts say the sheer size of L.A. Live, Grand Avenue and Universal City mean that those projects ultimately will test whether smart growth can work in Los Angeles.

UCLA planning professor Richard Weinstein said single projects alone would not fundamentally alter Angelenos' shopping and commuting habits. But he said worsening traffic has begun to affect where people decide to live.

The recent boom in upscale condos and lofts in downtown Los Angeles has been driven partly by the desire of people to cut their commutes and live close to work.

The question is whether the people who move into the three new developments are willing to alter their lifestyles accordingly.

"It has much to do with changing people's perceptions of how they want to travel," Weinstein said.

Urban planner Doug Suisman said that in Los Angeles, the challenge for mega-projects and other mixed-use projects near transit corridors is how to create density in a way that works for L.A.

"We are learning here how to do mixed use," Suisman said. "And even if people have lots of experience in other parts of the world, it has to be applied locally."

The stakes for Los Angeles are high.

Con Howe, the city's former longtime planning director, believes that Los Angeles may never have another opportunity to shape its urban fabric as it has now with the three mega-developments.

The influence of those projects will extend far beyond their borders, because mega-developments often influence the kind of growth in surrounding neighborhoods, he said.

"There are some major projects that because of their scale or their impact become a generative force, or a regenerative force," said Howe, who heads the Urban Land Institute's Center for Balanced Development in the West.

L.A. Live already has sparked a significant number of residential projects in the South Park neighborhood around it, with developers trusting that the center will be such a draw that people will want to live nearby.
http://www.latimes.com/media/thumbnails/photo/2006-12/26861319.jpg
L.A. Live offers "a vibrancy that you can't get in other parts of the city," said Greg Vilkin of Forest City, a developer who recently built the upscale rental Met Lofts there. It will be "like living two blocks off of Times Square."


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
cara.dimassa@latimes.com

[Carioca]

Los Angeles is having a city-building moment.


Two massive projects — the L.A. Live entertainment complex next to Staples Center and the Grand Avenue development on Bunker Hill — are underway. A third giant project, a major expansion of Universal City, was unveiled last week. All adhere to a much-ballyhooed planning strategy embraced by Los Angeles power brokers.

Does it seem fair to put both developments in the same sentence? How is the Grand Ave. Project "underway"? I will feel much better about the whole situation when I see ANY sign of life on those parcels... I'll be partying when the cranes go up!!!!!

[LAsam]

Just because people move near the red line doesn't mean they can give up their cars. The rail system is not extensive enough for this to happen. If the city wants people to give up cars they must not only build TOD, but also expand the reaches of the transit. One doesn't work without the other. I know the city is pushing for expanding rail... but it has a long way to go for people's transit patterns to change substantially.

[WesTheAngelino]

Why do people have to "give up" their cars? Just using transit to go to work and back is enough to really change things.

Also, there is this thing called car sharing!!!!! I wish the city would take some initiative and push it along.

[ThreeHundred]

So wait..Grand Ave is underway? I thought it was delayed a year.

[colemonkee]

Grand Ave. is not underway. I repeat - not underway. That LA Times quote was a misprint.

[bobcat]

KB Home opts out of L.A. Live
With its core business in doldrums, the firm sells its stake in a hotel-condo tower to partner AEG.
By Annette Haddad
Times Staff Writer

December 16, 2006

Citing the ongoing housing slowdown, KB Home has withdrawn from a joint venture to build a 54-story hotel and condominium tower that is a central component of the L.A. Live project in downtown Los Angeles adjoining Staples Center.

AEG, L.A. Live's developer and owner of Staples Center, has bought out KB Home's stake in the project and will develop it entirely on its own, the companies said Friday. Terms of the transaction weren't disclosed. However, the cost of the 2-million-square-foot project reportedly is at least $750 million.

Even with KB's withdrawal, the hotel-condo project is still a go, AEG said. Construction is well underway, with completion still slated for 2010.

"Our commitment to the development of L.A. Live has never been stronger or more focused," said Timothy Lieweke, president and chief executive of AEG, owned by billionaire Philip Anschutz.

It had taken two decades for the city to land a major convention hotel. Together with the 27-acre L.A. Live, the complex has raised hopes for reestablishing the city's center as a top tourist and convention magnet.

"At this stage, it's best for AEG to just move ahead. They have ambitious plans for the whole L.A. Live project, so they have to go for it," said Jack Kyser, chief economist with the Los Angeles County Economic Development Corp.

Westwood-based KB Home, the fifth-biggest builder by revenue, said it was withdrawing from the L.A. Live project to focus on its core business of producing single- and multifamily homes.

"KB has not been immune to the changing dynamics in the housing market," spokeswoman Caroline Shaw said. "We really think this project will be a great project and we are very supportive, but building high-rise towers is not part of our corporate business model."

KB Home also is tackling a stock option scandal that prompted longtime Chief Executive Bruce Karatz to resign last month and delayed the filing of financial reports, which triggered notices of default on some of its corporate debt. The company also said it would have to restate more than two years' worth of results.

Citing potential liquidity concerns, Moody's Investors Service on Friday said it would reassess KB Home's ratings for possible downgrade. The review affects about $2.4 billion of debt.

KB Home entered the high-rise condo business early last year with the creation of its KB Urban division. In June, KB teamed with AEG to develop AEG's site and build two top-flight hotels topped with luxury condos.

The project includes a 124-room Ritz-Carlton, which would be the first five-star hotel downtown. Also included is a planned 876-room JW Marriott Los Angeles.

[solongfullerton]

I wouldn't say this is a bad thing, ive worked in construction and my brother worked in new home energy testing, and i've never heard anything good about KB, ever!

[RAlossi]

I'd like to think that KB's pulling out of LA Live is a problem with KB -- they have had many, recently -- and not with the specific DTLA market. Didn't KB pull out of Fig Central to joing AEG with LA Live? I wonder how this is all going to affect KB Urban.

[fridayinla]

I can't say I'm surprised by KB's move to pull out. Like the article mentions, they have so big internal conflicts going on. I'm just glad the hotel project survives!!

[yeah215]

It might turn out to be good in the end. Now there is going to to be the Ritz and the big JW Marriott, more condos and LA's largest home builder won't be downtown. That means that AEG has a larger investment and even more incentive to make all of this work. Also KB might come back in a couple of years, as the retail starts filling in and the market matures with a new and seperate project. I think this might just work out.

[Easy]

I'd like to think that KB's pulling out of LA Live is a problem with KB -- they have had many, recently -- and not with the specific DTLA market. Didn't KB pull out of Fig Central to joing AEG with LA Live? I wonder how this is all going to affect KB Urban.

It sounds like there will no longer be a KB Urban. I think that LA Live was their only project. Now that they have pulled out of that to concentrate on single family homes...

[latennisguy]

It sounds like there will no longer be a KB Urban. I think that LA Live was their only project. Now that they have pulled out of that to concentrate on single family homes...

i hope they go bankrupt

[tujunga]

KB operates like a car dealership, they are in for maximum prophets up front. I think they will return too.

[tujunga]

i hope they go bankrupt


They should, I've gotten a close up look at some of the crappy houses they build.:yuck:

[LAMetroGuy]

It sounds like there will no longer be a KB Urban. I think that LA Live was their only project. Now that they have pulled out of that to concentrate on single family homes...


I think that they are doing some stuff in Orange County... A-Town or something in Anaheim... LA Live wasn't their only project.

[JRinSoCal]

I think that they are doing some stuff in Orange County... A-Town or something in Anaheim...

Nah, A-Town is being developed by Lennar.

[colemonkee]

This article's not directly related to LA Live, but with a little speculation (which we are very good at here), it might have some bearing on the project. Looks like Anchutz is close to liquidating $1.39 billion dollars. He could use this as direct cash to account for KB Urban's departure from the hotel project, but he's more likely to use it as liquid collateral to obtain the financing for the hotel.


Anschutz to sell most of Qwest stake
From Bloomberg News
January 18, 2007

Qwest Communications International Inc. founder Philip Anschutz agreed to sell 43 million shares last week, part of a plan to liquidate more than 90% of his stake in the fourth-largest telephone company.

Through a series of forward-sale contracts disclosed between June and last week, Anschutz stands to reap about $1.39 billion in upfront cash while maintaining control of most of his shares until 2010. Anschutz is Qwest's second-largest shareholder, with a 13% stake, behind Fidelity Investments.

The sale diminishes Anschutz's role at Denver-based Qwest, which he started in 1988. He was the company's sole owner until an initial public offering in 1997. Although Anschutz's investment team has confidence in Qwest's management, they want to focus on other areas, said Jim Monaghan, a spokesman for Anschutz Co., which handles the billionaire's investments.

"Like any other large investment group, they're shifting resources, shifting assets to put them in play in different areas," Monaghan said.

Anschutz, 67, is divesting the shares through forward-sale agreements that come with upfront cash payments and transfer the shares during 2009 and 2010. The contracts include provisions that will increase the payout if Qwest's stock price moves higher over the next three years.

Anschutz will receive $297.3 million in prepayments for the most recent sale, disclosed last week in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The transaction will be completed by 2010, the filing said. He also will receive the first 25% of any stock price appreciation above $8.10.

In November, Anschutz pledged to donate 53.5 million Qwest shares to his charitable foundation.

Excluding shares that are part of a forward sale or a donation, Anschutz Co. controls about 23.4 million Qwest shares, a 91.6% decline from March, when it owned 277 million shares. Fidelity increased its ownership of Qwest by 17.3 million shares to a total of 254.7 million in the period ended Sept. 30.

Anschutz, who began Qwest as a builder of fiber optic networks, held the majority of shares until 1999, when he agreed to sell a $1.57-billion stake to BellSouth Corp. He resigned as nonexecutive chairman in 2002.

Qwest shares fell 15 cents, or 1.8%, to $8.33.

[Inch Blue]

New renderings of LA Live:

http://www.ust.ucla.edu/ustweb/Projects/PROJECTS/lalive.htm

[DJM19]

those are actually very old renders. The hotel isnt even a Hilton anymore, its a Ritz.

[Inch Blue]

Oops, sorry....they were posted on La Curb yesterday...so i thought they were revised renderings....