the criticisms of the palmer apt projs are valid...particularly the OCD nature of making them all look alike.
however, I'm guessing a lot of the bric a brac installed throughout his properties....such as statuary, fountains & heavy landscaping.....do cost more money than the exposed, plain, unpainted concrete, deconstructionist type of design, which is popular with some architects. That style is visible at the newly remodeled bloc proj.
most ppl....not so much the type posting to forums like ssp, who are into the finer details of urbanism & design....will find the original aspects of dtla far more objectionable.
this is the location of the broadway palace bldgs before they were created, & too many other parts of dt still remain not much better than this. I'm fairly sure more ppl through the yrs & decades have been turned off by this aspect of LA than the disneyfied nature of palmer's apt bldgs.
ladowntownnews.com