[RAlossi]

Just a couple updates / observations from my perspective while walking around today...

There's some work going on in the Chinatown/El Pueblo area on Alameda, which I *think* is a project to reconfigure north Alameda to be more pedestrian friendly and connect it to the new (temporary) park. Last I heard, the DOT is adding curbs to the area of North Alameda/Main Street/Cesar Chavez. As it is now, it's one big triangle of asphalt with no definable roadway or walkway. Also, the city is installing new reddish sidewalks around El Pueblo/Olvera Street.

Things are looking really nice now that the old fountain area has been redone to a quiet little park/"gazebo", lights have been added to the trees, and the whole Plaza has been cleaned up quite a bit since I started going Downtown a few years ago. Lots of tourists pouring out of Union Station and spending time (and money) at Olvera Street while waiting for their Amtrak connection...

In Little Tokyo, several buildings are undergoing some small renovations. The New Otani Hotel (previously mentioned by another poster here) received a paint job and some updated lighting on the 2nd Street side. In Weller Court, Marukai Market has completed its move to the north side of the building, to a more updated, larger space. The previous space is being converted into some type of office space or bank as far as I could tell. Curry House To-Go has added Saturday hours when previously it was only a Monday-Friday thing. The general condition of Weller Court is not good, however -- so I really hope that the owner (New Otani?) will pour some significant money into it and/or retrofit it entirely. There's an office building at the northeastern block of First/San Pedro that has undergone some cosmetic updating.

Pinkberry is coming to the Cultural Village Plaza, and the Teramachi Senior Housing complex is almost ready for move-ins if they haven't started already. The entire district feels a lot cleaner and more friendly compared to several years ago. Central Avenue between First and Second is pretty nice, especially with the Hikari open now. Lots of cool clothing shops are open on Second Street.

There were lots of people milling about the Financial District, but many stores are closed on the weekends. This is something that's got to start changing for there to be progress in the area, IMO.

I'm really glad to hear of the significant push to make 7th Street a "restaurant row" for Downtown. I didn't get a chance to check out the area aside from between Figueroa and Grand, but the Roosevelt's retail will add a lot. Before it seemed a bit worn out. I wasn't even approached by anyone asking me for money, though a homeless guy who seemed to be on drugs kept calling me and my boyfriend faggots and other nasty comments...

The mall at City National Plaza (505 Flower?) was really creepy. The lights were on but there was no one home. Muzak in a completely empty mall with all the stores closed was weird. The 24 Hour Fitness was open, but not very full... This is all in direct contrast to Macy's Plaza, which was pretty active.

I'm not really going to comment on South Park since it's been talked about on here so much, but I will say that I'm really impressed with the overall feeling of progress I get when I'm there. Grand Hope Park had a lot of families, though I do wish the owner of the park (is it the city?) would remove the fence around the perimeter.

Sorry, but I didn't bring my camera with me! ::ashamed::