LOS ANGELES | METRO Project Rundown 2.0 (non-downtown)

[JDRCRASH]

He claims that he can't afford to live somewhere else yet, but something's screwy there.

[LAofAnaheim]

Originally Posted by LosAngelesBeauty

I drove past this police station and was pleasantly surprised by it (within the context of the neighborhood that is pretty dilapidated/seedy). Then I realized that right across the street, IIRC, is the new Gold Line station. It's pretty obvious that the County decided to pay for a more expensive architecture firm, AC Martin in this case, to design a station that would be presentable, and make a fairly good impression, to passengers getting off the trains at this new station. IOW, its a phenomenon I hope continues as the community invests and upgrades the areas next to the stations to breathe new life and money and hopefully sets a precedent followed by even more investments.

There's a Gold Line station across from the new police headquarters? Are you sure? Or am I reading your quote wrong? The station is at least 3 blocks away, and I assume you mean the Arts District/Little Tokyo station.

[LosAngelesSportsFan]

Hes not talking about the headquarters, rather the new station in East LA.

[dktshb]

Originally Posted by sopas ej

That was my interpretation; when I drove by it, i thought it was far more welcoming than the facility that it replaces. And to me it doesn't look like a typical police station; take away the police sign, and it could be a neighborhood public library branch.

That's the first thing that came to my mind, I thought it looked more like a library than a police station. I am cool with it. It looks clean, neat and tidy with a little flamboyance.

[sopas ej]

Originally Posted by Avanine-Commuter

I don't even know why Edluva lives in L.A. Just reading his posts make me feel sick.

Looking at his posts, there's a consistency there. I would think he has Asperger's syndrome.

[sopas ej]

Originally Posted by dktshb

That's the first thing that came to my mind, I thought it looked more like a library than a police station. I am cool with it. It looks clean, neat and tidy with a little flamboyance.

I also think that the tiled mural that was planned for it would have added to it too, I think it would've been a more personalized touch for the community it's serving, but as it is, I think it looks fine.

[Avanine-Commuter]

Hollenbeck Police Station
Los Angeles / AC Martin

By:
Nate Berg

When the city of Los Angeles announced it wanted to redesign 13 of the city’s aging police stations, architect David Martin set his sights on a station in one of the most dangerous neighborhoods in town: Boyle Heights. “It’s a rough, tough area,” says Martin, principal at local architecture and planning firm AC Martin. “So we thought, of all the sites, we might really be able to make a difference on this one.”

The Hollenbeck Police Station routinely responds to gang violence and drug problems in the neighborhood, and the brutal design of the old building matched the area’s toughness with a hard, unwelcoming exterior. With the replacement station, AC Martin sought to change that.

“We asked ourselves: ‘What if we did the opposite of what you’re supposed to do?” says Martin. Instead of unyielding brick walls, the design team made liberal use of glass. “The idea is transparency—literal transparency—to have it be more of an interesting and welcoming sort of place, rather than a fortress.”

The entrance is located in an undulated glass façade featuring roughly 70 bent frosted-glass panels. Each panel consists of two pieces of bent clear glass laminated together with a translucent interlayer, creating a semi-opacity that obscures what’s going on inside, but still allows light to filter through. The pieces attach to a curtain wall system with a custom aluminum bracket designed in-house at AC Martin, and then further engineered by Dallas-based Curtain Wall Design & Consulting. The effect is a sculptural, staccato display that serves Martin’s idea of literal and figurative transparency, an important tool in building trust with the community.

The façade is oriented toward the street, with a fronting plaza area that looks onto a nearby park. The intent was to make a deliberately open area that could be used by the community—and become part of it. A publicly available multipurpose room is designed into the building, so local groups can hold events there. Double doors open the community room up into the plaza, allowing events to spill out into the neighborhood.

Martin says it was important to both his firm and the LAPD to create a space that intertwined with the neighborhood and its people. But because this community asset is also a police station, there were some distinct security criteria that ultimately guided the design. “Their patterns and adjacencies of how you lay out a police station are fixed—because it’s survival,” Martin says.

Ensuring the security of police personnel was a top priority in determining the location of windows, holding cells, and detainee processing areas. And while the glass panels on the façade are not bulletproof, the glass behind them is. Just to be certain, officers took the material to the LAPD’s firing range to verify the manufacturer’s claims.

Also important was how the building worked for the officers. Wide hallways make it easier to maneuver with heavy equipment, and recycled rubber floors ease the impact of a long day of standing.

Fully operational since July, the station is on its way to earning LEED Gold certification—another type of community leadership. With its inclusive design, the station has already made an impact and become, the architects hope, a welcoming neighborhood landmark.

from ArchitectMagazine.com

[yeah215]

Originally Posted by sopas ej

Looking at his posts, there's a consistency there. I would think he has Asperger's syndrome.

This is highly inappropriate. I urge forumers refrained from these types of comments.

[pesto]

av-co: thanks for the informative article on Hollenbeck. Gangs thrive because they serve multiple purposes. It's good to see that the welcoming, community out-reach and availability aspects of the station are there, since that helps replace one of the gangs' drawing cards.

The interplay of bullet-proof glass and open feeling is a real metaphor for the task of making big cities livable.

[JDRCRASH]

Originally Posted by yeah215

This is highly inappropriate. I urge forumers refrained from these types of comments.

Doesn't bother me.

[202_Cyclist]

San Pedro makeover just getting launched

Sahagun, Louis
Los Angeles Times
September 29, 2009

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la...,2231688.story

After 10 years of contentious discussions, the Los Angeles Harbor Commission
is expected to vote today on a $1.2-billion project designed to transform the
San Pedro waterfront into a vibrant commercial district.

The action would bring to a close a master-planning process that some in the
seaside community thought would never end. But the struggles over what should
arise along 400 acres available for development are just getting started.

The project calls for replacing the ailing Ports O' Call Village tourist spot
with up to 300,000 square feet of new restaurants and shops and a
75,000-square-foot conference center. It would be a crucial source of income and
jobs.

The project also calls for completion of an 8.7-mile promenade, 27 acres of
new parks, fountains, three pocket harbors and a fireboat museum along eight
miles of waterfront on the west side of the Port of Los Angeles' main channel.

Port authorities acknowledge that the economic downturn could slow the
development process.

"I have a real pessimistic economic forecast figured into my budget this
year, so I have to be careful about starting new projects," Geraldine Knatz, the
port's executive director, said in an interview.

"Next fiscal year, we'll have about $25 million to spend on starting
something new," she said. "But the promenade and downtown harbor developments
are high-priority projects."

The project would be constructed in phases and completed within about 10
years, officials said.

Construction work was expected to begin with a $42-million upgrade of the
downtown cruise terminal and a makeover of the Ports O'Call Village's collection
of Old English, New England and Spanish-style buildings connected by an uneven,
narrow, red brick walkway.

In its heyday, the village attracted more than 1 million visitors a year.

It began to deteriorate in the 1980s and took a further hit with the closing
of Marineland in 1987 in nearby Rancho Palos Verdes, and the creation or
expansion of tourist-friendly districts in Pasadena, Santa Monica, Universal
City and Anaheim.

Today, it exists as a mix of trinket shops, candy and ice cream stores,
quick-service seafood eateries and the Ports O' Call Restaurant. Many
downtrodden buildings in the village have already been demolished.

"I've been waiting for this master plan for as long as I can remember," said
Los Angeles City Councilwoman Janice Hahn, whose district includes the port. "It
will signal for once and for all that we are building our world-class
waterfront."

"We need a skyline to complement our crane line," she added. "The world's
greatest working port should also become the world's greatest living port."

The most controversial proposal in the master plan calls for construction of
a cruise terminal at Kaiser Point, on the southern end of the main channel.

The Outer Harbor terminal would include two berths -- one facing east, the
other facing picturesque Cabrillo Beach on the west.

They would be designed to create more berth space and accommodate larger
Voyager- and Freedom-class vessels.

Of particular concern to critics, including the Coastal San Pedro
Neighborhood Council, the Sierra Club and local boaters, is the port's desire to
build the berth on the west side of Kaiser Point.

These groups say the project would ruin panoramic vistas and dominate the
waterway, creating a hazard by restricting recreational boat access in an area
of the main channel known for its often treacherous afternoon winds.

"For experienced sailors, that's not a problem," said Roger Roman, a
spokesman for the Buccaneer Yacht Club. "But for single-handed sailors and
novice family sailors, there could be issues. Getting blown down into a cruise
ship is not a fun day at sea."

They also fear that the Outer Harbor terminal might one day be developed to
the point that it could undermine downtown San Pedro's commercial enhancements.

Generally, though, stakeholders in the isolated, ethnically diverse community
approve of the plan, which they hope would create a people-friendly buffer
between their neighborhoods and the industrial empire of cranes, cargo ships,
chemical depots and diesel-powered big rigs about 20 miles south of downtown Los
Angeles.

Yielding to pressure from local residents, the port began entertaining
proposals for a master plan a decade ago.

Separately, nearly $100 million worth of upgrades, including development of a
22nd Street Park and 700-slip Cabrillo Marina Phase II, are already underway.

Construction of master plan projects cannot start soon enough for Jayme
Wilson, a Ports O' Call business owner and president of the San Pedro Chamber of
Commerce.

"It's been a long struggle. Now, let's get it done," Wilson said. "I just
wonder when they are going to start putting shovels in the ground. The sooner
the better."

Joshua Stecker, editor of San Pedro Magazine, agreed.

"The waterfront we have right now is a shame because there is so much
potential," said Stecker, a lifelong resident of San Pedro. "San Pedro remains
the only city in America where property values decrease the closer you get to
the ocean.

"To those who would nitpick and call this master plan lackluster," he added,
"I say something is better than nothing."

[Quixote]

$1.2 Billion Waterfront Redevelopment OK'd

By Art Marroquin and Donna Littlejohn, Staff Writers
September 30, 2009

A $1.2 billion plan aimed at redeveloping San Pedro's waterfront was approved by the Los Angeles Board of Harbor Commissioners early Wednesday morning, including the construction of a controversial cruise terminal near Cabrillo Beach.

The commission voted 4-0 to approve a plan that calls for building an east-facing berth as part of the first phase of the Outer Harbor Cruise Terminal, located at the southern end of the Port of Los Angeles' Main Channel.

The move was an about-face from the port staff's recommendation to spruce up a west-facing berth that's already equipped to handle ships, but would have been about 700 yards away from Cabrillo Beach.

"I think there is so much potential to build goodwill with this condition and really win a lot of respect from the community, who felt they were heard and that our decision-making process was impacted by what we heard tonight," said Harbor Commissioner Jerilyn Lopez-Mendoza, who suggested that the east-facing berth be built first, despite a $14 million difference in construction costs.

The meeting, which lasted 7 ½ hours, drew a diverse mix of an estimated 500 San Pedro residents.

Business owners, dockworkers, neighborhood council activists, government officials and veterans of countless waterfront workshops that had been held over the past decade converged on the Liberty Hill Plaza in downtown San Pedro to express their feelings about the latest proposal.

"I have probably been to over a hundred meetings regarding this, and I'm so proud to see we're at this point," said Joe Gatlin of San Pedro, who has served on several community panels.

"I've been here when there were fish canneries, when we had jobs for everyone, when downtown was vibrant," Gatlin said. "It's no longer that way. Right now, we have an opportunity of a lifetime. Let's put some shovels in the dirt and get this thing going."

Even though it remained unclear which aspects would be built first, port officials said it could take up to a decade to construct all the waterfront upgrades. The harbor commission gave port staffers 30 days to outline which projects could move ahead.

In the meantime, about $14 million was budgeted this year to design the Seventh Street Pier and cuts into the existing waterfront to make room for three new harbors.

"After more than a decade of discussion ... it's exciting to move forward on this historic project," said Geraldine Knatz, the port's executive director.

"The port is committed to creating a world-class L.A. waterfront that benefits our city," Knatz said. "Tonight's board approval sets the wheels in motion for turning this planning effort into a reality."

Port officials said the new cruise ship terminal is needed to handle the next generation of larger luxury vessels visiting San Pedro. For now, extra-large cruise ship must back down the Main Channel to get in and out of the cruise terminal at the north end of the port.

"The new cruise terminal is needed because the luxurious new cruise ships coming out will be attracted to the newest of harbor facilities," said Gary Toebben, president and CEO of the Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce.

"In this day and age, unless you continue to upgrade your facilities, you will be left out because somebody else will do it," Toebben said. "It will only attract more tourist, which will significantly stimulate economic activity throughout the South Bay."

Port officials have also said they hope the new cruise terminal would keep Disney Cruise Lines in San Pedro. Disney is scheduled to start offering Mexican Riviera cruises from Los Angeles under the terms of a two-year agreement set to begin in 2011.

Vern Hall, the port's former director of engineering, said he was concerned that the Outer Harbor Cruise Terminal would become an exclusive home to Disney cruise ships.

"Disney is a wonderful organization, but they are very demanding," Hall told the harbor commission. "My greatest concern, however, is that most of your near-term activities will focus on satisfying the demands of Disney."

Knatz said that she was not negotiating an exclusive terminal agreement with any particular cruise line because it would be too costly.

Peter Warren, a member of the Coastal San Pedro Neighborhood Council, submitted a petition signed by more than 1,000 San Pedro residents opposed to building a cruise terminal near Cabrillo Beach, but supported an alternate plan to build cruise ship berths near downtown.

"What we support are modern terminals near downtown with space for simultaneously berthing the largest cruise ships," Warren said. "The (port) staff alternative lacks an expansion vision for our harbor's future. It doesn't focus on downtown first."

Proponents of the overall plan said that building a seamless connection between the waterfront and downtown San Pedro is crucial for the area's economic survival. Port officials said 64 percent of the project's spending would go toward linking the two destinations.

Pedestrian bridges will cross over Harbor Boulevard at Ninth and 13th streets to encourage more foot traffic, while the Seventh Street Pier would attract visitors to the foot of one of downtown's main corridors.

Plans also call for a meandering walkway from the Vincent Thomas Bridge to the southern end of San Pedro, 27 acres of new parks, a fireboat museum and an extended Red Car trolley line with stops at City Dock One, Cabrillo Beach and the new cruise terminal.

"What unifies us all in the end is the desire to have a destination unique to any place in the world," said Los Angeles City Councilwoman Janice Hahn, whose district includes the port and San Pedro.

"The fundamental guiding principle for the waterfront has always been connecting it to downtown," Hahn said. "We should capitalize on the only street car system in the region with trolleys that go into downtown San Pedro."

Port officials also said they hope to find a private developer to spruce up the ramshackle buildings at Ports O'Call Village and convert it to a tourist destination.

An adjacent parking lot would be turned into shops, eateries, parks and a 75,000-square-foot conference center, doubling the size of Ports O'Call Village to 300,000 square feet. Visitors would be able to park their vehicles in a new, green-topped garage that would be built into the bluff above Sampson Way.

Bill McWaid of Lomita, a volunteer on the SS Lane Victory, carefully studied the waterfront schematics before entering the meeting room. He supported plans to move the retired World War II vessel to a new dock in hopes that it would attract more visitors.

"I think that would be good for us," McWaid said, adding that many people can't find the SS Lane Victory at its current home near the cruise terminal.

"San Pedro needs help," he said. "It will make it more like Long Beach."

Not everyone was supportive of the plan.

Bernie Shepherd of Hollywood Hills owns rental properties in San Pedro and has attended the waterfront meetings since the began nearly 10 years ago. While Shepherd said the proposal was "long overdue," it still fell short in his eyes.

"It lacks world class," he said. "The real ground-breaking idea is not here. It's too timid. There are too many cooks and too many compromises. It's all watered down. Where's the world class?"

Andrew Silber, owner of the Whale and Ale Pub in downtown San Pedro, was feeling optimistic as he entered the meeting hall.

"In some ways it's never enough, but it will be a huge improvement," Silber said. "If they provide linkages from the waterfront to downtown, I can't see why downtown wouldn't thrive."

[Quixote]

12-Story Wetherly Project Approved by City Council

By Dakota
September 30, 2009

Today the City Council approved Genton Barth Real Estate Group's Wetherly project, a 12-story development that'll bring 95 condos to the corner of 3rd Street and Wetherly Drive. Given earlier resistance to the project by neighborhood groups, we had been wondering if anyone would sue, but the Los Angeles Times reports that Councilman Paul Koretz helped broker a compromise between some of the homeowner groups and the developer. Initially, Harald Hahn, president of the Burton Way Foundation, had been very vocal about the project's height, which has now dropped to 12 stories. Reached last night, he told us he had no comment on the project. Meanwhile, per a press rep for Koretz's office, some of the concessions made by the developer include 48 units of Cedars Sinai workforce housing (at another location), and a donation to the West Third Street Business Association for the implementation of a streetscape program and public valet program. And as noted last week, the architect here is RTKL.

• L.A. City Council OKs 12-story Westside condo near Beverly Center [LA Times]

[LAsam]

File the waterfront development right next to the LAX renovations under - "About damn time."

[Quixote]

^ 2010-2020: The About Damn Time Decade

1) Transit improvements
2) LAX modernization
3) San Pedro waterfront redevelopment
4) LA River revitalization

We're 20-30 years behind where we should be.

[BrandonJXN]

^ All of, if not most of these things should've been done before the Olympics.

[POLA]

Edluva, did you hear Kuntsler's assesment of LA yet? I thought it was pretty good overall:
http://kunstlercast.com/shows/Kunstl...s_Angeles.html

[LosAngelesSportsFan]

i think the following is some great news for the ports and all of Los Angeles.

San Pedro makeover, other port projects move forward in busy week
October 3, 2009 | 2:04 pm

The Los Angeles-Long Beach port complex's new crosscurrents were evident this week, with approvals of projects and federal funds to improve the quality of life in what was once among the least hospitable regions in Southern California.

The Los Angeles Harbor Commission early Wednesday unanimously approved a long-awaited $1.2-billion San Pedro Waterfront revitalization project, which aims to transform the shabby Ports O' Call Village tourist spot into a 300,000-square-foot dining and shopping outpost.

The project, which backers say will create an estimated 5,000 new jobs over the next decade, also calls for an 8.7-mile-long promenade, new parks and fountains, three pocket harbors, a 75,000-square-foot conference center and another cruise ship terminal.

On Thursday, the U.S. House of Representatives approved $90,000 for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to review a city-commissioned analysis of the feasibility of dismantling the part of the Long Beach breakwater to restore ocean currents, create cleaner beaches and revive the city's historic seaside allure.

The Army Corps' review will determine whether there is federal interest in pursuing changes to the stony barricade.

According to the study conducted by the engineering firm of Moffat & Nichol, the city could gain $52 million a year in local spending — and $7 million annually in sales tax revenue — by altering the 2.2-mile wall of rock created during World War II.

Also on Thursday, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced $26 million in federal stimulus grants to reduce diesel emissions in the Southern California air basin, in part by retrofitting heavy port equipment including big rigs and rubber-tired gantry cranes.

There's more. Environmental, health and labor groups on Thursday joined Los Angeles and Long Beach officials in celebrating the first anniversary of the clean truck program, a $1.8-billion strategy to slash diesel emissions by phasing out 17,000 old, dirty big rigs serving port terminals.

In the Port of Los Angeles, the program has already eliminated 2,000 of the dirtiest and oldest trucks from port terminals, and put an estimated 6,000 cleaner-burning vehicles into service.

"Congratulations to Southern California residents, environmentalists and truck drivers who fought for the Los Angeles Clean Truck Program and now breathe cleaner air one year later," Michael Green, head of the Center for Environmental Health, said in a statement.

-- Louis Sahagun in Long Beach

[KEVINcredible1226]

Westside
I agree COMPLETELY!
I mean The LA River looks so crappy, finally they are doing something about it, and for one of the most busiest Airport in the world, LAX's interior looks very bad. Although they have done some Renovations it still doesnt look good. Their also opening lines connecting to the westside like Century City which is good.


Hold On i have a question?
The new Westfield in century city, i thought there was a westfield in Century City already, this new plan their making is it just Renovations, or will they replace it. Im very confused. I Havent been in Century City for so long.

[pesto]

Century City: it's a renovation and expansion. The whole project includes getting rid of a couple of smaller office buildings, putting in one new high-rise (maybe with a Purple Line station in it) and generally getting a greener, sleeker look, more restaurants and clubs.

Combined with the project that replaces the Century Plaza Hotel, this could be a real step forward for the urban nature of CC. Of course, it all comes with a big "if" (such as funding, law suits, etc.).