LOS ANGELES | Downtown Project Rundown 4.0

[Kingofthehill]

I don't know, but I really like the Alta Lofts. Very nice reimagining and contemporary modernization of a previously spartan and unspectacular warehouse.

[Illithid Dude]

Originally Posted by Kingofthehill

I don't know, but I really like the Alta Lofts. Very nice reimagining and contemporary modernization of a previously spartan and unspectacular warehouse.

I like it too. The whole area around it, if I am not mistaken, is slated for some major development in the next few years. I believe the plan was passed through city council a couple months ago.

[DistrictDirt]

Originally Posted by Illithid Dude

I like it too. The whole area around it, if I am not mistaken, is slated for some major development in the next few years. I believe the plan was passed through city council a couple months ago.

Link? Lincoln Heights is one neighborhood I know very little about.

[Der Blut]

Alta Lofts are very reasonably priced, but let's not pretend like the neighborhood is going to take off any time soon. And that top thing is pretty bad.

[LAofAnaheim]

Originally Posted by Mojeda101

According to the pictures, and a few looks on Google Earth, it looks like there will still be a lot right next to the Courtyard. Although significantly smaller than the Courtyard, is it enough space to put a building? Hell, I took a big gander at the area and it just put a big frown on my face.

Look at this! >.<



I'm glad they are slowly filling up those parking lots, but that area could make up 20% of the current skyline if it were filled up.

And people in LA still complain there is "no parking".......I was in SF last weekend and there was LITERALLY no parking for 20 minutes; including parking garages. That's a city where "no parking" exists, not LA, where "no parking" means no free parking and I have to pay $5 to park.

[LA/OCman]

Originally Posted by WonderlandPark

Hey, don't diss my building, I live there, and its not awful, its better than most in that neighborhood. (I am not the biggest fan of the exterior color, but its hardly the worst choice)

the old historic pis isn't flipped, its a different corner than the developer pic.

About eight months ago I drove from Downtown to Lincoln Hts to look at an investment property. If you head up Spring where it turns into Broadway and continue north, you see a fairly nice collection of buildings with nice street trees...and it is really close to Downtown.

While I am not in love with the addition on the rooftop of the Atla Lofts, I am happy this renovation is close to the Gold Line and actually could see "historic" Lincoln Heights as a viable neighborhood for revitalization in the future. There are some amazingly beautiful houses and apartments in the area. BTW, it is also a place to buy cheap gas if you live Downtown.

[sopas ej]

Originally Posted by WonderlandPark

Hey, don't diss my building, I live there, and its not awful, its better than most in that neighborhood. (I am not the biggest fan of the exterior color, but its hardly the worst choice)

the old historic pis isn't flipped, its a different corner than the developer pic.

Funny, because I wouldn't think the pictures were flipped; there are clues that show that they aren't (signs aren't backwards, cars are on the correct side of the road...).

[Muji]

I got a quick look at 1111 Wilshire yesterday. It looks like they're just starting the third of seven floors.

[colemonkee]

^ Great update! Thank you, Muji. That's going to be a big boon for City West once it's fully occupied. That and the new hospital up the street.

[citywatch]

Originally Posted by LAofAnaheim

Instead of these vague generalized statements about the somehow apparent "darth" of the entertainment industry, which again is an illusion and NOT factual..........please provide us statistics. Using emotions is not going to work.

laofanaheim, I was going off things like what I read back in january...

Los Angeles lost more TV shoots last year to New York, but movie production and commercials more than made up the difference, helping to give the L.A. area a 4% increase in overall on-location filming for 2011.

Feature film production generated 5,682 production days in 2011, up 6% compared with 2010. FilmL.A. officials attributed the jump in part to California's film tax credit, a program the state launched in 2009 to stem runaway production.

Feature production slowed significantly toward the end of the year, falling 26% in the fourth quarter compared with a year earlier, reflecting competition California faces from other states that offer more generous film incentives, such as Georgia and Louisiana. On-location feature film production last year was 59% below its 1996 peak, according to FilmL.A.

Television activity dropped 11% in the fourth quarter and declined 3% for the year, accounting for 17,349 production days, FilmL.A. data showed. Fewer dramas are filming in Los Angeles -- production in the category fell 30% in the fourth quarter alone -- because of more competition from New York, which had a record year for TV production in 2011.

A study released last year by FilmL.A. found that 87 pilots were produced in L.A. in the most recent season, up from 76 the prior season. But the region's share of overall pilot production nationally has fallen to 51%, down from 82% six years ago. During the same period, New York more than doubled its share, to roughly 10% of all pilots, according to the study.

FilmL.A. President Paul Audley called the long-term fall in television production, long a mainstay of the entertainment economy, a disconcerting trend.

Originally Posted by sopas ej

Funny, because I wouldn't think the pictures were flipped; there are clues that show that they aren't (signs aren't backwards, cars are on the correct side of the road...).

I think you're correct....plus if it had been flipped, I meant to say it would have been flippped horizontally, not vertically.

The alta lofts pic still looks so hyper polished that I can't help but think it actually was photoshopped. Or since we're dealing with LA, where getting permits for things like building & opening new restaurants takes forever & forever, I'm very skeptical that the street in front of alta lofts really has been improved since google map's cam drove by.

If LA was a city that wasn't so slow in getting things done, I'd be confident in assuming the area around alta lofts actually had been cleaned up, so that if I were to go by there today it would be like this.....




^ excuse the bad photoshopping job, but maybe it shows a day when it's gonna rain.


maps.google.com

[citywatch]

Originally Posted by colemonkee

^ Great update! Thank you, Muji.

I second that. I remember when you also had regular photo updates in this thread. I know there isn't alot of new devlpt going on right now, but if you or anyone else has pics of things like the new umamicatessen restaurant on broadway, esp shots of the amt of business it's doing----I understand it's attracting pretty good crowds----or the chinatown gateway proj, or even the opening of a small store in spots that have long been vacant or were once divey, I'd welcome seeing them here.

[alki]

Originally Posted by citywatch

www.livealta.com

Oh no! How long will it be before the black alien thing finishes eating the rest of the building? Anyone know?

[alki]

Brigham, great rant over Macy's Plaza..........maybe you could start a write in campaign to Jamison Services:

http://brighamyen.com/2012/03/30/lip...les/#more-7320

[Illithid Dude]

[IMG]Los Angeles lost more TV shoots last year to New York, but movie production and commercials more than made up the difference, helping to give the L.A. area a 4% increase in overall on-location filming for 2011. Feature film production generated 5,682 production days in 2011, up 6% compared with 2010. FilmL.A. officials attributed the jump in part to California's film tax credit, a program the state launched in 2009 to stem runaway production. Feature production slowed significantly toward the end of the year, falling 26% in the fourth quarter compared with a year earlier, reflecting competition California faces from other states that offer more generous film incentives, such as Georgia and Louisiana. On-location feature film production last year was 59% below its 1996 peak, according to FilmL.A. Television activity dropped 11% in the fourth quarter and declined 3% for the year, accounting for 17,349 production days, FilmL.A. data showed. Fewer dramas are filming in Los Angeles -- production in the category fell 30% in the fourth quarter alone -- because of more competition from New York, which had a record year for TV production in 2011. A study released last year by FilmL.A. found that 87 pilots were produced in L.A. in the most recent season, up from 76 the prior season. But the region's share of overall pilot production nationally has fallen to 51%, down from 82% six years ago. During the same period, New York more than doubled its share, to roughly 10% of all pilots, according to the study. FilmL.A. President Paul Audley called the long-term fall in television production, long a mainstay of the entertainment economy, a disconcerting trend.[/IMG]

Yet it is still up 4% from the year before, and while New York did make gains, it is still at overall 10%. So.... nothing to worry about.

[colemonkee]

Time to get this thread back on track with a good old-fashioned photo update. All pictures taken earlier today by me, or someone who looks suspiciously like me. I'll go in order of my walk...

New Genesis Apartments

They finally uncloaked this one. It's pretty underwhelming, though the textured pavers they used on the darker grey areas are a nice touch. They help make the stucco easier to swallow.



I really hope they paint the railings on the Main Street side this yellow. It gives the design a little kick.




Loft Conversion on Winston (Don't remember the project name)

Coming along nicely. Looks like most of the remaining work is on the ground floor, which I hope they activate with some retail. This shot is looking west from Los Angeles Street.



And the street frontage on Winston.





Kitchen Table

Speaking of retail, Kitchen Table, the little restaurant that Ray from Ray's Market across the street has been working on forever seems to be inching closer to opening. Those plastic screens on the rooftop dining area are new.




Chester Williams Building

Residential conversion and building out the ground floor Walgreens continues. The exterior looks great.




Hotel Clark

And a building who's exterior still has a looong to go before it's ready to open. My guess is to this point all the work has been on the inside.








Broad Museum

Construction of the museum has officially started. There's a lot of rebar above ground level on Upper Grand. Should be exciting to watch this one.






Civic Park

It's hard to tell from the pictures, because it's difficult to get a good vantage point from the street, but this thing is really coming along. Here's the entrance to the park on the North side of Broadway.



Peeking in through a hole in the wall in the "great lawn" area in front of City Hall. If you look very closely on the lower right, you can see the the canopy is built out.



And there are lots of new trees planted, some already blossoming.




And a bonus shot of City Hall from the foundation of the old state building. It's a shame they couldn't integrate this lot into the park. This is like having Boo Radley's house right outside City Hall.

[Illithid Dude]

The ground floor looks fantastic! They've done an excellent job restoring this one.

Not actually stucco. It's some kind of board material. And yes, there will be yellow on the main street side.

Weren't they planning on sand blasting the entire building, to restore the original brick?

Anyways, great work. You covered pretty much everything.

[202_Cyclist]

"The nation's most densely populated urbanized area is Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, Calif., with nearly 7,000 people per square mile. The San Francisco-Oakland, Calif., area is the second most densely populated at 6,266 people per square mile, followed by San Jose, Calif. (5,820 people per square mile) and Delano, Calif. (5,483 people per square mile). The New York-Newark, N.J., area is fifth, with an overall density of 5,319 people per square mile. (See sortable lists.)"

http://www.census.gov/newsroom/relea...s/cb12-50.html

[colemonkee]

Illithid Dude, I'm not sure if they were planning on sandblasting the entire building or not, but the white brick is clearly what they're going with for the finish. At least for most of the building. The scaffolding that's surrounded the building for the last several months is gone, and I'd be very surprised if they installed it again to do the sandblasting.

The white brick actually looks pretty good in person with the black window frames and balconies. And there are some gold-leafed details at the top that would get lost in a red brick building. I only had my wide angle lens on me yesterday, so I couldn't get in close enough for detail shots of those. But they have been nicely restored, and look great against the white brick.

[Kingofthehill]

The Chester Williams building looks wonderful! For a while, I was wondering if any work was still being done on it. Too bad the ground floor retail being a...Walgreens. How underwhelming and anticlimactic, especially given there is already a Rite-Aid AND 7-11 across the street. I mean, it is more useful than another restaurant or bar, but still...

[202_Cyclist]

Kingofthehill:

How underwhelming and anticlimactic, especially given there is already a Rite-Aid AND 7-11 across the street

As you know, at least there isn't a CVS on every street like there is here in DC.

Regarding downtown, does anyone have a recommendation for a nice but moderately-priced hotel? We're thinking of taking a trip to LA in July or August. I'm also interested to know whether the Getty museum is accessible via public transit (I don't mind taking the bus). Thanks!