LOS ANGELES | Downtown Project Rundown 6.0

[LA21st]

They both look great!

That 8th and Figueroa was such a dumb lot for a long time. What an awesome addittion.

[scania]

Originally Posted by Mojeda101

If you guys had to guess, which project should be next to break ground? 2nd phase of Moxy? 8th/Hope tower? Perhaps the JW expansion or even Times Mirror Square?

I understand Onni likes to build their downtown projects one at a time so i'd imagine they'd do that after Olympic tower is finished. I haven't kept up with the scene lately so i'm curious what you guys think is the most optimistic or promising.

I would geuss Mitsui Fudosan.

[scania]

Originally Posted by LA21st

They both look great!

That 8th and Figueroa was such a dumb lot for a long time. What an awesome addittion.

Yes...for anyone that truly understands the urban fabric of DTLA, any parking lot between 5th (really 6th) and Pico, and Figueroa and Main St. would be awesome to develop in DTLA.

[homebucket]

Originally Posted by scania

Yes...for anyone that truly understands the urban fabric of DTLA, any parking lot between 5th (really 6th) and Pico, and Figueroa and Main St. would be awesome to develop in DTLA.

Agreed. I counted almost 100 standalone (ie not underground parking or podium for an actual building) surface parking lots and structures in the area between 6th, Figueroa, Pico, and Main. About 70 or so of which are surface lots. The opportunity for urban infill even in this small pocket of DTLA alone is tremendous.

[citywatch]

Office availability is at an all-time high in Los Angeles at nearly 30 percent — likely the new norm going forward. Companies have figured out that employees like to have the flexibility of where and even when they work. With that said, companies are downsizing their office space by 25 percent to 50 percent and, in some cases, by 100 percent.

Ongoing developments, such as the Metro Purple Line and the Metro Regional Connector, have the potential to transform Los Angeles and create a positive impact on the community. The Purple Line is a transit system planned to span from Brentwood to Downtown and will stop in some of LA’s premier neighborhoods. The Regional Connector will prevent riders having to transfer trains between Azusa and Long Beach, and between East Los Angeles and Santa Monica. This will create ease of transit for riders and connect the city. If kept safe and clean, these projects could have an enormous impact on Los Angeles as freeway traffic would decline, office usage would improve, and retail sales would rise, thereby increasing the city’s tax revenue.

When looking at Greater Los Angeles, two markets still have an influx of sales, leasing and development activity: Culver City and Century City. Culver City has completely transformed in the past decade....Century City has emerged as the most desirable submarket for many tenants due to its high-quality office product, various walkable amenities, and ease of access from the 405 and 10 freeways.

Though vacancy and rental rates differ from market to market, Greater Los Angeles has a vacancy rate of nearly 22 percent with an average asking rent of $3.78 per square foot, per month (full-service gross). One can look at each market individually and find similar results. For perspective, however, Century City has a 21 percent vacancy compared to Downtown, which has a 25 percent vacancy rate and a 30 percent availability rate.

^ DTLA for generations has been in a tug of war with other sections of LA, other cities in CA, other cities in the US, if not the world too. If dtla can somehow grab a bigger market share of businesses, successful residents, day trippers, tourists, that will help. I've long seen its biggest disadvantage as being located in an area surrounded by lots of declining hoods....or the opposite of a city like SF. But then I see how SF right now is going through hard times itself. In turn, I think dtla in 2023 is in certain ways better than it was in 1993 or 1973, or 1923, but it's still also facing some of the same obstacles of yrs ago. So the more things change, the more they stay the same.

This wasn't true before the early 2000s, then 2015, & then other projs like the Grand LA in 2022....

https://youtu.be/fIWdfaRAdes?t=71

[Easy]

Originally Posted by Mojeda101

If you guys had to guess, which project should be next to break ground? 2nd phase of Moxy? 8th/Hope tower? Perhaps the JW expansion or even Times Mirror Square?

I understand Onni likes to build their downtown projects one at a time so i'd imagine they'd do that after Olympic tower is finished. I haven't kept up with the scene lately so i'm curious what you guys think is the most optimistic or promising.

Onni preferring to build one tower at a time in DTLA is speculation mostly based on how Hope/Flower started construction soon after 825 S Hill opened. I can see why it might make sense also see why it wouldn't.

[homebucket]

Sharp looking, nicely scaled office development here.

The site:
https://goo.gl/maps/QrYPx7bUw7deiAFD7

L.A. City Council signs off on Arts District offices at 929 E. 2nd Street
Morali Architects-designed mid-rise would stand 131 feet tall
MAY 19, 2023, 8:15AMSTEVEN SHARP

Six years after initiating plans to redevelop the 1920s Challenge Cream & Butter Building in the Arts District, British developer Est4te Four Capital has its entitlements.

On May 16, the L.A. City Council voted to move forward with a zone change and environmental clearance for the proposed project, which would rise from a corner site at 929-939 E. 2nd Street. Plans call for the addition of a six new floors atop the shell of the existing two-story edifice, creating approximately 70,300 square feet of offices, 17,200 square feet of artist studios and screening rooms, and 21,000 square feet of event space. Parking for 270 vehicles would be located in an automated structure in the basement of the Challenge Cream & Butter Building.

New York-based Morali Architects is designing the building, which is named for its location at the intersection of 2nd and Vignes Streets. Plans show a contemporary mid-rise structure, wrapped in cantilevered balconies and capped by a rooftop pool deck. The building would rise 131 feet to its roof, and approximately 143 feet at its peak.

https://la.urbanize.city/post/la-cit...9-e-2nd-street

[homebucket]

And the rendering:



https://la.urbanize.city/post/la-cit...9-e-2nd-street

[LosAngelesSportsFan]

I love this project and I'm glad it's approved. That area of the arts district next to the regional connector is gonna boom

[Quixote]

Six years from filing plans to receiving entitlements though is ridiculous. I'm glad it's finally been approved, but we still don't know when they plan on beginning construction.

[citywatch]

• Video Link

[citywatch]

facebook.com, DtlaDev


facebook.com, DtlaDev

Matt Gelfand
Metro announced today that the Regional Connector will open on June 16, fundamentally changing the way Metro runs to and through DTLA! This map illustrates how the A (blue) and E (gold) lines will transit through DTLA and its three-ish new stations. To celebrate, I am also including a picture of the beginning of prep work at the Broad Museum to receive traffic from the new Grand Ave Arts station. This prep work has started bizarrely late and, so far, seems to consist of simply painting the area red...

Daniel Duran
I always wondered why The Broad didn’t turn that space into a sculpture garden. It seems like a wasted opportunity.

.

[hughfb3]

Arts District update...

Carmel



AVA


AVA Arts District with The Row in the background


AMP Lofts

Originally Posted by Mojeda101

If you guys had to guess, which project should be next to break ground? 2nd phase of Moxy? 8th/Hope tower? Perhaps the JW expansion or even Times Mirror Square?

I understand Onni likes to build their downtown projects one at a time so i'd imagine they'd do that after Olympic tower is finished. I haven't kept up with the scene lately so i'm curious what you guys think is the most optimistic or promising.

In 2019 Onni stated they would break ground by 2020 and be complete with 1000 Hill by 2022... they also said that same year that Times Mirror Square would break ground in 2021 for a 2024 completion. 1000 Hill is moving along now just 2 years after its original timeline. Based on the 2.5 year delay from the events of 2020, while keeping the same timeline of projects from 2019 statements, I'd say Times Mirror breaks ground by early next year as it was originally intended to be under construction while 1000 hill was rising.

Tribune's tower is fully approved and will have everything in place to move forward after next month when the Regional Connector opens. Hopefully their timetable stays. With the rise in interest rates, I'm wondering if we will see a few developers rapidly break ground on projects that already have locked in financing with lower rates before their loan approvals expire... hopefully you Tribune Tower

[202_Cyclist]

But those telephone wires!!!!!!!!!!

[citywatch]

two guys sitting in the lobby level of the Intercontinental hotel (I still think of it as the Wilshire Grand) talking about an issue that's having an affect on dtla way beyond its new devlpt, old devlpt, parking lots, parking minimums, new connector line, etc. alone....

https://youtu.be/9WAEJUrvsRw?t=138

The costly subway down Wilshire Blvd from dt to the westside is being used less & less by ppl due to matters like the one those guys are talking about. I've read that more tourists booked in rooms in dt are hesitant about taking the subway from there to hollywood & universal studios. So the subway soon to finally go west of Vermont may have less positive impact if ppl don't like using it.

Although new devlpt is springing up in the long gritty east side of dt...the arts dist...some of its full potential...& definitely for areas further west of it...isn't being helped by the rise of burbanization. Or more ppl in today's times wanting to work from home, shop online, not wanting to be challenged by dirt & crime.

If urban America in the next 10 yrs is going to take a trip back to the future ....or see trends similar to ones from the 1970s, 1980s...ppl at LA city hall & in organizations like the dtla improvement district, etc, had better keep their eyes wide open.

[headcheckjj]

Wow, so if Mitsui Fudosan is starting work soon on the tower next door (https://la.urbanize.city/post/mitsui...8th-grand-hope), and this parking structure is getting redeveloped into a nearly 300-foot data center, all we have is the church on the neighboring lot to redevelop and the whole block will be covered?

https://la.urbanize.city/post/13-sto...727-grand-dtla

[craigs]

Thanks for the photos, hughfb3.

[AskMrNoah]

Originally Posted by hughfb3

Arts District update...

Carmel



AVA


AVA Arts District with The Row in the background


AMP Lofts





In 2019 Onni stated they would break ground by 2020 and be complete with 1000 Hill by 2022... they also said that same year that Times Mirror Square would break ground in 2021 for a 2024 completion. 1000 Hill is moving along now just 2 years after its original timeline. Based on the 2.5 year delay from the events of 2020, while keeping the same timeline of projects from 2019 statements, I'd say Times Mirror breaks ground by early next year as it was originally intended to be under construction while 1000 hill was rising.

Tribune's tower is fully approved and will have everything in place to move forward after next month when the Regional Connector opens. Hopefully their timetable stays. With the rise in interest rates, I'm wondering if we will see a few developers rapidly break ground on projects that already have locked in financing with lower rates before their loan approvals expire... hopefully you Tribune Tower

AMP Lofts turned out so well, I love it

Even though Ava is 7 stories, it has a big presence. I’m sure the retail spaces will be filled with unique concepts and I hope one day the lot across the street is developed. I remembered seeing renderings years ago and if built this portion of the street will be quite vibrant.

The Carmel tower has given us a peak into future of the Arts District. I see it as being LA’s version of a smaller Fulton Market or even present day Williamsburg. It’s extremely important that the B/D station is built here which means more people can have easier access getting from this portion of Downtown to the Westside.

[LA21st]

The Arts District eventually will turn into Fulton Market. It's just behind. But it's going to happen.

[LAisthePlace]

Originally Posted by LA21st

The Arts District eventually will turn into Fulton Market. It's just behind. But it's going to happen.

Of all the cities in the states I've been to, I think that is the perfect comparison (but with more art galleries in the Arts District!)

So exciting seeing the neighborhood's first skyscraper rise. With a really thoughtfully designed base it should add so much vitality to an already great area.

The really limitation on the Arts District to take off even more than it has is Skid Row.