LOS ANGELES | Downtown Project Rundown 6.0

[ocman]

Originally Posted by ozone

I have to agree with the author here. The Wilshire Grand is a great addition to the skyline but it does not fundamentally change it the way the Sears Tower and John Hancock bldg did in Chicago or most recently the Salesforce Tower in San Francisco has. As was pointed out. Despite the declaration by a small group of skyscraper enthusiasts that it's the tallest in the city, nobody with good eyesight and a sound mind would think it is. That just means Los Angeles is still looking for and primed for a true supertall to unseat the US Bank Tower.

It's a positive addition, but it was never meant to be an architectural landmark. Otherwise, a starchitect would have been hired to design the building. The hype about being the tallest was self-inflicted by those skyscraper enthusiasts. They were only disappointing themselves. I doubt anyone involved in that project really cared. It's still nice to have a building without a flat top roof.

[Eightball]

Originally Posted by citywatch

I'm happy to see Century City is doing well. DTLA is booming with residential, retail and entertainment and the office will eventually improve. A strong metro area/city benefits everyone

[scania]

Originally Posted by ocman

It's a positive addition, but it was never meant to be an architectural landmark. Otherwise, a starchitect would have been hired to design the building. The hype about being the tallest was self-inflicted by those skyscraper enthusiasts. They were only disappointing themselves. I doubt anyone involved in that project really cared. It's still nice to have a building without a flat top roof.

Agreed. It wasn't supposed to be the tallest. Will it be iconic years later? Who knows...the lighting feature on the building is great and hasn't been done here in LA.

[Valyrian Steel]

Honestly, I kinda wish the entire building had been redesigned after the project was down-scaled. I'll always look at this building as a shorter version of the 1,250 ft tower. Even the podium looks as if the 2nd tower was deconstructed and left with only a couple of floors. And then there's the skinny spire, which was bolted to the side and left without adequate lighting.

Despite my disappointments, I still like this tower overall and is a great addition to Downtown.

[ziggy331]

Originally Posted by scania

Who knows...the lighting feature on the building is great and hasn't been done here in LA.

Speaking of their lighting - does anyone know why the lighting has not been turned on consistently? I know it was on for July 4, but haven't seen the lighting since then.

[Blesha13]

I kind of like the tower dark to be honest. I just wish the Wilshire Grand's website has a page where it shows when and what colors will be displayed on the tower. The Empire State Building has a page for that which is pretty cool.

[ConstructDTLA]

Some images from the last couple days:

Broadway Trade Center by Hunter, on Flickr

Broadway Trade Center by Hunter, on Flickr

Broadway Trade Center by Hunter, on Flickr

Broadway Trade Center by Hunter, on Flickr

Broadway Trade Center by Hunter, on Flickr

Broadway Trade Center by Hunter, on Flickr

Freehand Hostel by Hunter, on Flickr

Metropolis by Hunter, on Flickr

Metropolis by Hunter, on Flickr

Metropolis by Hunter, on Flickr

All these towers built in the last 10 years, pretty crazy.
South Park Residential Towers by Hunter, on Flickr

9th Street by Hunter, on Flickr

Oceanwide Plaza by Hunter, on Flickr

Oceanwide Plaza & Circa by Hunter, on Flickr

Oceanwide Plaza by Hunter, on Flickr

Oceanwide Plaza & Circa by Hunter, on Flickr

Oceanwide Plaza by Hunter, on Flickr

Oceanwide Plaza by Hunter, on Flickr

Oceanwide Plaza by Hunter, on Flickr

Circa by Hunter, on Flickr

Circa by Hunter, on Flickr

Sparkle Factory by Hunter, on Flickr

Metropolis by Hunter, on Flickr

1133 S Hope by Hunter, on Flickr

1212 S Flower by Hunter, on Flickr

1120 S Grand by Hunter, on Flickr

1120 S Grand by Hunter, on Flickr

801 S Hill / Shake Shack Space by Hunter, on Flickr

4th & Broadway by Hunter, on Flickr

Topaz by Hunter, on Flickr

8th & Spring by Hunter, on Flickr

8th & Spring by Hunter, on Flickr

8th & Spring by Hunter, on Flickr

8th & Spring by Hunter, on Flickr

8th & Spring by Hunter, on Flickr

8th & Spring by Hunter, on Flickr

Corporation Food Hall by Hunter, on Flickr

Onni 50-Story by Hunter, on Flickr

[citywatch]

Originally Posted by Eightball

I'm happy to see Century City is doing well. DTLA is booming with residential, retail and entertainment and the office will eventually improve. A strong metro area/city benefits everyone

but the fact dtla has had a surplus of office space for over 25 yrs seems to escape the attention of so many ppl...or all those ppl who seem to think the reason a proj like the wilshire grand tower wasn't made taller was due to the whims of the owner. I wish. Too bad it wasn't as simple & easy as that.

dt is still suffering from the hangover of all those yrs & yrs when ppl fled to other hoods....inc century city....& took all their $$ & businesses with them.

one big reason was think of all the yrs & yrs when a major old time bldg like this one, recently shot by hunter....

Originally Posted by ConstructDTLA

Freehand Hostel by Hunter, on Flickr

was no better than this.....

google street view / ethereal reality

^ shocking to realize just how rundown that bldg was not all that long ago...& allowed to be that way for over 40 yrs. there was also the long abandoned giannini place bldg on 7th st.....still being renovated at this time by the same owners of the freehand hotel.

Lesson in all this is once a city has been allowed to go downhill quite far & for quite long, it's a difficult road back to recovery. which makes what's now going on even more long overdue & also a great sight.

forumers like constructla have so much ground to cover, there are other images waiting to be captured of the ongoing changes farther to the north...around little tokyo....& farther to the east around the arts dist.

[Eightball]

How is it a difficult road to recovery when dtla is booming? If anything the obstacle is that property owners have an inflated value of their property (aided by incredibly priced sales)... the amount of change, development and everything else is breathtaking. Possibly the most under construction neighborhood in the country? And as far as office space, as has been repeated ad nauseam, there is demand, but it is for creative space. Not generic poorly/un renovated 1980s monolithic office space. Personally I don't see why more of those generic buildings don't turn to condos like that building did catacorner to the Whole Foods. The prices there are still good but more affordable than elsewhere and you get bigger units as well.

[Blesha13]

Circa's cranes are coming down

[bhunsberger]

Originally Posted by black_crow

What's going on with Curbed?

That's a really senseless article, but well.. everyone should have an opinion.



https://la.curbed.com/2017/7/24/1601...-public-review

I'm sure everyone here knows that the US Bank Tower is 84ft taller than Wilshire Grand when comparing rooftop height. Having the spire included in the height just seems unfair and "illegitimate". I think the US Bank will be the anchor of the Los Angeles skyline for years to come. I really don't see anything overtaking it in the near future. Wilshire Grand most certainly has not. I would love to see the skyline continue to get filled in all the way down to the 10. I think the taller buildings should be concentrated in the area from Figueroa to Olive. 101 to the 10. When and if Olympia ever gets built, it will fill in the skyline perfectly. The west side view of the skyline seems to be the most popular, and all the construction happening in recent years is really making it really beautiful. Also, I love that South Park is becoming a place of huge digital signage and billboards.

[caligrad]

Originally Posted by Blesha13

Circa's cranes are coming down

Well... Think of it this way. Those cranes are coming down. But hopefully soon, More cranes will be going on for a different project. I actually look forward to the completion of these towers. Because. In my mind, if they do well with leasing/sells. It justifies downtown getting MORE and MORE proposals.

Speaking of proposals. Based off of the first page, even though I know there might be some missing, have any of the proposed projects gotten approval yet? and are any of the approved supposed to break ground this year? we are in Q3 and I know one or two are supposed to break ground this quarter.

[dktshb]

Originally Posted by Blesha13

Circa's cranes are coming down

Now maybe they can work on improving the look of that parking podium monstrosity. I know they are incorporating LED lighting but in the renderings it looks to me like most of the parking structure is going to be as exposed as it is now. I hope I am wrong because that would be such a big fail in such a visible area.

[dktshb]

*

[CaliNative]

Originally Posted by bhunsberger

I'm sure everyone here knows that the US Bank Tower is 84ft taller than Wilshire Grand when comparing rooftop height. Having the spire included in the height just seems unfair and "illegitimate". I think the US Bank will be the anchor of the Los Angeles skyline for years to come. I really don't see anything overtaking it in the near future. Wilshire Grand most certainly has not. I would love to see the skyline continue to get filled in all the way down to the 10. I think the taller buildings should be concentrated in the area from Figueroa to Olive. 101 to the 10. When and if Olympia ever gets built, it will fill in the skyline perfectly. The west side view of the skyline seems to be the most popular, and all the construction happening in recent years is really making it really beautiful. Also, I love that South Park is becoming a place of huge digital signage and billboards.

It may be this cycle, or maybe the next, but I'd say there's a better than 50% chance we will get one (or more) towers that rise substantially above U.S. Bank & Wilshire Grand. Probably in time for the 2028 Olympics. Towers above 1100 feet, maybe 1200. I'd love to see a retro-modern art deco super tall with an Empire State-like pinnacle. I loved the old Richfield Tower. How about a modern 1250 foot hommage? Mixed use tower. Would be great bordering a revitalized Pershing Square in time for the Olympics. And there is a nice 975 footer that apparently will rise in south Fig. This will cement L.A. as #3 skyline in U.S., behind NYC & Chi-town (SF & Houston & Philly might disagree).

[Mojeda101]

Originally Posted by CaliNative

It may be this cycle, or maybe the next, but I'd say there's a better than 50% chance we will get one (or more) towers that rise substantially above U.S. Bank & Wilshire Grand. Probably in time for the 2028 Olympics. Towers above 1100 feet, maybe 1200. I'd love to see a retro-modern art deco super tall with an Empire State-like pinnacle. I loved the old Richfield Tower. How about a modern 1250 foot hommage? Mixed use tower. Would be great bordering a revitalized Pershing Square in time for the Olympics. And there is a nice 975 footer that apparently will rise in south Fig. This will cement L.A. as #3 skyline in U.S., behind NYC & Chi-town (SF & Houston & Philly might disagree).

A 1200 footer would be ideal on the Angels Knoll park site. I'd love to see the new tallest go there.

[Prahaboheme]

Broadway Trade Center is looking just fabulous.
Easily one of my favorite projects downtown.

[bhunsberger]

Originally Posted by CaliNative

It may be this cycle, or maybe the next, but I'd say there's a better than 50% chance we will get one (or more) towers that rise substantially above U.S. Bank & Wilshire Grand. Probably in time for the 2028 Olympics. Towers above 1100 feet, maybe 1200. I'd love to see a retro-modern art deco super tall with an Empire State-like pinnacle. I loved the old Richfield Tower. How about a modern 1250 foot hommage? Mixed use tower. Would be great bordering a revitalized Pershing Square in time for the Olympics. And there is a nice 975 footer that apparently will rise in south Fig. This will cement L.A. as #3 skyline in U.S., behind NYC & Chi-town (SF & Houston & Philly might disagree).

Yes. I think the promise of the Olympics will encourage development downtown even more so. I just want to see more and more buildings! I have always been in love with skyscrapers since I was a little kid. They give off such an energy, and are just amazing to look at. Los Angeles was always the place I knew I wanted to live one day. Beaches, Mountains, Skyscrapers, Palm Trees, Sun, Snow. It literally offers everything you can think of. There is no place I'd rather be.

[BrandonJXN]

Originally Posted by CaliNative

It may be this cycle, or maybe the next, but I'd say there's a better than 50% chance we will get one (or more) towers that rise substantially above U.S. Bank & Wilshire Grand. Probably in time for the 2028 Olympics. Towers above 1100 feet, maybe 1200. I'd love to see a retro-modern art deco super tall with an Empire State-like pinnacle. I loved the old Richfield Tower. How about a modern 1250 foot hommage? Mixed use tower. Would be great bordering a revitalized Pershing Square in time for the Olympics. And there is a nice 975 footer that apparently will rise in south Fig. This will cement L.A. as #3 skyline in U.S., behind NYC & Chi-town (SF & Houston & Philly might disagree).

Miami would disagree about the number 3 skyline spot. But I digress.

I think people take too much stock in supertalls personally. Buildings that tall take AGES for them to fully reach their full potential as they create a void in demand for a time. Building a supertall just because is bad business. Especially a art deco revival whatever that means in a area of DTLA that is more post modern in architecture style. Angel's Knoll is the only spot in DTLA that could legit support a supertall but realistically, a 950 ft building would be perfect. Even if the revive Cal Plaza 3 as a mixed used building. It'll probably look shorter than that because of the sharp change in elevation.


https://www.connect.media/wp-content...onia-plaza.jpg

[Eightball]

Just spotted construction activity at 4th and Broadway (on my phone so I can't embed but click thru) https://flic.kr/p/VVbEHo