Posted Jun 4, 2012, 9:04 PM
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Stalled Grand Avenue development may get a second look (Los Angeles)
Stalled Grand Avenue development may get a second look
June 3, 2012
By Sam Allen
Read More: http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la...642,full.story
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Under the original plan — which backers said would help create a "Champs Elysees" for Los Angeles — a dramatic Frank Gehry-designed complex of high-rise towers, shops, upscale condos and a five-star hotel should have been completed by now. Instead, the space is still used as parking lots. The Grand Avenue project was born a decade ago amid the real estate boom and the belief that downtown could support high-end retailers and multimillion-dollar housing. But it's been stalled for years by the recession. And even some of its strongest backers now say it's time to rethink the project given the economic climate. In particular, some doubt downtown L.A. can support the luxury aspirations of the original plan.
- Related Cos., the mega-developer anchoring the project, said revisions are on the way. Bill Witte, president of Related California, said that the firm was working to adjust its plans to better reflect market conditions, and that its "dimensions, scope and scale" could be adjusted. He did not reveal specific details but suggested the new plans would be aimed at getting the project off the ground. "We still believe we can create some of the highest values downtown....But do I think we have to be a little bit less ambitious? Yes, I would agree with that," Witte said. "The city's and the county's expectation is that they want something with vision and that is doable. I don't think anybody is interested in pie-in-the sky talk."
- Though Witte said Related remained committed to the basic outlines of the development, he would not comment on the fate of Gehry's two translucent, glass-curtained towers that promised to alter the downtown skyline. Under its amended agreement, Related must begin construction by February 2013 — or obtain yet another extension from the board of city and county officials overseeing the project. Related is expected to bring new plans to the board this year. During the height of the real estate boom, developers unveiled numerous luxury projects, believing the downtown revitalization was so strong that it could support Beverly Hills-level retailers and residences. Most of those projects died, notably a plan to build a 76-story residential tower known as Park Fifth near Pershing Square. Today, Grand Avenue is the last project considered a serious possibility.
- Joel Kotkin, an urban studies fellow at Chapman University, said downtown L.A. has yet to prove that it can draw an audience for high-end retail shops that were planned for the 450,000 square feet of retail space at Grand Avenue. Some of downtown's most vibrant retail scenes, he says, have grown up organically in places like Little Tokyo and the historic core, as independent restaurants and boutiques have opened. "I always felt [the Grand Avenue project] was about trying to create a sort of high-end Upper East Side Manhattan vibe," said Kotkin, who was critical of the development when it was first approved in 2007. "And I could never understand where the market was going to come from."
- "Downtown L.A. has taken on a kind of hipster urban identity....It's lively at night because it's filled with young adults who are living in relatively affordable apartments and lofts," said Peter Zellner, a professor of urban design at the Southern California Institute of Architecture. The lofty expectations for Grand Avenue were fueled in part by Related's involvement. The company is known for its outsized "destinations" in New York City, namely the Time Warner Center in Columbus Circle, which houses CNN and a number of high-end residences, eateries and shops. Related also developed The Century, a 42-story luxury condo tower in Century City, where Candy Spelling, the wife of late TV mogul Aaron Spelling, purchased a two-story penthouse in 2010 for $35 million.
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