LOS ANGELES | Downtown Project Rundown 4.0

[Sodha]

The addition of Gensler to downtown is great! It gives new LA residents exposure to existing public transit in/out of downtown LA. A lot of these people will be commuting from the westside and will then look for ways to rely (not soley rely, but an alternative transportation option) on the Purple Line, 720, BBB10, and future Expo Line to get to work and will become greater advocates for bringing more public transportation into Los Angeles. If you get accustomed to the area, you start thinking about new possiblities. This is great news!

[tommaso]

Originally Posted by Sodha

The addition of Gensler to downtown is great! It gives new LA residents exposure to existing public transit in/out of downtown LA. A lot of these people will be commuting from the westside and will then look for ways to rely (not soley rely, but an alternative transportation option) on the Purple Line, 720, BBB10, and future Expo Line to get to work and will become greater advocates for bringing more public transportation into Los Angeles. If you get accustomed to the area, you start thinking about new possiblities. This is great news!

That's generally how it works. All roads should and must lead to Rome, in our case DTLA. No reason to live on the Westside for Gensler employees moving forward. Their opinion can differ, but if you're truly working for their firm and in their new DT location, then it makes all the sense in the world to live downtown. I'm not an architect, but that's my take on it. Yeah, if they have school aged kids, I can see how that person would want to live in a neighborhood where that exists. Does downtown L.A. have great schools like Fiorello LaGuardia and Stuyvesant in Manhattan? I don't think so. Well, we'll just have to build great high schools and K-8 in downtown now. Let's get going on all this work we have ahead of us in 2011. A fully functioning neighborhood we will have in the very near future in DTLA. Get ourselves a top notch PS and some high end private schools in DT and we'll be on our way. We've got to do something about the arts. It doesn't make sense to have FIDM and no feeder high school. Get a high school in DT within a few blocks of FIDM to train and cultivate our young creative talent in DTLA. I'm not talking about some other location. We need our young creative talent to be at the heart of the city and front and center. We've got to get them to mix in with the suits and not only them, but we've got to start really investing in downtown. Gensler made the right move and I'm disappointed with Google relocating to Venice. Venice doesn't deserve Google. We need people with Google talent to work, eat, sleep and breathe in downtown. Not to park their car in Venice and disappear after work. L.A. frustrates me because of this. Talent is hidden everywhere because we are all hidden behind our cars and parking structures. I'm putting my foot down and I'll put it plain and clear like this. Downtown L.A. will not succeed with 1 or 5 billion dollars in investment. We need 10 to 50 billion in new investment money in downtown for us to see a seriously noticeable difference. Like Obama says, change we can believe in. I want high end schools, housing, shops, everything, and taxis south of 7th street please! I'm sick and tired of looking for cabs and never finding one. They want to make money and they can't even find a customer. Well, it's about time we get this city moving and functioning like a real city in the right direction. Thank you!

[ThreeHundred]

Farmers Field is serious business. I went to LA Live today and Nokia Plaza has a huge turf field and a bunch of giant renderings of the stadium. Pretty interesting stuff especially when you hear a lot of people say, 'Wow...if a stadium comes here, I'll definitely come downtown.'

[BrighamYen]

DTLA is really the most exciting place to be because it has the most potential to become a truly outstanding urban center when compared to other city centers across North America.

I truly hope the Farmers Field will come because it may be the impetus that gives LA Central and other projects like Metropolis another shot in the arm to secure investors.

DTLA is truly a microcosm of the rest of LA. It needs to blend its neighborhoods seamlessly together, without losing energy, but creating synergy. When DTLA is strong, the whole entire metropolitan area of LA is stronger because a strong central core will bring order and coherency to the area.

[Kingofthehill]

What a city we live in!

[DistrictDirt]

Originally Posted by Kingofthehill

What a city we live in!

Awesome pic! New wallpaper on my laptop

Where did you take that from anyway, Debs Park?

[future29]

Originally Posted by jamesinclair

Clearly, the only appropriate team would be the rams, after all, they live on the farmer's field. (Plus the history)

Of course, Id prefer the NFL expanding to 36 teams.

-LA
-Las Vegas
-Mexico City
-Canadian City or Portland or Salt Lake City or Hartford, CT.
.

Would rather see LA with 2 teams. Then London and Vegas...

[tommaso]

OMG! I know we already have that soccer field in Carson, but I'm sure we can get some professional soccer played at Farmer's Field! That would be amazing! I know there's no comparison here, but London has 5 pro teams in top flight! Doesn't mean we have to get a third team. But, we can play a game or two a season at Farmer's Field. That would make soccer fun and enjoyable to participate in as a fan. I know America loves its Basketball, Baseball and American Football, but there are Americans and plenty of Angelenos who have a deep love for Football/Soccer and to have the games conveniently played at Farmer's Field would make all the sense in the world! The world's greatest sport on the greatest stage This is so exciting just thinking about it! If I had the money, I would put up a brand new soccer team, brand it and place it in DTLA. That stadium would fill up quicker than a line at the taco truck! I'm thoroughly convinced this would work. Now, can Chivas USA move their operations to Farmer's Field in 2014 and set up shop there? I know the city of Angels would be in favor of it. Could they get out of their lease in Carson? Let the Galaxy have that stadium and move one of the teams downtown. It makes all the sense in the world. We don't need another soccer only stadium. We don't have the market to support it. But, we can move one of our two pro MLS teams to Farmer's Field in 2014. I know there will be many fans who will support this move. The question is, can the team financially and logistically pull it off and move into Farmer's Field with the MLS' and AEG's stamp of approval? I think so, but I hope the experts agree This gives us one more idea to think about. I can imagine the fans packed into LA Live before and after the games and I'll bring my earplugs with me if there are vuvuzelas, but I won't mind those if we can get the team playing downtown. Of course, we'll sing chants from LA Live to Farmer's Field. I can already feel the excitement! You don't have to go to Europe or Latin America for this. We can do this right here in downtown L.A., right here at Farmer's Field!

[citywatch]

Originally Posted by tommaso

If I had the money, I would put up a brand new soccer team, brand it and place it in DTLA.

tommaso, your comments made me think of the following report:

khou.com

Dynamo to break ground on new downtown stadium Saturday

Posted on February 4, 2011 at 9:53 PM

HOUSTON, TX—The Houston Dynamo will break ground on their new downtown stadium tomorrow afternoon at the stadium site in the East End, the team confirmed today. The event will be conducted regardless of weather conditions. The event will take place from 2-4 p.m. at the corner of Rusk & Bastrop Streets. Media are advised to be set up by 2:45 p.m. for official proceedings. Officials scheduled to attend include Houston Mayor Annise Parker, Harris County Judge Ed Emmett, AEG President and CEO Tim Leiweke, MLS President Mark Abbott, Dynamo head coach Dominic Kinnear and several players.

The Houston Dynamo are a Major League Soccer club that has won two MLS Cup championships in its first five seasons and represented the United States in international competition four consecutive years from 2007-10.

good to know what's going on in other cities. otherwise it's hard knowing how to "keep up with the joneses".

btw, I've been watching a travelogue show on european cities over the past few wks, & the friendliness of so many places there for ppl who are walking around, & who maybe don't even own cars, & how nice so many areas there look (Bev Hills would be no big deal to them) put us---not just LA but lots of US cities----to shame. IOW, by the standards of those towns, the current level of improvements to LA better start moving way, way faster, way, way higher.

[colemonkee]

^ And look who's behind that stadium in Houston. The usual suspects. AEG seems to be the urban cheerleader across the country, which is refreshing.

Speaking of Farmer's Field in LA, I should chime in with my thoughts on this. In general I'm in favor of the stadium and bringing a NFL team downtown, as opposed to the City of Industry. But the following aspects of the deal need to be carefully addressed:

Funding
Currently the plan calls for the City to issue roughly $300 million in bonds to pay for demolishing the West Hall and rebuilding it above Pico Blvd. The bonds would be paid back by AEG over time, in exchange for deeding the public land under the proposed stadium to AEG. Now, this all sounds good until you realize that the issuing of more City bonds takes a hit on the City's credit rating, which makes all of the City's debt a little bit more expensive in the form of higher bond interest rates (those debt payments come out of the City's annual operating budget). Considering that we have billions of debt we just passed for mass transit projects, that will make refinancing that debt - which is likely a necessity - that much more expensive. The question is, does it make sense for the City to saddle the taxpayers with more debt expense likely over the next 10-30 years to get the stadium?

Short-term Costs
There are short-term budget issues to consider with construction and operation of the stadium. In order to build the stadium, the Department of Building & Safety and the Engineering Department will have to staff up somewhat significantly to handle the permits and inspection process of a very large project. With a city budget facing a $400 million revenue shortfall this year (and potentially a higher one next year due to new debt payments), where does the money come from to pay for these new jobs? Do you take it from the schools? From the police department? Fire department? It has to come from somewhere.

Transportation Infrastructure
I'm not going to touch on traffic impact of a stadium, because that's an unavoidable impact, and not something that could be adequately addressed by the City without prohibitively expensive upgrades. However, there is a credible impact to the mass transit infrastructure in the area that is woefully inadequate to handle the crowds exiting a game. Let's say that 30% of ticket holders take public transit (which would be a HUGE victory in my mind). At 70,000 people, that would give you roughly 21,000 people riding transit on game day. Let's say 1/3 of those people take the Blue or Expo line to and from the game. Before the game that would not be a problem, as people arrive over a 3-hour period. But after the game, that would put 7,000 people on a platform that can maybe hold 150. That's a huge disparity, and something that takes significant reconfiguration, potentially building a very expensive Expo spur and station under Figueroa. And you would still have to rebuild the 12th and Flower Blue Line platform to accommodate the crowds. Or have potentially a couple thousand people waiting on the street for up to an hour, which presents safety issues. Anyone who's attended a Chargers or Raiders game and taken the train after the game (I've done both recently) knows what I'm talking about. Both those stadiums have gigantic station platforms outside the stadium, and even they are overrun after a game. I'm very much in favor of people taking public transport to and from the game - and I'd be thrilled if people did - but these issues have to be addressed. And, of course, where the money comes from to address them.

Again, I support the idea of the stadium coming downtown, but I'd like a LOT more thought going in to solving these issues - with little or no public money - before we move forward. If done correctly, this stadium would be a great addition to the City's image, event programming schedule, and potentially its coffers. But if mismanaged or over-leveraged in public debt, it could easily be a financial burden for decades.

[ThreeHundred]

Originally Posted by tommaso

OMG! I know we already have that soccer field in Carson, but I'm sure we can get some professional soccer played at Farmer's Field! That would be amazing! I know there's no comparison here, but London has 5 pro teams in top flight! Doesn't mean we have to get a third team. But, we can play a game or two a season at Farmer's Field. That would make soccer fun and enjoyable to participate in as a fan. I know America loves its Basketball, Baseball and American Football, but there are Americans and plenty of Angelenos who have a deep love for Football/Soccer and to have the games conveniently played at Farmer's Field would make all the sense in the world! The world's greatest sport on the greatest stage This is so exciting just thinking about it! If I had the money, I would put up a brand new soccer team, brand it and place it in DTLA. That stadium would fill up quicker than a line at the taco truck! I'm thoroughly convinced this would work. Now, can Chivas USA move their operations to Farmer's Field in 2014 and set up shop there? I know the city of Angels would be in favor of it. Could they get out of their lease in Carson? Let the Galaxy have that stadium and move one of the teams downtown. It makes all the sense in the world. We don't need another soccer only stadium. We don't have the market to support it. But, we can move one of our two pro MLS teams to Farmer's Field in 2014. I know there will be many fans who will support this move. The question is, can the team financially and logistically pull it off and move into Farmer's Field with the MLS' and AEG's stamp of approval? I think so, but I hope the experts agree This gives us one more idea to think about. I can imagine the fans packed into LA Live before and after the games and I'll bring my earplugs with me if there are vuvuzelas, but I won't mind those if we can get the team playing downtown. Of course, we'll sing chants from LA Live to Farmer's Field. I can already feel the excitement! You don't have to go to Europe or Latin America for this. We can do this right here in downtown L.A., right here at Farmer's Field!

I can pretty much guarantee that if Farmers Field is built, both the Galaxy and Chivas will use it to play in friendly matches against international soccer teams.


From Curbed:

The Los Angeles Coliseum Commission voted yesterday to keeping moving with its plans to demolish the Welton Becket-designed Memorial Sports Arena and replace it with either an events amphitheater or a soccer stadium. The Commission certified an environmental impact report for the replacement, despite protests that the comment period was held over the holiday season. Meanwhile, USC President Max Nikias said this week that buying the land under the Arena and Coliseum was not a major priority for him.

[213]

Originally Posted by colemonkee

Speaking of Farmer's Field in LA, I should chime in with my thoughts on this...

Thank you.

As I stated earlier: build it in my backyard, but do it wisely. Perform the studies, identify and evaluate impacts, know what the costs and funding will realistically entail. Many cities have let their pride and enthusiasm get the better of these considerations, particularly in deals with the NFL. Let's be savvier than that.

[robhut]

^^^ To city watch.
btw, I've been watching a travelogue show on european cities over the past few wks, & the friendliness of so many places there for ppl who are walking around, & who maybe don't even own cars, & how nice so many areas there look (Bev Hills would be no big deal to them) put us---not just LA but lots of US cities----to shame. IOW, by the standards of those towns, the current level of improvements to LA better start moving way, way faster, way, way higher.

Can you tell me some examples, cause I just to live and travel around Europe and to be honest, I cannot think of many places that can rival the luxury of Beverly Hills, except a couple of neighborhoods in London and Paris. Plus when europeans travel to the U.S.A are actually mesmerized about our wealthy neighborhoods.

[RAlossi]

I just got a public hearing notice for 7-Eleven, which will be opening at 7th and Figueroa (in the building with Bank of America, southeast corner).

[lanyc]

Originally Posted by ThreeHundred

I can pretty much guarantee that if Farmers Field is built, both the Galaxy and Chivas will use it to play in friendly matches against international soccer teams.


From Curbed:

Yeah it would be awesome if the final plans for the stadium would be similar to Qwest Field in Seattle, in that its designed specifically to accommodate soccer games as well. It would provide another strong venue for a future world cup bid...As for moving an MLS team, as a Galaxy fan Id much prefer the galaxy move downtown, and let chivas have carson...

[colemonkee]

^ Frankly I'd be surprised if the stadium wasn't configured to host soccer matches. As ThreeHundred mentioned, it leaves a huge opportunity on the table to host friendly matches, in a market that attends those matches pretty well. I'd put my money on it being able to do so, most likely by being able to remove some seats to accommodate the wider field.

[ThreeHundred]

Something I found interesting when watching all of the hullaballo for the Super Bowl today: All of the commentators (for ESPN at least) are doing all of their pre game storylines in downtown Fort Worth. I'm not sure if any of you follow the development of other cities but Dallas has a project very similar to LA Live called Victory Park. It's a collection of retail and condo's and stuff centered around American Airlines Arena (where the Mavs play). Like LA Live, they have a centerpiece hotel (a W compared to our Ritz). Unlike us though, Victory Park is struggling. They were supposed to get a Mandrian Orential hotel but the recession killed that. Some pics:


http://img241.imageshack.us/img241/4...ture573sf3.jpg


http://img58.imageshack.us/img58/5221/69180058lwd9.jpg


http://todaysadvisor.com/images/VictoryPark.jpg

It really says something that Dallas has a entertainment center in their downtown but people have chosen to do their broadcasts miles away in Fort Worth.

I say all of that to say that if ever there was a time for LA Live to expand, it's now. 2015 is when AEG said that they hope that Farmers Field is finished. AEG also said that they want LA to host the Super Bowl in 2015 (realistically, I would think 2016) Between now and then, I would hope at least that LA Central or some other project is competed. Or some large scale expansion that would truly make LA Live shine. I want to see Chris 'BACKBACKBACKBACK' Berman and his crew have a pre game show in Nokia Plaza and a tour of all the stuff stretching from Metropolis (or something else) all the way to Farmers Field. I hope developers are tinkering around with that idea.

[yeah215]

I have a couple of questions.

First, in terms of the bonds, will the city's credit rating really go down and will there be a jump in interest rates. Rating companies and bond companies know that the bonds will be backed. That minimizes the risk. With that, I don't see why the interest rate will jump, knowing that the likelihood of a default is minimized. I would think all this would be priced in into the interest rate. If anything, you could imagine a scenario where city bonds become cheaper because now there is more outstanding debt with a guaranteed return. Then risk is reduced, so pricing on average would decrease.

Second, has there every been conversations of relocating the Flower Street Blue line station so it is under and integrated with the Fig Central/Fig South projects. The trail portal would be moved to the other side of Pico. I think there could be a much large metro station with multiple entrances/exits that would provide much better access to the area. This could also spur some development opportunities and provide greater access. Especially if there is a football stadium, that station will need LOTS more capacity.

[JDRCRASH]

If only we had a world without STARCHYs.

[BrighamYen]

Originally Posted by RAlossi

I just got a public hearing notice for 7-Eleven, which will be opening at 7th and Figueroa (in the building with Bank of America, southeast corner).

Hmm, I don't think BofA is going anywhere...

Perhaps it's taking the space that was once Edible Arrangements (IIRC, that space is now open).