LOS ANGELES | Downtown Project Rundown 4.0

[Illithid Dude]

Originally Posted by ladowntowner

Where did you get your information from?

This Los Angeles Times article today states otherwise. It says the council put off a vote regarding the project, but nothing about it being cancelled.

La.curbed. They said that the tower was cancelled, though the accompanying low rise was not. At least that the blemish won't be as prominent as it once was.

[JDRCRASH]

I welcome any new tower. Just change the architect for this one.

[ladowntowner]

Originally Posted by Illithid Dude

La.curbed. They said that the tower was cancelled, though the accompanying low rise was not. At least that the blemish won't be as prominent as it once was.

Ahh.. I see. You did say the tower was cancelled. You're right. According to the LA Times article the project including the 44 story tower would have been 1,400 units which has been scaled back to 919 units without the tower. My bad. And agreed that render was naaasty.

[DistrictDirt]

Looks like the spot retail spot at SB Tower I mentioned a few days ago is going to be coffee shop called Caffeinate CoffeeBar. Looks really nice inside, and there is a large outdoor dining space:





I'm surprised their allowed to permanently take over the sidewalk like that. Usually temporary fixtures like planters, chains, or velvet ropes are used to demarcate a restaurant's sidewalk dining area. This place has a permanent barrier that juts halfway out into the sidewalk.

Not that I mind too much that a plush new coffee shop opening under my apt. I'm just surprised that a private developer was allowed to permanently encroach into public space like that. You definitely have to pay attention where you're going or you'll walk right into it.

Found previous news about it on Downtown News and Eater LA.

[pesto]

Towers are nice, but, in my opinion, the area would be better served by several 10-20 story towers along Fig in any event. Could Fig and West Adams be making a comeback?

Considering the neighborhood, it is great to see new housing of this quality going in in such large amounts (yeah, I understand it's Palmer Tuscan, but this is basically a warehouse district). The path of renovation from DT to SC and Expo Park is becoming clearer.

btw, the area already has more density of health services than virtually any part of town.

[RAlossi]

I actually knew about CoffeeBar, but I can't remember where I read it. Blogdowntown? Eater?

I'm all for new shops and stuff, but the Historic Core is just wayyy too saturated with coffee shops. On Spring you've got Angelique, Infusion Cafe, LA Cafe, Syrup, Spring for Coffee, and Harlem Place Cafe. Then on Main there's an additional few places that serve coffee. Well, if CoffeeBar can differentiate itself from the rest, more power to them. I'd definitely give it a shot.

I just would love a decent organic produce/butcher/gourmet food market. Two Bits just opened and is great, but it's tiny. I need something along the lines of Figueroa Produce in Highland Park.

[mdiederi]

Originally Posted by DistrictDirt

I'm surprised their allowed to permanently take over the sidewalk like that. Usually temporary fixtures like planters, chains, or velvet ropes are used to demarcate a restaurant's sidewalk dining area. This place has a permanent barrier that juts halfway out into the sidewalk.

That's becoming very common in other parts of town for restaurants to put up a permanent fence around their sidewalk dining area. There are about fifteen of them in the couple blocks around my place in Culver City. I think they're great, they change the whole vibe of the sidewalk.

[RAlossi]

^ It'll also help break up that weird terrazzo sidewalk in front of the building. Slippery when wet is an understatement.

[Sodha]

Eventually, Spring Street will need to expand the sidewalks like what happened in Hollywood boulevard recently between Vine and Highland. Spring Street is becoming our lively 24 hour street (moreso than 7th or Main). With more and more cafes opening and some streetside seating, a sidewalk expansion needs to be considered. I would propose that Spring street have 1 less auxilary lane, and retain the bike/bus only lane; with street parking available 24 hours on 1 side of the street (non bike/bus lane). Have the bus/bike lane stay with the usual rush hour restrictions, and parking lane outside of rush hour.

[ladowntowner]

Originally Posted by DistrictDirt

I'm surprised their allowed to permanently take over the sidewalk like that. Usually temporary fixtures like planters, chains, or velvet ropes are used to demarcate a restaurant's sidewalk dining area. This place has a permanent barrier that juts halfway out into the sidewalk.

If I'm not mistaking, I believe I remember seeing many small brass plaques set into the sidewalk about 6-8 feet out from the actual building on many a sidewalk in DTLA. These plaques generally state something to the effect that that is where the property line is. If that space is private property, the way I see it, the owner should be able to do as they see fit - within reason.

[BrighamYen]

I was in the Historic Core tonight and it was very lively! It never ceases to amaze me how many people are now walking the streets at night when I remember SPECIFICALLY just back in 2006, the streets were sparse at best and usually closer to empty.

I remember how "lonely" I felt when I used to walk from the Pegasus to Blossom to eat a hot bowl of Pho! I was even almost mugged at 4th/Broadway.

I think we are about 2 years away from really seeing some MAJOR activity along Broadway as demand for more restaurants/retail begin to finally spill over from Spring St.

AND, obviously nothing would make me happier than to see the Jewelry District move further south of 7th Street and relinquishing those valuable retail spaces to higher end boutiques and more restaurants to activate the streets at night. Currently, the Jewelry District is a nasty ghost town at night. If we want to activate Pershing Square, we have to replace the Jewelry District with shopping and dining (like Union Square in SF) and consolidate all those merchants into a brand new "Jewelry Trade Center" perhaps 10-15 stories along Hill St between 7th/8th on that empty parcel.


Illustrated below:


Relocating Jewelry District/Consolidate Merchants

[Illithid Dude]

Originally Posted by LosAngelesBeauty

I was in the Historic Core tonight and it was very lively! It never ceases to amaze me how many people are now walking the streets at night when I remember SPECIFICALLY just back in 2006, the streets were sparse at best and usually closer to empty.

I remember how "lonely" I felt when I used to walk from the Pegasus to Blossom to eat a hot bowl of Pho! I was even almost mugged at 4th/Broadway.

I think we are about 2 years away from really seeing some MAJOR activity along Broadway as demand for more restaurants/retail begin to finally spill over from Spring St.

AND, obviously nothing would make me happier than to see the Jewelry District move further south of 7th Street and relinquishing those valuable retail
spaces to higher end boutiques and more restaurants to activate the streets at night. Currently, the Jewelry District is a nasty ghost town at night. If we want to activate Pershing Square, we have to replace the Jewelry District with shopping and dining (like Union Square in SF) and consolidate all those merchants into a brand new "Jewelry Trade Center" perhaps 10-15 stories along Hill St between 7th/8th on that empty parcel.


Illustrated below:


Relocating Jewelry District/Consolidate Merchants

Why that priece of land, specifically?

[BrighamYen]

SF Union Square



metblogs.com


Parking entrances would be reconfigured to be perpendicular to the street, not parallel, wasting valuable space along the perimeter of the square

galen-frysinger.org


Union Square and Pershing Square are actually quite similar...

alamedainfo.com



LA Pershing Square


Not sure when this was taken, but you could almost mistaken it for Union Square in SF!



The embarrassing piece of crap today, BUT with so much potential to be amazing, but just needs to be redesigned... SUCH A SHAME

parkcentralbuilding.com

[BrighamYen]

Originally Posted by Illithid Dude

Why that priece of land, specifically?

I just think it would make sense there because it's so close to the current Jewelry District, it's an empty lot that could be infilled in with a beautiful new building that houses jewelry merchants, etc.

It's not an impossible idea either since the current owners of the jewelry buildings like Peklar who owns the St. Vincent Jewelry Center, they could pre-lease a major portion of the proposed new jewelry center building to get financing, start and complete construction, then move all their current jewelry merchants into the new building, open up their current buildings to lease retail and restaurants, which then becomes our new shopping district for LA akin to Union Square in SF, generating lotsa tax revenue/visitor dollars (even regionally competing with Pasadena, Santa Monica, Beverly Hills, West Hollywood, etc.), and becoming the GLUE that connects the Music Center and LA Live by providing hyper-activity that spreads north and south.

The jewelry district as it stands right now, absolutely prevents LA from reaching its full potential because no other area makes sense when it comes to retail/restaurants like it does for Pershing Square.

[DistrictDirt]

A redeveloped Pershing Square would be great. I almost wish the city had prioritized that over doing Civic Park. Not that the new Civic Park won't be amazing, but Pershing Square's location in the heart of the neighborhood gives it more potential to be the 'living room' for downtown.

The current design is horrendous. Ugly and nonfunctional. Such a waste.

[pesto]

A few thoughts:

Isn't there already a jewlry mart building?

Union and Perhshing Sq. are not all that different. Each was built with excessive concrete and hard edges to discourage the homeless from living there. The parking entrances are not all that different either.

The real difference is demand. There are well-to-do people sufficiently close to Union Sq. to drive or take a cab to keep the very upscale, BH-style stores thriving. This is hard to picture for DT at least for now. I would guess that Macy's is about as high-end as could be hoped for, excluding hotel shops.

[RAlossi]

Originally Posted by pesto

Union and Perhshing Sq. are not all that different. Each was built with excessive concrete and hard edges to discourage the homeless from living there. The parking entrances are not all that different either.

The real difference is demand. There are well-to-do people sufficiently close to Union Sq. to drive or take a cab to keep the very upscale, BH-style stores thriving. This is hard to picture for DT at least for now. I would guess that Macy's is about as high-end as could be hoped for, excluding hotel shops.

I agree on a couple points but disagree on others. The parking ramps are light years apart in Union Square and Pershing Square. I've spent some time in SF, and I am convinced that the parking ramps, in combination with the walls that face outward in Pershing Sq. vs the stairs that meet the street in Union Square, make all the difference. Even more so than the actual built environment inside the park, since Union Square is mostly concrete as well.

Just look at a satellite view on Google Earth of Union Square's four ramps vs. Pershing's four ramps. All that available entry/stair space, and all that sidewalk space is just eaten away by long ramps at Pershing.

Otherwise, you'll note a similar amount of concrete/green space and even similar programmatical features (amphitheater etc) at both parks.

Of course, the neighborhood retail environment does play a role in demand. That's where Brigham's suggestions are very pertinent. Unfortunately, I don't think you'll be able to move those businesses out anytime soon. That's too bad because they shut down at 5:30 every evening and hinder pedestrian flow between 7th/Financial District and the Historic Core.

Anyway, I think if you replaced Union Square with Pershing Square in SF, it would face many of the same problems we do now. The homeless problem is similar in Union Square/Tenderloin to Pershing Square/Historic Core.

[DistrictDirt]

Thoughts on Jerry Brown's supposed plan to dismantle the state's redevelopment agencies?

Are there any downtown projects besides the Cleantech Corridor that CRA is currently or planning on building?

LA Times: Jerry Brown's bid to kill redevelopment agencies sets stage for fierce battle

[Illithid Dude]

Originally Posted by DistrictDirt

Thoughts on Jerry Brown's supposed plan to dismantle the state's redevelopment agencies?

Are there any downtown projects besides the Cleantech Corridor that CRA is currently or planning on building?

LA Times: Jerry Brown's bid to kill redevelopment agencies sets stage for fierce battle

Dozens of sidewalk redevelopment things, Bringing Back Broadway, Park 101, the streetcar, the plaza for The Broad, and much more.

[BrighamYen]

Originally Posted by RAlossi

I agree on a couple points but disagree on others. The parking ramps are light years apart in Union Square and Pershing Square. I've spent some time in SF, and I am convinced that the parking ramps, in combination with the walls that face outward in Pershing Sq. vs the stairs that meet the street in Union Square, make all the difference. Even more so than the actual built environment inside the park, since Union Square is mostly concrete as well.

Exactly, the parking ramps at Union Square in SF are perpendicular to the streets, while the parking ramps at Pershing Square in LA are PARALLEL to the streets here, wasting the ENTIRE perimeter of the park to driveways.

As you can see in the vintage picture of Pershing Square (circa 1970?), you can see the ramps are parallel from the very get-go.






However, SF Union Square, because of one "slight change" to the parking entrance design, may have saved it from becoming a complete travesty like our Pershing Square.


alamedainfo.com