I guess we could still build all of the high end residential and leave them empty like Miami....at lease we'd have some new tall shiny buildings!

Yeah, and over time they'd be filled :)

Good plan, that way we could try to expand the Broadway shops to the lobbies of these buildings and make at least some $ :lol:
No but seriously, this is getting really frustrating that so many projects are repelling their groundbreakings.

Good plan, that way we could try to expand the Broadway shops to the lobbies of these buildings and make at least some $ :lol:
No but seriously, this is getting really frustrating that so many projects are repelling their groundbreakings.

yeah I know, we aren't getting any younger here!
I want to see all these projects up and running before I turn 30!

^^:lol: If only all the developers thought about your age. We'd all be happier, no?

On another note, is it really a surprise? How long has this project been on the boards? something like 10 or 30 years?
What gets me upset, is that the developers say that everything is in place (announce it publicly) knowing very well, that it's NOT! Are all developers like that crazy nutt, ummm forgot his name...the one making all those crapy generic buildings...medici..etc. etc. That guy is crazy!!!!!

Yeah, and over time they'd be filled :)

And that's what i don't get, every other city on the planet builds with this understanding, except Los Angeles...!!!

Can someone explain to me why this is..? I mean, why can't L.A. developers build thing's on speculation, esp. when they surely know this fact..? It's not like they will be taking a loss for any extended period of time, and once people see it actually rising, it seems that they would be more apt to buy or lease.

Because like any normal person these developers want to regain their money invested as soon as possible.
Here buy this car that you'll eventually drive but wait 7 years till we give you the keys.

The rising construction would be its own best promotion, considering the quality of the project itself. Out of sight - out of mind.:bash:

Well correct me if I'm wrong but the developers usually strike some type of deal with the city when building these speculative but grandeoise projects. The city/local gov't usually gives them huge tax breaks which inevitably is footed by the people, sort of like the Grand Ave project and LA Live tax break deals. These deals are usually brokered on the prospect that it will garner some needed attention for the city and therefore generate further investment. I'm sure LA reasons with it being one of the most famous cities of our time and with a powerhouse economy shouldn't tax breaks go to redevelopment projects like revitalizing the Broadway district and bringing together both Grand Ave and South Park instead of joining in on a skyscraper pissing contest. So the question would be do we really need more tall buildings or do we need to continue down the road of investing and revitalizing what we've already got?

^^^^^^Look friends. This kinda shit happens all the time. Investors pull out then some other fool pulls in. Building these massive projects is like a bad relationship- people keep pulling in and out of everyone:banana::banana:-if you now what I mean.Eventually they will find the right investor. Hopefully one with some massive cojones !!!

I mean -Did this not just happen with L.A live when KB Homes with it's little balls pulled out of the project? Look how that turned out! L.A Live already is the shit and it's only 25% complete. KB homes must be kicking itself, or at least will be soon once L.A live comes on line.

This project will get off the ground, already to much has been invested and committed to turn back- like when you have a kid and your not married yet. YOUR Committed even if you don't want to be!

NOW I have said it again and I will say it again! As for all those other projects that are still in proposal or even approved -and have not yet set forth an immediate construction date are toast. They WILL NOT get off the ground until many years from now. 2015 and on. The housing market is about to implode and downtown will not be immune. Trust me Friends when I tell you that from this boom you will net the following projects.

1.anything that was built in South Park recently. (Evo-Hanover
2. 717 tower
3. L.A live
4. The Ritz 54floor (l.A. Live)
5. The grand Ave project (towers)
6. Concierto
7. and Park Fifth

8.La Central maybe after L.A live fully opens.

That's what the boom of the 2000's will have given this city after the dust settles. All the other projects will just be toast.

DTLA is NOT Immune regardless of how good it did. It will fell the crunch. Prices will soon go down the drain.

But this project WILL get off the ground that you can count on.

Remember the last big boom? How many big projects did we net from that? This will be similar.:sly:

Look's like I was a bit right. Well that's if they build 5 and 7 still. I want to revise my list to not include park fifth and Grand ave. I have a bad feeling about those two now. If this thing gets built along with Grand Ave. I will get a sex change.

Please build my list. Someone...

[/SIZE][/COLOR]
If this thing gets built along with Grand Ave. I will get a sex change.


boy or girl :)

[/SIZE][/COLOR]

Look's like I was a bit right. Well that's if they build 5 and 7 still. I want to revise my list to not include park fifth and Grand ave. I have a bad feeling about those two now. If this thing gets built along with Grand Ave. I will get a sex change.

Please build my list. Someone...

I noticed yesterday that they have cordoned off the parking lot across from Linda Lea theater where the 41 story St Vibiana lofts are to go up. I think this one is underway is it not?

cool, hope this one gets built!

:):)

I noticed yesterday that they have cordoned off the parking lot across from Linda Lea theater where the 41 story St Vibiana lofts are to go up. I think this one is underway is it not?

Are you sure that's not for the motorcade parking for the new Police Station? The former Linda Lea is now the new Asian cinemas and I'm for sure that's where the Police parking station will be.

Just got an e-mail from Park Fifth. Looks like they're having an event. Hope someone here can attend.

You're invited to a spectacular
SPRING RECEPTION
at the exceptional model homes
of Park Fifth.
Come and experience the
elevated lifestyle at downtown's
premier residential address.

Thursday, April 3
5:30 – 7:30 p.m.

Park Fifth Sales Center
555 W. Fifth Street, Lobby Level
Los Angeles, California
213-629-0000

(Entrance at 5th & Olive)

RSVP to Theresa Cushing
theresa@parkfifth.com

Parking available at 5th & Olive (Joe's lot)


Soaring to over 850 feet at the
corner of Fifth and Olive Streets,
brand-new Park Fifth brings a
unique combination of urban
sophistication and relaxed
California living to the vibrant
city scene. The tallest luxury
condominium high-rise ever built
in Downtown Los Angeles,
stunning Park Fifth overlooks the
permanent open space of Pershing
Square and includes 755 residences
of varying sizes, plus a five-star
hotel to be operated by one of the
leading names in luxury hospitality.

World-class amenities include:
• exhilarating rooftop pools
• fully-equipped fitness centers
• fine dining
• lush gardens
• enormous balconies
• attentive concierge services
• convenient dog walk
• and more.

Prices begin in the $500,000s for
homes of all sizes and reservations
are ongoing. For more information,
visit www.parkfifth.com.

April Fool's :)

^^ I love that day...:lol:

Love the site! There's me again with yet another chick on my arm :)

Me change my mind. Park 5th has a great location :)

Park Fifth Quietly Moves Forward http://easyfreesmileys.com/smileys/free-jumping-smileys-849.gif (http://easyfreesmileys.com/)
By Eric Richardson
Published: Wednesday, April 02, 2008, at 12:25PM

http://i231.photobucket.com/albums/ee192/trolltoast/2074156761_fad61cf114_m.jpg
Dave Bullock

A model of the Park Fifth development stands in the project's Sales Center.
While quiet lately, the massive Park Fifth development slated to rise north of Pershing Square continues to make forward progress. The project submitted its Supplemental Final Environmental Impact Report (EIR) to the Community Redevelopment Agency on March 31st.

A certified EIR would be a major milestone in the process of accumulating the approvals needed to commence construction. Two weeks previous the project also filed Vesting Tentative Tract and Zone Variance applications with the city's Planning Department.

The project Sales Center, located in the neighboring Gas Company Tower, is holding a reception Thursday evening and has extended an invite to Downtown readers.

The reception is Thursday, April 3rd, and runs from 5:30pm - 7:30pm. Enter the building via the corner of 5th and Olive. RSVP's are requested to Theresa Cushing, but I have a suspicion they won't be checking names at the door. blogdowntown

^^ I really hope they start construction this year. Well..found some other pics ( all courtesy of "Dave Bullock / eecue" eecue.com )

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2036/2074159223_70a56454a7_b.jpg

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2363/2074951232_b7a26dd270_b.jpg

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2356/2074952100_f477969ae9_b.jpg

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2298/2074952486_1980d5f6fe_b.jpg

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2198/2074955102_85f6b28658_b.jpg

i wonder if they would sell me that model of park fifth LOL

^^ Please! You'd just break it!

This thing has got to get built.

No parking structure?

It is said that this tower goes 6 levels below grade, the entire site,......... I'd say" lot's of parking..!!!!!

When i was working at the Subway terminal rehab project a few years back, the entire area of the park fifth site was a surface parking lot, and there had to be at least 300 cars on it... times 6,..... 1800... at least...!!!!

That building really looks wonderful...:)

i wonder if they would sell me that model of park fifth LOL

I always thought it'd be fun to Godzilla one of those. That one would be perfect. You could even climb it.

^^ Maybe will be in some movies in the future...:)

My only problem is the top of the building. Its way too boring compared to the rest of the facade. They should have just continued the whole face all the way up. and get rid of that set back!

^^

There might be a counter-weight up on top inside that box looking roof to lessen the sway during EARTHQUAKES!:cheers:

^^ ..Orrr...maybe that's where the parking is :cheers:

^^ ..Orrr...maybe that's where the parking is :cheers:

Get me a jet-pack and oula!! :cheers:

moving forward.....slowly...

Park Fifth Secures CRA Approval

News Brief

The Community Redevelopment Agency on Thursday, April 17, granted key approvals to developers of the proposed Park Fifth project north of Pershing Square. The proposed development - to include a 76-story tower and a 44-floor tower connected by a 15-story residential building, a 212-room hotel and retail and restaurant space - is the first major project to utilize the city's Transfer of Floor Area Rights Ordinance. The TFAR ordinance, adopted last year, allows Downtown developers to purchase "unused" space above the Convention Center to build taller, denser buildings than zoning restrictions currently allow. Money generated from the sales goes to local nonprofits and a public benefits fund. The transfer plan approved by the CRA included a description of the developer's public benefit obligations, which include a total of $14 million in payments to, among others, the Downtown Women's Center, the Skid Row Housing Trust and the Department of Recreation and Parks for improvements to Pershing Square. The development team, led by David Houk, will also build community benefits into the project, such as a pedestrian connection to the nearby Metro Red Line station and two major public art displays in collaboration with the Museum of Contemporary Art. The CRA Thursday also approved the project's Environmental Impact Report and related elements. Houk said that the approval marks a significant milestone. "It's absolutely necessary. It's a big target and a big goal," he said. The project is expected to go before the City Council on May 7, and if approved will then go to Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa. Houk said he expects to break ground by the fourth quarter of this year.

page 2, 4/21/2008

...
Houk said he expects to break ground by the fourth quarter of this year.

page 2, 4/21/2008

heard that before (way too many times) but i'll still keep my fingers crossed.

Council Approves Park Fifth (http://www.downtownnews.com/articles/2008/05/19/news/news_briefs/at05.txt)

News Brief

The City Council on Tuesday, May 13, approved the 76-story Park Fifth project. The $1.3 billion complex, which is being developed by a team led by David Houk, would include a 76-story tower and a 44-floor tower housing a hotel and condominiums, connected by a 15-story residential building, plus retail and restaurant space. It would rise on a lot north of Pershing Square. Park Fifth is the first major development to utilize the city's Transfer of Air Rights Ordinance, a measure adopted last year that allows Downtown developers to purchase "unused" space above the Convention Center to build taller, denser buildings than zoning restrictions currently allow. "In my mind, it's been entitled all along," said Houk, "but it's a relief to have it formalized." Houk has said he expects to break ground by the fourth quarter of this year.

lol how many approvals do we need before it breaksground?

city approval
county approval
mayor approval
council approval
SSC approval
:nuts: :grouphug::speech:

patience..patience..

I guess this one is pretty much a go. We all know Villaraigosa likes to think of the crane as the official bird of Los Angeles.

The project is expected to go before the City Council on May 7, and if approved will then go to Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa.

SSC approval? haha

I don't think anyone should make a move until they procure SSC approval :) This, however, is great news! Good to know that there are still adults out there instead of pussies!

The City Council this month granted final approval for the $1.3 billion development north of Pershing Square. Project officials said the 790-condominium tower (which will also include a 212-room hotel) is moving forward with original investors Africa Israel and Namco Capital Group, Inc. Houk Development Company has secured the initial capital and is on track to break ground in the fourth quarter of 2008, with an anticipated completion date in the first quarter of 2012, said project manager Rich Marr. He added that the development team is seeking other investors to provide the additional capital that will be required as the project unfolds. The developers say they have secured a commitment for an $800 million construction loan, but are not ready to publicly announce details of the deal. A $5 million sales center opened in November in the Gas Company Tower, and more than 300 reservations have been taken for the project at Fifth and Olive streets. The 76-story, 860-foot project is expected to be the tallest residential tower west of Chicago.

This one will be the next to break ground.

All it took was patience! Good to see that this will finally get going very soon...

^^Famous last words.:)

UH......yeah. Maybe, but I like this one. I have a good feeling about it being born. 1.3 B though....

i wonder how much would a 100 storey building cost in la. U.S bank was about $500 million in 1989. so what $2 billion? more? less?

You don't build it like you would in other cities and you have to respect the level 4 seismic classification of the area. I read somewhere a few years ago, that the U.S. Bank building was the tallest structure in that type of a zone. That's amazing in itself! The cost would be enormous, but if there were interest from some rich bastardo, it would be considered- and shot down because of the ever rampant nimbies.

I believe that title was taken by Taipai 101 correct me if im wrong. if i ever get rich that will be my life's work to leave as a legacy to my self and the city :)

BREAKING: Unstoppable Park Fifth Gets Entitled, Loan Commitment (http://la.curbed.com/archives/2008/06/breaking_unstop.php)

By jwilliams
June 26, 2008

It's a tiny step for mankind, and a huge leap for Downtown. The attached presser (after the jump) announces that Park Fifth (http://www.parkfifth.com/) has received its entitlements and has a construction loan commitment from Beijing Construction Engineering Group (God bless you Chinese people). We know, we know. We can hardly believe it either. The 76-story mixed use project (http://la.curbed.com/archives/2007/05/really_big_towe.php) grows ever closer to actually breaking ground, at which point our head will spin around and fly off our body leading to our untimely death and burial under the building's cornerstone.

June 26, 2008


Dear Curbed,

Today is truly a RED LETTER DAY for Park Fifth. This is the day that ALL of our formal approvals from the City of Los Angeles are absolutely FINAL. Over the past three years, we have been through an extensive process that involved obtaining approvals from the Community Redevelopment Agency, Planning Department, City Council and Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa.

Many of these actions had appeal periods associated with them, but as of today, ALL of those appeal periods have expired. That makes it official: Park Fifth is FULLY ENTITLED and ready to move forward.

Approvals Bring Good News
These actions also finalize some very important aspects of Park Fifth:

1. We will fund almost $10 million toward the renovation and improvement of Pershing Square. This park is our front yard and we are committed to making it an attractive, open and friendly environment for the entire neighborhood.

2. From the outset, we have committed to making Park Fifth an environmentally sensitive project. As part of our approvals, Park Fifth will achieve the LEED Silver standard for Green Building or better.

3. Park Fifth will have a direct connection into an MTA station on the Red Line, which will provide our residents with access to the station without going outside.

Construction Lender

Park Fifth is pleased to announce that it has secured a construction loan commitment from Beijing Construction Engineering Group (BCEG). This international firm has an extensive background in large projects, having built many of the venues that you will soon see on TV for the upcoming Olympics. Most recently, they have come to the United States and are in the process of funding two large projects in Chicago, both of which involve hotels and residential condominium homes. That makes them the perfect fit for Park Fifth and their involvement will allow us to move forward with groundbreaking later this year. We will be working through all the details over the next several months and we are very pleased to have them on board.

As always, please feel free to call our Sales Office or make an appointment to visit so that we may answer any questions you may have.

Sincerely,

Rich Marr
Project Manager

http://easyfreesmileys.com/smileys/free-jumping-smileys-463.gif (http://easyfreesmileys.com/)http://easyfreesmileys.com/smileys/free-jumping-smileys-463.gif (http://easyfreesmileys.com/)
omg omg omg omg omg omg!! that's great news!!!

Look at this beauty...
Come on...build it already...

http://www.angelenic.com/images/parkfifthatnightlarge.jpg
From www.angelenic.com

Holy Guacamole!! This absolutely positively wonderful news. One of my fav proyects!!!!

Where exactly is this building going to be located? What streets? I need to googleearth this and revel...

The parcel adjacent to the southern border of Pershing Square. This is fan-freakin-TASTIC news.

Westy and Dino, way ta go! Thanks for the great news on the Unstoppable Park Fifth!

Where exactly is this building going to be located? What streets? I need to googleearth this and revel...

Keep in mind they are going to incorporate the older building on the southeast corner.

yessss... now redo pershing square :)

The parcel adjacent to the southern border of Pershing Square. This is fan-freakin-TASTIC news.

It's actually planned for the Northern border.

:dance:

It's actually planned for the Northern border.

Right you are, and confused I am! I believe that park of the Park Fifth plan is to redo Pershing Square.

Were those canopies always on the top of two roofs? If not, thats a nice little addition. I still think the top of the tall building is too solid, but any little accent to break it up is welcome.

Were those canopies always on the top of two roofs? If not, thats a nice little addition. I still think the top of the tall building is too solid, but any little accent to break it up is welcome.

Great news! And if anything else, now would be a perfect time to brush up on some Mandarin. :yes:

http://easyfreesmileys.com/smileys/free-character-smileys-186.gif (http://easyfreesmileys.com/)AHHH SOWhat are you talk about?

Yeah...I'm lost too...
:wtf:

Anyone else think this building actually looks quite shiteous? I mean, is that a giant AC unit on top of the main tower? At 76 stories, that is cool and all but this is not an attractive design, at all.

I think that this building is gorgeous, and it's perfect for downtown...:drool:

It almost looks retro 50's and I don't know if the top housing is holding systems for anti-earthquake displacement mechanisms or elevator mechanisms or water or what? There seems to be a penthouse attached to the bottom northwest side of it.

http://easyfreesmileys.com/smileys/free-character-smileys-186.gif (http://easyfreesmileys.com/)AHHH SOWhat are you talk about?

LOL I'm saying that we should increase business relations with China to encourage more Chinese investment into L.A. This construction loan is a prime example of what to do when our dollar is weak.

LaMont! He, he's sayin'..we should learn mandarin orange so's we can take advantage of chinese investature...http://i231.photobucket.com/albums/ee192/trolltoast/sanford-and-son.jpgThat's our VZN, Pops!(Vee Zee what?)

Shut up, Westy :)

Anyone else think this building actually looks quite shiteous? I mean, is that a giant AC unit on top of the main tower? At 76 stories, that is cool and all but this is not an attractive design, at all.

I disagree. Park Fifth was designed by world-renowned architecture firm Kohn Pedersen Fox, and I happen to find the design quite tasteful. A closer look at the renderings and model reveals a sleek facade.

edit

Great news! And if anything else, now would be a perfect time to brush up on some Mandarin. :yes:

L.A. sights wow first Chinese leisure tour group
http://i231.photobucket.com/albums/ee192/trolltoast/40423963ch.jpg
Lori Shepler / Los Angeles Times
Chinese leisure travelers, the first such group from China to visit the U.S. through an agreement signed in December, take photos of Van Gogh's "Irises" painting at the Getty Center in Brentwood.
The travel industry expects a boon from the new wave of visitors since a U.S.-China agreement was reached last December.
By Teresa Watanabe and Tiffany Hsu, Los Angeles Times Staff Writers

They posed with a Bart Simpson look-alike, mugged in front of a real Van Gogh, snapped up Coach bags and gawked at the scantily clad women in the city of stars they had heard so much about.

The 240 Chinese tourists who landed in Los Angeles this week also made history as the first leisure tour group allowed to visit the United States since a new U.S.-China agreement allowing such travel was signed in December.

The new pact is projected to bring in at least 66,000 new Chinese tourists spending $62 million in Los Angeles in the next year. That would represent a 50% jump from the previous year and cement the Asian nation's status as the fastest-growing tourist market for Los Angeles and the world.

In the past, business travelers and students have accounted for the bulk of visitors to L.A. from China. But the pact allows Chinese travel agencies to offer group tours to America for the first time to residents of Beijing and Shanghai as well as Guangdong and six other provinces. Advertising was allowed beginning May 15.

Even before the agreement went into effect, Chinese tourists spent more per person than other foreign visitors to Los Angeles -- even the fabled loose-fisted Japanese. Buoyed by their booming economy, they averaged $929 per visit in 2006, according to LA Inc., the Los Angeles Convention and Visitors Bureau.

Visitors included Yang Zhu Jian, a retired schoolteacher, who said she stood in line for hours at her Shanghai travel agency for a chance she had dreamed about for years -- to visit America. She and others toured Universal Studios, the Getty Center and the Hollywood Walk of Fame, among other landmarks, but her favorite activity was a shop-till-you-drop trip to Palm Springs.

There, Yang said, she snapped up Coach bags, Dior sunglasses, Dunhill belts, Nike shoes, Tommy Hilfiger backpacks -- $2,000 all told.

"We've been told about the U.S. for so long," Yang said. "Now we finally have a chance to see it with our own eyes."

Anticipating the visitor boom, Los Angeles opened a tourism office in China in 2006, the first U.S. city to do so, and the Southern California tourism industry is gearing up for what it sees as its biggest and hottest new market.

The Hilton Los Angeles/Universal City has begun to offer Chinese breakfasts of dim sum, fried rice and chow mein on request and supplies Chinese visitors with such favored amenities as disposable slippers, toothbrushes as well as green and oolong tea. The hotel also has assigned a Mandarin-speaking account executive, Stephanie Pai, to handle the China market.

Similar moves are underway at the Renaissance Hollywood Hotel, which greeted the Chinese visitors this week with welcome letters in Mandarin.

Universal Studios literally rolled out the red carpet for the tourists at their official welcome reception Tuesday. The gala featured a Blues Brothers act, Simpson family characters and speeches by Chinese dignitaries and Los Angeles city and tourism officials. The crowd of travelers gasped and cheered when an American Express executive announced each would receive a $50 travelers check.

Not all of the tourists may have known the Simpsons characters they were posing with, but Chinese travel agent Susan Wong knew at least one Hollywood star.

"I've heard about Hollywood for a long time, and I've seen the movies of the California leader Arnold Schwarzenegger," said Wong, whose tour group wore bright T-shirts emblazoned with "First Tour Group to USA from (Guangdong) China 2008."

Universal Studios has hired Mandarin-speaking guides to run a daily bus tour and printed up park maps in Chinese. Riding the tour bus this week, the visitors squealed and snapped photos of fake floods, fires and the shark from "Jaws."

Starline Tours has developed a prerecorded Los Angeles city tour in Mandarin and Chinese-language maps for its hop-on-and-off double-decker sightseeing buses.

Yu Wei Hua, an assistant general manager with Shanghai China Travel International Ltd., said people began lining up at his agency the day it was announced in May that America was open for tourism. His inaugural tour sold out within hours. Six different groups from Beijing, Shanghai and Guangdong followed different itineraries, with some planning to visit San Francisco, New York, Washington, D.C., and Hawaii.

Los Angeles gained an early foothold in the China market two years ago by opening its tourism office in Beijing, which is jointly operated by Los Angeles World Airports and LA Inc.

"We couldn't sit still as the Gateway to the Pacific and not get a head start on others we compete against to make sure our tour operators and travel industry members are well-positioned for the China market," said Mark Liberman, president and chief executive of LA Inc.

The convention bureau is helping tour operators train Mandarin-speaking guides and has launched an expanded Chinese website. Tourism officials are also developing themed packages focusing on sports, museums, architecture and shopping to expand Chinese visitors' Los Angeles experiences.

"There are only three things about L.A. that Chinese tour guides have focused on: Disneyland, Universal Studios and Hollywood," said Jamie Yang Lee, the regional director for the city's Beijing office. "There is so much more to explore."

That's what many of the tourists said they discovered during their inaugural visit.

At the Getty Center, the tourists spent about half an hour winding their way through several exhibits. The group, mostly retirees armed with digital cameras and bags with Chinese-language maps and other gifts from the Getty, chattered as they walked though the exhibits.

"Are all of these authentic?" one asked in awe.

Zhang Rui Jiu, 56, wiggled her way through the crowds to get a shot of a Van Gogh. She had put off a dream visit to America for years because the Beijing doctor was too busy to travel.

Her trip held a few surprises: people "barely dressed" in public, she said, and a city smaller and less modern than she had imagined. Fellow travelers complained about too much cheese, cold milk and indoor smoking bans, she said.

But Zhang said her biggest shock was the kindness of strangers. At the airport, for instance, someone cautioned her to put on more layers to ward off the cold.

"Once I got here -- it really opened my eyes," she said. "That we're able to see this today warms our hearts. There are some things that we just can't imagine in China."

As she posed for another photo outside the museum, against the downtown skyline, others admired the view:

"There's L.A.," one said. "And look! Further out, there's China!"

teresa.watanabe@latimes.com

tiffany.hsu@latimes.com Los Angeles Times

I disagree. Park Fifth was designed by world-renowned architecture firm Kohn Pedersen Fox, and I happen to find the design quite tasteful. A closer look at the renderings and model reveals a sleek facade.

The building looks great but it could look better if the designers could make that top look like the rest of the building so it looks like it has more floors.

The parcel adjacent to the southern border of Pershing Square. This is fan-freakin-TASTIC news.

Am I wrong? but I don't think it's the southern border, it's actually the norther border of Pershing Square.


Anyone else think this building actually looks quite shiteous? I mean, is that a giant AC unit on top of the main tower? At 76 stories, that is cool and all but this is not an attractive design, at all.


Because of the height of this building, and because it is residential (folks will be in it 24/7, versus office buildings). That "box" on the roof of the highest tower will house some type of anti-sway mechanism for quakes. That can't be boxed around glass,..sorry.

Park Fifth Hits Trouble, Seeks New Partners (http://www.downtownnews.com/articles/2008/12/08/news/news_briefs/12-08-08-at01.txt)

News Brief

DOWNTOWN LOS ANGELES - Officials with the proposed $1.3 billion Park Fifth skyscraper are seeking new capital partners to replace current, troubled partners Namco Capital Group and Africa Israel Investments, developer David Houk said last week. Principals of Namco Capital, a Brentwood-based investment company, are facing legal action in at least nine separate cases, according to a search of the L.A. County Superior Court website, for allegations including contractual fraud and breach of contract. Last month, state Commissioner of Financial Institutions William H. Haraf closed Security Pacific Bank, chaired by Namco owner Ezri Namvar. Meanwhile Africa Israel, a holding company, "has their own set of problems, and they don't want to do it by themselves," said Houk. Africa Israel this month posted a third-quarter loss of around $500 million. The 76-story Park Fifth project, which has been delayed several times, was most recently slated to break ground in early 2009, but Houk said last week the development will not go forward until new financing is in place. "We have construction financing available, but don't have anybody to sign it because we don't have partners. We're on hold," Houk said. Slated to rise on a lot north of Pershing Square, Park Fifth would include a 76-story tower and a 44-story tower housing a hotel and condominiums, connected by a 15-story residential building, plus retail and restaurant space.

Park Fifth Hits Trouble, Seeks New Partners (http://www.downtownnews.com/articles/2008/12/08/news/news_briefs/12-08-08-at01.txt)

News Brief

DOWNTOWN LOS ANGELES - Officials with the proposed $1.3 billion Park Fifth skyscraper are seeking new capital partners to replace current, troubled partners Namco Capital Group and Africa Israel Investments, developer David Houk said last week. Principals of Namco Capital, a Brentwood-based investment company, are facing legal action in at least nine separate cases, according to a search of the L.A. County Superior Court website, for allegations including contractual fraud and breach of contract. Last month, state Commissioner of Financial Institutions William H. Haraf closed Security Pacific Bank, chaired by Namco owner Ezri Namvar. Meanwhile Africa Israel, a holding company, "has their own set of problems, and they don't want to do it by themselves," said Houk. Africa Israel this month posted a third-quarter loss of around $500 million. The 76-story Park Fifth project, which has been delayed several times, was most recently slated to break ground in early 2009, but Houk said last week the development will not go forward until new financing is in place. "We have construction financing available, but don't have anybody to sign it because we don't have partners. We're on hold," Houk said. Slated to rise on a lot north of Pershing Square, Park Fifth would include a 76-story tower and a 44-story tower housing a hotel and condominiums, connected by a 15-story residential building, plus retail and restaurant space.




does this mean it wont be built?

^^ It will be build, but we don't know when because there is no investitors for this project...

Sad.

does this mean it wont be built?

It's definitely going to be built. The property is just too valuable to let it stay a big parking lot. If not this project there are always other developers that will take their place.

The question is will THIS be built. It is such a HUGE project. Maybe someone will get the dumb idea to build a 12 story building instead. :ohno:

^^ Even then, Downtown would still look better than it does now. Might not add too much to the skyline but it would most deffinately change that area in a positive way.

I agree if this project isn't built then another developer will build on the site. Anything is better than that parking lot.

Update from downtown news:

PARK FIFTH

Developers of the proposed $1.3 billion skyscraper are seeking new capital partners to replace their previous investors, Namco Capital Group and Africa Israel Investments, said David Houk of the Houk Development Company. Though Houk previously predicted the project would break ground in the first quarter of this year, there is no current timeline, he said. The fully entitled project, proposed for a site at Olive and Fifth streets just north of Pershing Square, would include a 76-story building that would be the tallest residential structure west of Chicago. Together with a 44-story edifice, the towers would house 790 condominiums and a 212-room hotel. A third, 15-story residential building would connect the towers. The project would also include retail and restaurant space.

Anyone have any more info or is this dead?

Nvm, found something...:ohno:

From LAdowntownnews.com:

Big Dreams Can Mean Big Trouble


The proposed Park Fifth project at Fifth and Olive streets is one of four stalled Downtown developments worth more than $1 billion. In deals of this size, it can take dozens of banks to fund a construction loan. Rendering courtesy of Kohn Pedersen Fox Architects.

Delays for Four Downtown Mega-Projects Highlight the Complexities of Billion-Dollar Deals
by Anna Scott
Published: Friday, February 13, 2009 4:12 PM PST
DOWNTOWN LOS ANGELES - While the most recent groundbreaking deadline for the proposed Grand Avenue project came and went last week, the $3 billion effort is not the only Downtown mega-development on hold.

Three other $1 billion-plus projects are also stalled amid the ongoing recession.

In addition to Related Cos.' Grand Avenue plan, no groundbreaking is in sight for the Moinian Group's $1 billion L.A. Central, a retail-heavy mixed-use project planned for a parking lot at Figueroa and 11th streets; the Houk Development Company's Park Fifth skyscraper, a $1.3 billion residential-hotel complex proposed for a parking lot at Olive and Fifth streets; and IDS Real Estate Group's Metropolis, a four-phase, $1 billion-plus residential-retail behemoth in South Park that has been in the works for more than a decade.

"The credit markets are all seized up, especially for a project of this size," said Oskar Brecher, director of development for the New York-based Moinian Group. "The ability of banks to finance large projects... is just nonexistent."

While financing nationwide is difficult if not impossible even for single-family home purchases, the complex financing behind projects that cost hundreds of millions or billions of dollars makes them unfeasible, Brecher said.

The situation has forced the developers of projects in Downtown Los Angeles and other cities to wait for the market to change, something far beyond their control. The current scenario also shines a light into what makes these deals so much more complex than more modest projects.

The Moinian Group is currently seeking an approximately $700 million construction loan. To achieve that, said Brecher, "We would have to put together a consortium of at least three or four major banks, and they, in turn, would have to syndicate the loan among perhaps 20 or 30 banks."

Lending expert Bob Safai, a partner with commercial real estate brokerage firm Madison Partners, noted that all mega-project developers face similar challenges.

"When you do a small deal, you could be dealing with one bank," he said. "When you do a big deal, you're dealing with many banks. Everything is compounded when you talk about the size and the financial obstacles of a mega-project."

Staying the Course


On top of the lending freeze, some Downtown-specific factors may be at play in the projects' delays.

"Frankly, the demand is dried up on all sides of it," said Safai. "Demand is dried up for office space, on the residential front. Downtown has an oversaturated housing market."

Downtown condominium projects have been plagued by slower-than-expected sales. The Santee Village complex was recently taken over by its lender, and on Feb. 8 the Rowan condominiums held an auction in a Hail Mary attempt to move units (63 of 79 residences were sold). Meanwhile, the rental market has seen thousands of new units come online in the past year and a half (including many in buildings once planned as for-sale). That has contributed to a steep drop in occupancy rates, from 96% to 85%, according to USC's Casden Real Estate Economics Forecast.

None of that bodes well for those planning projects with residential components, experts say.

It is harder than ever for lenders, whether they are providing capital or construction financing, to gauge how profitable a project will ultimately be - and the bigger the prospective loan, the bigger the risk, said real estate attorney Eric Rowen, corporate counsel for the Los Angeles Economic Development Corporation.

"It's very hard to make an assessment as to whether there's going to be a sufficient debt service-to-coverage ratio," he said, referring to a project's income versus its developer's ability to make debt payments. "Do I pump $400 or $600 million into this development and hope that it's worth it and there's sufficient income to pay me? That's where it's at with all of these projects right now."

That said, at least one Downtown mega-project has steamed forward: The $2.5 billion, 27-acre L.A. Live began its rollout with the 7,100-seat Nokia Theatre in October 2007. Since then, the project by Anchutz Entertainment Group has seen the arrival of the Grammy Museum, Lucky Strike Lanes & Lounge, the Conga Room and various restaurants. Five more restaurants and a movie theater are expected to open this year.

Experts say that in addition to having most of its financing in place before the recession hit, L.A. Live's event-driven appeal has helped it survive.

"L.A. Live is a different story, because you've got a demand from Staples Center constantly," Safai said. "It's an entertainment destination and a draw."

While entertainment-based developments are not necessarily less risky, Rowen added, "they are more recession-proof, in the sense that people still like to go to the movies, people still like to go to Lakers games."

Yet developers of the four stalled Downtown projects all say they have no plans to change course or scale back, a prospect that becomes especially difficult for big developments with investors, entitlements and architects attached.

L.A. Central, slated to include 860 condominiums, a grocery store, a 222-room hotel and 250,000 square feet of retail space, would not be profitable if downsized, said Brecher.

"We have paid a great amount for the land," he explained, referring to the $80 million purchase the company made from AEG in 2006. "To build a smaller project would not justify the land value and would undermine the financial structure of the project. The way the whole thing was designed is the residential would support the retail, the hotel would support the residential. It really was put together as a Rubik's Cube of supporting uses."

Putting Pieces Together


Like the Moinian Group, Grand Avenue developer the Related Cos. is also working on piecing together an approximately $700 million construction loan.

Originally expected to break ground on county-owned land in October 2007, the Grand Avenue project, designed by Frank Gehry and highlighted by two high-rises, has been delayed several times. Sunday, Feb. 15, marked the most recent deadline set by the city-county panel overseeing the development, though late last week Related was seeking to defer a $250,000 penalty that would have been due.

Related West Coast President Bill Witte last week said that while there is no current groundbreaking date, project plans will not change. "The market will determine when it's ready to go," he said, "not any artificial timetable."

Metropolis developer the IDS Real Estate Group has not publicly revealed the project's financial status, but has attributed groundbreaking delays to the economy. Most recently, the development's first phase, which would include 351 condominiums, was expected to break ground early this year.

Park Fifth developer David Houk, meanwhile, is working to replace the project's troubled equity partners. Houk said that despite previous groundbreaking projections of early 2009, there is no current timeline. He also has no plans to change the designs for the fully entitled project.

Yet as the global economic crisis drags on, some warn that developers of all four projects may eventually have to consider adjusting their plans to some degree.

"It's entirely possible that the types of projects that survive and come out the other end will be dictated by the kind of financing that can be obtained," said Councilwoman Jan Perry, whose Ninth District encompasses most of Downtown. "I think we'll see flexibility if developers want to survive and still build."

It was along time in coming but barring some sort of longshot the project is now just a pretty picture to look back on and remember.

The Los Angeles Business Journal is running this artical today (Monday, June 29th).

Is Anybody Willing To Take the ‘Fifth’?

REAL ESTATE: The towering Park Fifth project goes up for sale.
By DANIEL MILLER


http://www.labusinessjournal.com/article.asp?aID=953946102.763602.1799499.32708503.7436102.584&page=1

And with this project, goes the redevelopment of Pershing Square. :(

Damn!!! Oh well, as long as LA Central doesn't die, I'm fine.

And with this project, goes the redevelopment of Pershing Square. :(

I thought the downtown CRA was going to invest some money apart from the developers of this project. At first I thought it was a waste since it was going to be remodeled by someone else, but it looks like the city should invest the money anyway.

It was along time in coming but barring some sort of longshot the project is now just a pretty picture to look back on and remember.

The Los Angeles Business Journal is running this artical today (Monday, June 29th).

Is Anybody Willing To Take the ‘Fifth’?

REAL ESTATE: The towering Park Fifth project goes up for sale.
By DANIEL MILLER


http://www.labusinessjournal.com/article.asp?aID=953946102.763602.1799499.32708503.7436102.584&page=1


boo

Park Fifth lives?



Park Fifth May Get New Investor
Oil Company Could Revive $1.3 Billion Project, Though Deal Not Yet Done
by Anna Scott, Staff Writer
Published: Thursday, January 28, 2010

DOWNTOWN LOS ANGELES - Developer David Houk is close to securing a new investor for his proposed $1.3 billion Park Fifth project, he said this week.

“We have agreements, but nothing has happened yet,” said Houk. “It’s in process.”

The potential partner, Gabriel Hertzberg of the Triangle International Oil Company, said that he plans to take over for Park Fifth’s financially troubled former capital partners, Africa-Israel Investments and the Brentwood-based investment company Namco Capital Group. Hertzberg also said that he would purchase the site and provide a construction loan for the project.

This would mark Hertzbergs’s first real estate development. He refused to disclose the loan amount, but said that it would amount to hundreds of millions of dollars.

“We own oil in the Middle East and have the funding to get this project,” he said. “I will probably be the owner of the whole thing.”

Hertzberg said he is in the process of transferring money to U.S. accounts and expects the deal to be finalized within a few weeks.

He added that plans for the fully entitled development, to rise on a parking lot at Olive and Fifth streets north of Pershing Square, have not changed.

Those plans call for a 76-story building that would be the tallest residential structure west of Chicago, a 44-story tower and a 15-story residential building. Altogether the project would contain 790 condominiums, a 212-room hotel, retail and restaurants.

The new interest does not mean that the development will come online any time soon. Hertzberg said that he would like to break ground within six months if the deal comes to fruition, but real estate observers say it could be years before the economy can support large-scale development projects hinged on selling high-end condominiums.

Construction, Hertzberg said, would take at least three years.

Houk put the project up for sale in the summer of 2009. He would remain involved in developing Park Fifth if Hertzberg comes on board in financing it.

For years, the proposed development was marked by a large sign on the site with the project’s name, a telephone number and the slogan “Downtown Is Looking Up.” Yet the sign was not maintained, and was splattered with large blotches of colorful paint. Houk had the sign painted over late last year.

Contact Anna Scott at anna@downtownnews.com.

I doubt it would start in 6 months, and also very unlikely that they will finish in 3 years. But if they do, the economy should be drastically different from now. Now, are they still dealing with the parking problems? 2 spaces per place?

Park 5th is only 3 blocks from the proposed Broad so I wonder if Hertzberg heard some leaks from a week or two ago. I figured the Broad would bring hotel projects out of the woodwork given the potential new tourism. But I guess if you are the first to market 4 years from now you may be able to beat the housing competition. Maybe Hertzberg is looking hotel/condo like some others.

Or maybe none of this means much.

I doubt it would start in 6 months, and also very unlikely that they will finish in 3 years. But if they do, the economy should be drastically different from now. Now, are they still dealing with the parking problems? 2 spaces per place?

I think when they say 'it'll be finished in 3 years' is the time it takes for the building to be constructed.

Could it be ?! Could it be ?!

Probably not. I'd be amazed if this ever gets built, in its current form at least.

It seems bullish. I would give this project a 30% chance of rising.

The long term speculation must really suck because construction prices for materials are really low compared to '07 ...

I was just thinking that. Prices have drastically fallen in the last 3 years, do they still need $1.3 billion, it seems like it would be way less which would actually mean maybe more affordable, in a sense, apartments that would spur some people to buy.

Park 5th is only 3 blocks from the proposed Broad so I wonder if Hertzberg heard some leaks from a week or two ago. I figured the Broad would bring hotel projects out of the woodwork given the potential new tourism. But I guess if you are the first to market 4 years from now you may be able to beat the housing competition. Maybe Hertzberg is looking hotel/condo like some others.

Or maybe none of this means much.

I love all of this speculation.......is Broad's museum that substantial that it can spur a 76 story hotel/condo to rise?

I love all of this speculation.......is Broad's museum that substantial that it can spur a 76 story hotel/condo to rise?

The demand was seemingly there for a 76 story tower long before the Broad museum was proposed.

Admitedly it is speculation; but rather an odd coincidence that two massive projects next to each other seem to jump to life at once. But so far just talk.

PARK 5TH ANNOUNCES NEW MONEY BUT IS IT REAL? .
http://i231.photobucket.com/albums/ee192/trolltoast/album%202/youarehereslashes.jpg . The Title Guarantee and Trust Building on the far left will be integrated into the construction of The Park 5th .
One of Downtown's mega-projects seemingly rose from the dead yesterday, as developer David Houk told the Downtown News that his $1.3 billion plan to build two towers across the street from Pershing Square was on the verge of receiving new financing. The Park Fifth project would include both 76-story and 44-story towers, nearly 800 condos and a high-end hotel.

But is the project's new investor real? Real estate professionals that blogdowntown spoke to on Friday had mixed opinions on whether the leaked deal was legitimate and were skeptical of potential new investor Gabriel Hertzberg and his Triangle Investment Oil Company.

Hertzberg's quotes to the Downtown News aroused suspicion.

“We own oil in the Middle East and have the funding to get this project,” Hertzberg told the paper. “I will probably be the owner of the whole thing.”

He told the paper that he was currently transferring funds to U.S. accounts, and that the deal would be finalized in the next few weeks.

The oil company that Hertzberg runs was registered as a California LLC in January of last year. The address on record with the state points to a warehouse next to the Van Nuys airport, where either Hertzberg or a relative by the same name runs a company called Mobile Cardiac Imaging. The other contact address listed in state records is Hertzberg's home, located in the southern part of Beverly Hills.

Both the oil company and Hertzberg are almost non-existent online. The only mention of Triangle is on Petrofinder, a site that offers free profile listings. Neither Hertzberg nor the company show up in a search of Proquest's newspaper databases.

Even if Hertzberg does not have the money to fund the project himself, it is possible that he could be acting as a front for other investors. One source blogdowntown spoke to thought that unlikely, instead believing that Houk was trying to drum up interest in the parcel.

As for Houk, he declined to comment to blogdowntown on the potential deal, saying that it was "in the works," but "it's not real yet."

The project's last major news came in June of 2008, when it announced that it had completed entitlement and received a construction loan commitment from Beijing Construction Engineering Group. Just a few months later, though, news reports surfaced that major partner Namco Capital Group Inc. and its founder Ezri Namvar owed investors approximately $400 million. Namvar was accused of running a ponzi scheme as part of his investment business.

Even that wasn't the first time the project was dogged by funding questions. In November of 2007 the project denied reports that it had lost its main investor, and said that things remained on track.

While news of the project's restart would be welcomed in such a tough economic climate, Thursday's announcement serves to raise more questions than answers. . PHOTO YOU-ARE-THERE.COM ERIC RICHARDSON BLOGDOWNTOWN

Read this little piece off of blogdowntown.com looks like this thing is still alive for now, Hopefully funding comes somewhere down the road! :banana:

http://blogdowntown.com/2011/09/6387-around-the-halls-historic-protection-bicycle

there are two projects that i really wish were built during the boom. Park fifth and 8th and grand. both of these projects would have linked different neighborhoods together and would make a world of a difference. with the momentum around the pershing square area, park fifth would have provided solid development on fifth street from figueroa all the way down to Los Angeles Street. it also would mean that very iconic buildings would be next to each other (Library tower, Gas Company tower, Park Fifth, then down to the historic buildings)

there still a chance for the 76 story tower?

^^ No.

It would be good to change the status of threads like these from "App" to "Canceled"

And for a second I thought this project had been resurrected, especially with soup or man's post dated "January 29th", but then I realized that was 2 years ago. Bummer...