How to develop The Coliseum and what to do with Exposition Park and the Sports Arena and how best to link the area with downtown

I don't think there is a need or desire to link the area with Downtown. The Staples center gives us most of our entertainment desires, and it is much more flashy and alive than the Coliseum, especially now that it has LA Live blowing up the area (not literally). Unless the Coliseum has been hosting award shows for the arts, or is host of one of LA's most popular and unifying professional sports (basketball), I just don't see what a Roman-era arena can offer the area that a 21st century Staples Center can't.

The Shrine which is in the area hosts "events" and the new Galen Center will help further transform the area. Along w/ the Expo Line their is a very real push to connect Expo Park w/ Downtown LA.......and it's about time!

^ Exactly... what's Lan56 even talking about? I highly doubt he's an Angelino to be honest. Those he not know that we have USC, Memorial Coliseum, Expo Park, A dozen museums and an IMAX Theater all within this Corridor. There's plenty more to announce, so it's very important for this area to meet up with Downtown in a near future.

He needs to take his head out of his ass!!!! smell the coffee Bro!

Not that I'm really that interested in football, ( The NFL has stiffed L. A. for so long we should make it foot the bill for whatever they plan on doing to the Coliseum- at least to the tune of 1.5 billion ) but the city is really gung-ho on linking that area with downtown to create the corridor. The last time I saw a blimp shot of Los Angeles was when there was football in the Coliseum. I don't see much of that anymore. :cheers:

Well heres my idea,
Figueroa between 20th and 23rd street's (east side of blvd.) three new buildings devoted to scientific research, attatched to both USC and LA trade tech, each building around 10 to 15 floors.

Figueroa between the Patriotic hall building and 20th st. student housing towers (3) ranging from 18 to 36 floors.

Figueroa at 23rd (south/east side) 28 floor medical office tower for Orthopaedic hospital,

tear down, (with the exception of the enterance arches) the coliseum and replace with brand new stadium, and last of all tear down the sports arena as it is no longer needed as a venue

as for the vacant land, i've allready done enough development someone else can figure out what to do with it!

I guess having a different opinion on the value of certain buildings completely reverts my status as an Angelino? FYI, I do not keep track of live entertainment/sports/shows/etc... to know what the Shrine is doing, or what museums are around. I reside in Woodland Hills and have been for a long time, so I don't have daily, or even relatively frequent exposure to the area to know whats around regardless of my tastes in entertainment.

I say it's about time! Linking the corridor with DTLA would make L.A. have one of the most extravagant city centers on the planet. Can you imagine the developments that would go on between DTLA and even past Expo Park? As you all know, the 'hood is just a stones throw away from Expo Park, so this development can help open new opportunities for those in South Central.

L.A. is getting waaaay damn bigger! :) All we would need now is a proper subway system via Damien Goodman's ideas to get this city really up and rolling...

Looking at Google maps, there is a weak point on Fig, especially if there is any street widening to be done. It's that intersection that virtually floats over the 110. I don't know if it's wide enough for projected traffic on a sucessfully developed corridor, I guess they can figure out how to fit an extra lane on either side. On second look, it may have been planned for widening after all. It already has the characteristic red cross walks you see downtown. Maybe that says something about what is being considered. :cheers:

I guess having a different opinion on the value of certain buildings completely reverts my status as an Angelino? FYI, I do not keep track of live entertainment/sports/shows/etc... to know what the Shrine is doing, or what museums are around. I reside in Woodland Hills and have been for a long time, so I don't have daily, or even relatively frequent exposure to the area to know whats around regardless of my tastes in entertainment.


My God Dude relax! :gaah: stop being such a colorful dramatic queen for a minute. First, you need to come down the hill more often to understand. The Valley is cool and whatnot, but there's also life on this side of the hill. You must check out Fig Corridor to see it close proximity to Downtown.

:pet: Everything will be alright*

My God Dude relax! :gaah: stop being such a colorful dramatic queen for a minute. First, you need to come down the hill more often to understand. The Valley is cool and whatnot, but there's also life on this side of the hill. You must check out Fig Corridor to see it close proximity to Downtown.

:pet: Everything will be alright*

Jeez people like you just don't understand the life of a drama queen... :) just kidding around; sorry for freaking, I need anger management courses.

I would love is this area got some lovin. It's not too far from downtown at all and there are always people walking around [students, workers, whatevers]. Throw in some clubs/bars/new restaurants, this place would be alive with people.

Figueroa Is already nice! if u go on N Figueroa .. theres a historic town... then The Downton Area... final. exposition .. i mean thats Figueroa is crazy

Figueroa Corridor Plan Gains Steam

Bond Money Could Fund $100 Million Vision Connecting Downtown to USC

by Kathryn Maese


A $100 million plan to turn the Figueroa Corridor into a thriving link connecting Downtown Los Angeles and USC could gain traction if Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger signs an assembly bill that has reached his desk.

Earlier this year California voters approved a bond measure for infrastructure and other improvements. Now, AB 1053, authored by Assembly Speaker Fabian Núñez, has been amended and would allow business improvement districts statewide to apply for infrastructure improvement funding aimed at spurring affordable housing.

The measure could have particular impact in Downtown Los Angeles, where a wealth of projects are planned along the corridor, many spurred by Anschutz Entertainment Group's Staples Center and L.A. Live. Although some housing advocates have questioned the effect on affordable housing, AEG officials said the funding would help promote more development along the street.

Though still in the planning phase, Downtown's Figueroa Corridor Partnership has said it aims to partner with a city agency to seek $50 million. The group would need to raise $50 million in matching funds.

"We'd never be able to do this plan without this funding," said Darryl Holter, who chairs the business improvement district. "Connecting Downtown to the Exposition Park community is really important. If Figueroa becomes more of a transit corridor it will make it friendlier for pedestrians and encourage development to go south and spread investment into South L.A."

The ambitious plan would span four districts and three miles, from the Financial District at the Seventh Street Metro stop south through the Figueroa Corridor and down to USC and Exposition Park. Designed by Rios Clementi Hale Sudios, the "Figueroa Corridor: Connecting Communities" vision would create a pedestrian-oriented streetscape with parks, lush landscaping, patterned sidewalk paving, a bus line and the potential for transit-oriented housing developments.

The thoroughfare would be lined with a canopy of Washintonia palms interspersed with trees, shrubs and groundcover. While medians would be planted with trees and shrubs, sidewalks would sport a distinctive tri-colored rectangular pattern and pedestrian-level streetlights and traffic lamps. New developments would be required to have eight-foot setbacks to maintain the 15-foot-wide walkways. It would cost $36 million.

A centerpiece of the plan is the $23 million, 10-acre Bridge Park that would span the 110 Freeway between Figueroa, Flower and 23rd streets and Adams Boulevard. The majority of the green space is slated to occupy the northern half of the site, with a plaza off Flower Street. A transit center and plaza is planned for the southern half.

"We're pretty excited about the green space," Holter said. "Other cities are covering over freeways with parks so it can be done. If you look at New York's Central Park, sure it cost money, but look at the value of property around it."

The plan builds around the Exposition Line, currently under construction, which in 2010 will connect Downtown to Culver City via Exposition Park. Planners would also enhance existing access to the HOV lane along Figueroa.

Traffic flow would be improved with a new synchronization system, Holter said. A proposed $6 million bus line similar to the DASH, but unique to the corridor, would round out the transit options. Likewise, there would be a bike lane along Figueroa and Flower streets and additional bike racks.

Development plans in the area could bring up to 8,000 new residential units and support a population of about 25,000 people, all within a 10-minute walk of public transportation. A community plan recently amended by the City Council allows up to three times more density in new projects, creating more than 9 million square feet of potential development.


Hotbed of Activity

In recent years, Figueroa Street has become a hotbed of activity, prompted by the arrival of Staples Center in 1999 and now the $2.5 billion L.A. Live project; the entertainment district's first component, the Nokia Theatre, opens this month. Holter estimates there is an additional $2 billion of investment within the BID area, which is bounded by the 10 Freeway on the north, Exposition Park on the south, Flower Street on the east and Vermont Avenue on the west. Staples Center is in the South Park BID.

At least a dozen residential high-rises are planned or underway in the blocks around Staples Center, with several large-scale developments unfolding to the south. The $140 million Galen Center opened last November, and now hosts USC sporting events. The facility adds to the existing stock of landmarks in the area, including the L.A. Coliseum, the Sports Arena, the Shrine Auditorium and Exposition Park's museum row.

AEG, which owns Staples Center and is developing L.A. Live, has thrown its weight behind the effort, lobbying lawmakers to amend the assembly bill to allow business improvement districts to become eligible for the funding. The amended bill was pushed through on the last day of the regular session (as were numerous other bills). AEG and state officials said the idea had been in the works for some time.

Affordable housing proponents charge that the amendment would siphon funds from Prop 1C housing dollars to non-housing related infrastructure, and that AEG would directly benefit from the funds. AEG and its affiliates helped underwrite the state's bond campaign last year, which was championed by Núñez, and also contributed to Sen. Mark Ridley-Thomas' campaign; Ridley-Thomas presented the bill on the senate floor.

Núñez said in a written statement that he had his staff take a deeper look at the issue after nonprofit housing developers complained, but still found merit in the amendments.

"It seems fair to me as long as you're doing competitive bidding," Núñez said.

AEG President Tim Leiweke said "not one penny" of the money would go to L.A. Live, and noted that the Figueroa Corridor BID still needs to apply, as do more than 50 statewide business entities.

"This funding is for the purpose of the Figueroa Corridor from USC to the edge of Downtown to create the great pedestrian and commuter passageway," Leiweke said. "We want to see a trolley, cycling, people going back and forth between hotels, businesses and anchors like the Convention Center, Coliseum and USC. This benefits anyone and everyone who lives, works and plays in Downtown L.A."

Though the timeline and rules for applying for the funding are not yet set, the bill requires that BIDs form a public-private partnership to apply for the funds. AEG officials met with the Community Redevelopment Agency several weeks prior to the bill's passage to discuss plans for the corridor.

"This does have potential for a very creative approach to bringing in state dollars for these enhancements," said Cecilia Estolano, the CRA's chief executive. "Voters intended these infrastructure improvements to facilitate the development of housing and affordable housing, and any application would need to include that.

"I would suspect the state would be looking for a clear link between infrastructure development and the development of housing," she added. "That's a fair trade. Voters' interest in this is to stimulate housing production at a variety of income levels."

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger must sign or veto the bill by Oct. 14.


Source: Los Angeles Downtown News (http://www.downtownnews.com/articles/2007/10/01/news/news03.txt)

huge^. ive been crying for exactly that for years!

man that sounds awesome.

Seriously. This area will be amazing if it all comes together. Get rid the standalone restaurants put some housing on top of it. PLus the Expo line going through. Imagine this area at night. Students walking all around [well they do now, but it doesn't look as nice, looks very drab]. Can't wait.

Man, everytime they talk about the Fig Corridor it sounds better and better. I can just imagine doing some all night lounging between L.A. Live and Expo Park and all of the planned developments in between...

Anyway though, these excerpts from the article stood out to me the most:

If Figueroa becomes more of a transit corridor it will make it friendlier for pedestrians and encourage development to go south and spread investment into South L.A."


The ambitious plan would span four districts and three miles, from the Financial District at the Seventh Street Metro stop south through the Figueroa Corridor and down to USC and Exposition Park. Designed by Rios Clementi Hale Sudios, the "Figueroa Corridor: Connecting Communities" vision would create a pedestrian-oriented streetscape with parks, lush landscaping, patterned sidewalk paving, a bus line and the potential for transit-oriented housing developments.


This is gonna be the #1 city center in America!

As you all know, the 'hood is just a stones throw away from Expo Park, so this development can help open new opportunities for those in South Central.


You saw it. :)

You saw it. :)

You heard it here first!

BTW everyone... suppose Schwarzenegger were to approve the plan this year... what do you think the ETA would be on getting this thing finished?

Finished? 20...........56.:cheers:

any pics and maps of the area?

^ There sure are maps and pics of the area.

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger must sign or veto the bill by Oct. 14.


Well, we're 1 day away... let's get the chapmagne ready (or the torches/pitchforks if Schwarzie doesn't sign it)

Man, everytime they talk about the Fig Corridor it sounds better and better. I can just imagine doing some all night lounging between L.A. Live and Expo Park and all of the planned developments in between...

Anyway though, these excerpts from the article stood out to me the most:


I dont care about lounging, although that is great too.

I want to see multicultural festivals, students, professors, visiting academics or world leaders, etc. I want USC to be a cultural area and have programming that can easily rival UCLA's, hopefully, even exceed it. I want to see a more utilized stadium (whether that requires pro football or not), a farmers market that can rival santa monica's, and more utliization of the museums. I want to see a new hospital, a research facility, more jobs, more green space, etc. This area should be a diverse equivalent to the westside's amenities. I most want to see the area improve for the lower income people. I want a great balance with just as much day time activity as night time stuff.

Lounges and restaurants are okay too, but I hope they are NEIGHBORHOOD spots. We could build the most vibrant, balanced, and unique area in los angeles.

I dont care about lounging, although that is great too.

I want to see multicultural festivals, students, professors, visiting academics or world leaders, etc. I want USC to be a cultural area and have programming that can easily rival UCLA's, hopefully, even exceed it. I want to see a more utilized stadium (whether that requires pro football or not), a farmers market that can rival santa monica's, and more utliization of the museums. I want to see a new hospital, a research facility, more jobs, more green space, etc. This area should be a diverse equivalent to the westside's amenities. I most want to see the area improve for the lower income people. I want a great balance with just as much day time activity as night time stuff.

Lounges and restaurants are okay too, but I hope they are NEIGHBORHOOD spots. We could build the most vibrant, balanced, and unique area in los angeles.

I agree 100%. I want to see all of that you mentioned plus some, especially because it'll improve our local economy and get some money to where it's really needed.

So what's up with Schwarzenegger? Did he give it the green light yet?

Folks you understand that if Schwarzee green lights this and it's done correctly(of course to our liking here at SSC)we will have the test model for revitalization of potentially bomb-ass hoods in LA. We are seeing the test model for successful big budget TOD's w/ the Wilshire/Western project and now w/ NOHO and Universal. I hope everyone understands that we are witnessing the beginnings of a major US city that has the rep for being car dominant begin to flirt w/ transit in a very real way.

Hopefully they would knock down some of those strip malls (USC) and built a huge Sams Club. That would help bring more people to the area.

..,.,.

deleted

I agree 100%. I want to see all of that you mentioned plus some, especially because it'll improve our local economy and get some money to where it's really needed.

So what's up with Schwarzenegger? Did he give it the green light yet?

yes he did. AEG still has to apply. If they win I hope they build the park first, then the pedestrian improvements second.

And the bus line is a waste of money. The DASH, the new expo, two metro bus lines, a nice new sidewalk, and bike lines will serve the area just fine. No need to spend millions operating a separate modality.

Hopefully they would knock down some of those strip malls (USC) and built a huge Sams Club. That would help bring more people to the area.

Sam's club is needed in the region, just not in fig locale. That is NOT good for transit oriented areas. That being said, one should go in at the new pico/san vicente development. I feel it is okay to have a costco within 5 miles. Costco isnt a type of store you need on every block.

Hopefully the new pico/san vicente development has plans for one.

Gateway Complex Breaks New Ground (http://media.www.dailytrojan.com/media/storage/paper679/news/2008/05/28/News/Gateway.Complex.Breaks.New.Ground-3376117.shtml)

Developers will build new housing complex in the style of campus buildings.

By Natalie Jarvey
May 28, 2008

Construction on the University Gateway Project has broken ground on the corner of Figueroa Street and Jefferson Boulevard where the Felix Chevrolet Cadillac car dealership formerly stood and is expected to be completed before the fall of 2010.

Urban Partners LLC is managing the project, which will accommodate approximately 1,600 students in more than 400 apartment units, and is working closely with the university to ensure that students' needs will be met by the housing facility.

"I think the university's goals in working with Urban Partners on this project was to ensure that a quality student housing project evolved," said Kristina Raspe, associate senior vice president for real estate and asset management at the university. "Our involvement was to help the developer determine what the students' needs were and make sure it was a quality development and managed well."

Matt Burton, a principal at Urban Partners overseeing the Gateway Project, said the company has worked with the university since it began planning the project in 2003 to make sure it was living up to the standards and expectations of the university and the administration.

"I consider them a partner in this, though not a financial partner," he said. "They've been great to work with and they've been very helpful in giving information about what students want."

The housing complex will be built in a style that will fit with the university's predominant architectural theme and will provide amenities for students such as bike racks, according to representatives from Clark Construction Group, LLC, the construction company Urban Partners hired to build the project.

The new facility will also provide parking spots to about half of its residents as well as retail on the bottom level, which could include restaurants, a pharmacy, a grocery store, a Greek merchandise store and a gym, Raspe said.

"There will be a whole host of residential amenities that we will provide for the students to use," Burton said.

The Gateway Project, named because of its location near the north entrance of the campus along the Figueroa Corridor, has been in the works for several years and was originally expected to begin construction in 2005 and be finished in 2007, the Daily Trojan reported in 2004.

Urban Partners and USC sued Conquest in September 2007, alleging that Conquest attempted to delay the Gateway Project by filing lawsuits and had also tried to gain a monopoly on the housing market around USC.

While the lawsuit delayed construction, Urban Partners and USC eventually prevailed. The settlement, which was made in January, barred Conquest from the right to sue housing companies or impede construction on any project within a 2-mile radius of campus.

Burton declined to comment on the lawsuit.

With the lawsuit out of the way, Urban Partners is now moving forward with the Gateway Project, Raspe said.

"All the work that had been delayed was immediately started," she said. "I think the lawsuit delayed the project about two years."

The project is now on a tight schedule and will need to be completed before the fall 2010 semester to ensure that students will be able to live there during the school year.

"These projects need to open in an August time frame," said Brian League, program director of Capital Construction Development, the university development company that advised Urban Partners during its initial planning stage. "You can't open up a student housing project midyear."

Clark Construction representatives said they were confident that construction delays would not prevent the facility from opening at its scheduled time.

This project is in line with the University Park Campus Master Plan, which is the university's outline for development in the next 30 years.

Cesar Armendariz, University Park Master Plan communication director, said that while the Gateway Project is not directly a part of the plan, it still helps the university move toward its ultimate goal of providing housing for all undergraduates.

"It's 1,600 less beds the university will have to build..." Armendariz said. "It serves an immediate need. We need the beds. Our students are overcrowded in conditions out in the community and that just draws them closer to us."

Burton said he hopes that the construction of the Gateway Project will bring more foot traffic to the Figueroa Corridor and help bring further development to the area between USC and the Staples Center.

"We would hope that it would have a very positive impact in the neighborhood and the community," he said. "It's not the easiest place to develop but hopefully this will spur more development along the Figueroa area."

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3009/2504251912_a9d265f8a9.jpg?v=0http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2183/2533386910_fe7aec64b1.jpg

University Gateway Project Breaks Ground, Finally (http://www.angelenic.com/university-gateway-project-breaks-ground-finally/)

By Stephen Friday
May 29, 2008

After years of delays amid a battle of lawsuits, developer Urban Partners (http://www.urbanpartnersllc.com/about.php) has broken ground on USC’s new 8-story University Gateway project, reports (http://media.www.dailytrojan.com/media/storage/paper679/news/2008/05/28/News/Gateway.Complex.Breaks.New.Ground-3376117.shtml?xmlsyn=1) the Daily Trojan.

Replacing a large parcel where several low-rise structures once stood (across from the Felix Chevrolet Cadillac dealership) at Figueroa and Jefferson (http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2295/2534288734_cb13bd803e_o.jpg), the infill project will bring housing for 1,600 undergraduate students in 421 apartments units atop 83,000 square feet of commercial space, slated to include a bookstore, gym, pharmacy, grocery store, restaurants and other student service amenities.

Though University Gateway is being lauded as a transit-oriented development due to its location at a future Metro Expo Line station, approximately 770 new parking spaces will be constructed on site with another 440 on a nearby lot.

Togawa Smith Martin Residential (http://www.tsmrinc.com/flash.html) is handling the design, which will complement the university’s signature architectural theme.

Legal Limbo

University Gateway is on a tight schedule to open by August 2010 to meet the student housing needs of that school year.

In 2005, rival development company Conquest filed a lawsuit against Urban Partners over what it contented was a misleading environmental review. Urban Partners and USC retaliated with a counter-lawsuit in September 2007, alleging that Conquest only intended to delay the project’s construction and secure a monopoly on the housing market around campus.

A settlement was reached in January, clearing construction to proceed after being held up for two years.

Clark Construction representatives told the Daily Trojan they were confident that construction delays would not prevent the facility from opening at its scheduled time.

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3193/2533402862_dea57b555d_o.jpg

The Expo Line and University Gateway project will both serve as major catalysts for development in an area that desperately needs it.

Those are smart lookin' :)

Lucky students who occupy the top floors on the north facing side will get an awesome view of the city.

The Expo Line and University Gateway project will both serve as major catalysts for development in an area that desperately needs it.

I certainly hope so. It would be wonderful to have USC connected to downtown with nice development.

^ The USC area will become very attractive to developers who are looking to invest in Central Los Angeles given its close proximity to Downtown and mass transit (Expo Line to Santa Monica, Blue Line to Long Beach).

And hopefully we can change the way things are done in this city and put a cap on parking put on all new developments in that area. 1210 parking spaces IS excessive, and we need people who are willing to say no to these developers that propagate our automobile dependence.

DOWNTOWN:http://i231.photobucket.com/albums/ee192/trolltoast/2608583675_779c888cd5_o.jpgby Dakota
Every year, architecture/design/planning firm RTKL throws its Design Conference, an internal, firm-wide contest. Past conferences have addressed a student dormitory for the Maryland Institute College of Art and the redevelopment of Chicago’s Navy Pier. This year's theme for the contest was the Figueroa Corridor and nine teams from RTKL's global offices were asked to come up with ideas on improving the corridor from Figueroa past Staples Center. The winner, announced today at the firm's Hope Street office, was the team from Shanghai for their "LA Park" idea.http://i231.photobucket.com/albums/ee192/trolltoast/2608544205_f81c101173_o.jpgCurbed LA

Umm, what the hell is that?

Its ARTchitecture. Quite intriguing if you ask me. Imagine tourists just driving in our freeways and just seeing such a structure..

then again...how many proposals have we seen for downtown?..and how many cranes are actually in downtown building them?... :(

just a bunch of talk these city planners, its as if they just make proposals so they seem like they are actually doing something..when in fact, they just want to keep their jobs.

That still doesn't tell me what it is. :) Looking closely, I see something that resembles a parking garage.

ooh I see the parking garage for sure.. its like 4 oddly stacked parking garages with in a glass box

Anyone know where on Fig this building will be located?

jenga anyone?

Its ARTchitecture. Quite intriguing if you ask me. Imagine tourists just driving in our freeways and just seeing such a structure..

then again...how many proposals have we seen for downtown?..and how many cranes are actually in downtown building them?... :(

just a bunch of talk these city planners, its as if they just make proposals so they seem like they are actually doing something..when in fact, they just want to keep their jobs.

I think this is a better example of what real ARTchitecture is. Now this would set that area on fire:

http://news.yahoo.com/nphotos/slideshow/photo//080624/480/0157a2bf2b1947448b33702ba5ebc2f3/

http://i231.photobucket.com/albums/ee192/trolltoast/capt0157a2bf2b1947448b33702ba5ebc2f.jpg
That's what our buildings will look like after the 'big' one :) It's hard enough to build something like that for our area when there is an actual superstructure involved, but a single axis with moveable weight loads? Dubai has money, but no sense. We'll see the day when a gust of wind brings down the Burj. This structure may just come down on its own. Would look good from the freeway though...

^^ That thing is scary. Imagine floor gets dislodged from the center core thing crashing on the rest of the building. I think it's just impractical, probably needs lubing everyday.

1340 Figueroa Gets One Step Closer http://i231.photobucket.com/albums/ee192/trolltoast/2628521641_d6fa9101b0_ovvv.jpg Scott Kepford/SLAB Architects
There's still some life in that market, yet. As previously mentioned on downtown development blog angelenic back in December, the big parking lot across from the Convention Center and south of LA Live is proposed to be developed into a mixed-use skyscraper. We'd heard no further word of the project until today when we saw that the the application for the development had been submitted to the Planning Department on June 11th. The proposed 43-story skyscraper will feature 273 condos, three commercial floors, with 344,775 square feet of floor area. The project is asking for a zone change and general plan amendment among other entitlements, so we probably won't be seeing any dirt move for at least two years. We're hoping to have up to date renderings/plans soon.

University Gateway Project Breaks Ground, Finally (http://www.angelenic.com/university-gateway-project-breaks-ground-finally/)


http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3193/2533402862_dea57b555d_o.jpg

Work is well underway on the site now and it looks like the bases for not one, but two cranes are now in place.

Also, unlike a lot of projects in L.A. it looks like they are building covered walkways on the Figueroa and Jefferson frontages so that pedestrians will be able to pass without having to move to the opposing sides of these two very busy streets (I hope).

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3225/2711880409_9dfedecfe9.jpg

A Closer Look at Prop 1C Funds’ Impact on Figueroa Corridor (http://www.angelenic.com/1936/a-closer-look-at-prop-1c-funds-impact-on-figueroa-corridor/)

By Stephen Friday
July 29, 2008

In February 2008, the California Department of Housing and Community Development announced the availability of approximately $240 million of funds for the Infill Infrastructure Grant Program (http://www.hcd.ca.gov/fa/iig/) established through Proposition 1C — a bond measure passed by voters in 2006 to provide infrastructure that facilities the development of higher-density affordable and mixed-income housing in needy areas across the state.

Last month, officials allocated $30 million of those grant dollars to finance streetscape improvements along the Figueroa Corridor infill project area in response to an application submitted by the Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA/LA), along with South Park and Figueroa Corridor BIDs, which identifies the corridor as a vital north-south link.

The Los Angeles Times (http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-anschutz14-2008jun14,0,4914075.story) took a stab several weeks ago at the news, pointing out political ties of billionaire developer Philip Anschutz whose projects are located within the three-mile stretch of Figueroa Street slated for upgrades, while community advocates make the case money should be spent elsewhere.

However, little attention was brought to actual details of the plan, one the CRA/LA hopes will better connect Downtown to South LA by identifying specific housing projects (with at least 15% of units being affordable) that will be developed because of the infrastructure improvements. (Prop 1C Infill Infrastructure Grant funds cannot be used to construct housing projects.)

Plans call for new sidewalks, lights, curbs and other features to help make way for approximately 500 infill residential units proposed for under-developed sections of the thoroughfare.

Approximate breakdown of grant funds:

Figueroa Street & 11th Street streetscape improvements ($22.0 million)
Washington Boulevard streetscape improvements gap funding ($750,000)
Martin Luther King, Jr. Blvd streetscape improvements ($1.5 million)
Gilbert Lindsay Park at LA Convention Center redesign & construction ($2.0 million)
Venice-Hope Recreation Center gap funding ($2.0 million)
Exposition Park Sports Fields gap funding ($2.0 million)
110 Freeway Cap Park feasibility study ($1.5 million)

Total cost to complete the projects listed above is estimated to be $54.8 million ($30 million grant plus $24.8 million from other funding sources).

Description details below sourced from Street Blogs Los Angeles (http://la.streetsblog.org/2008/06/26/south-la-street-improvement-project-moves-forward-times-unhappy/). Images via CRA/LA.

Figueroa Street & 11th Street Streetscape

Implement established L.A. Sports and Entertainment District streetscape design standards between 7th Street and Venice Boulevard along Figueroa Street and 11th Street between Figueroa Street and Broadway, including sidewalk paving, parkway planting, street trees, transit stops/shelters, and pedestrian lighting. Also, implement newly established streetscape design standards that continue the design standard of the L.A. Sports and Entertainment streetscape design standards south to Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard along Figueroa Street.

Washington Boulevard Streetscape (from Figueroa Street to Broadway)

Design and build streetscape improvements including new street trees, transit shelters, and pedestrian lighting to support the existing Blue Line light rail corridor between Figueroa Street and Broadway. This improves a current blighted transit corridor that does not welcome walkability between existing and planned mixed use housing and the public transit in the area.

Martin Luther King, Jr. Boulevard Streetscape

Design and build streetscape improvements including new street trees, transit shelters, pedestrian lighting, and new landscaped median to connect Figueroa Street along the southern edge of Expo Park to Vermont Avenue. This further extends the connectivity from South Los Angeles neighborhoods to the Figueroa Corridor and connection to Downtown and the Exposition Light Rail line.

Gilbert Lindsay Park at LA Convention Center

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3253/2712692384_163751c780.jpg

Transform current Convention Center frontage into a pedestrian friendly, usable open space. This new area will provide additional “park” space for local area residents, as well as the millions of visitors to the Convention Center. Gilbert Lindsay Park will include a stormwater retention/filtration demonstration project. This site was identified several months ago as potential location by a City team stormwater/parks taskforce.

Venice-Hope Recreation Center

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3139/2714663374_f69b1e095e_m.jpg

(Updated rendering will be added later today)
Public Private partnership between CRA/LA and California Hospital Medical Center to provide community education and recreation facility for new and existing residents in the South Park neighborhood. Currently, the neighborhood is seriously under-served for recreational and educational opportunities.

-Rec Center Proposed for South Park (http://www.downtownnews.com/articles/2008/06/02/news/news04.txt) (Downtown News)

110 Freeway Cap Park Study

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3091/2711880693_b02184300a.jpg

Funding for engineering and design feasibility study to build a “cap” over the 110 Freeway near Adams Boulevard to provide needed green and open space for the adjacent park poor neighborhood. With the addition of residential and mixed used projects in the area, the already “park poor” community is in need of more open space. This project could create a park in what is now a tear in the neighborhood as a result of the below grade freeway.

Exposition Park Sports Fields

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3261/2713815643_23be7bddb7.jpg

Transform an under-improved open space into a multi-use state-of-the-art sports field to serve South Los Angeles neighborhood. The area currently is “park poor” and does not provide sufficient recreation facilities for the local South Los Angeles community and a critically under-served population living in among the most densely populated neighborhoods in the city.

-Expo Center Detailed Overview (http://www.angelenic.com/uploads/expo_park_sports_field_info.pdf)

^ All of that looks and sounds good, but I don't even want to know the timeline for all of it.

Estimated Date of Completion: The 5th of Never.



...

haha.

^^ :lol: haha..so true

Great work West

Construction Watch: University Gateway
http://i231.photobucket.com/albums/ee192/trolltoast/2748393840_1817e654d7_o.jpg
Having just broken ground approximately one-month ago, the University Gateway project is moving along quickly enough. The 421-unit, mixed use development scheduled for opening in 2010, overcame a number of hurdles (more like whacks to the knee, Nancy Kerrigan-style) from competitor Conquest Student Housing, as you may recall. The project is being developed by Urban Partners, the team behind the Arquitectonica designed Wilshire Vermont project above the Purple Line station. CurbedLA

An Icon From the Ground Up

AEG President and CEO Tim Leiweke Opens Up on the Project He Has Been Working on for 14 Years

by Jon Regardie, Los Angeles Downtown News

DOWNTOWN LOS ANGELES - To understand Tim Leiweke's thoughts about L.A. Live, the $2.5 billion mega-development in the heart of Downtown, consider not a specific answer, but rather a single word: iconic. In the space of a 30-minute interview about the project, the second phase of which opens this week, Leiweke says "iconic" five times, such as when he comments, "This is one of the most iconic projects ever built in any downtown community."

This is probably not hyperbole. The 5.6 million-square-foot development spread across 27 acres is one of the largest ever undertaken in Downtown Los Angeles, and Leiweke, the president and CEO of Anschutz Entertainment Group, has been involved in it for 14 years, starting back when Phil Anschutz and Ed Roski began working on plans for Staples Center, the arena that opened in 1999 and sits adjacent to L.A. Live.

Last week, Leiweke sat down with Los Angeles Downtown News to discuss L.A. Live's progress, its 12 restaurants, the 54-story high-rise with hotel rooms and Ritz-Carlton condominiums that cost up to $10 million, and his vision for how the project will improve not just Downtown, but the entire city.

Los Angeles Downtown News: Through timing completely beyond your control, you are opening one of the biggest projects in Downtown's history during one of the worst national economic crises of the last century. How do you make L.A. Live work at this time?

Tim Leiweke: We were fortunate to find good partners that view the world the same way we do, which is that projects like this are iconic and they live for hundreds of years, not two years. If we were building a project that was for two years I'd be very nervous, because this is a bad period of time to be spreading risk out over a short period of time.

That said, this project will be around long after all of us leave. So we look at this as a marathon, not a sprint. Our founding partners are all long-term deals, with Coke and Toyota and Wachovia and American Express and Target and Anheuser-Busch. That's good for us. Our leases are all long-term deals, and obviously Nokia Theatre and Club Nokia, we own.

ESPN's here; this is their West Coast headquarters. This is a huge establishment for them. And although ESPN, like every other company, is certainly going to be affected by this recession, ESPN isn't going anywhere.

Q: You have long referred to the Convention Center hotel as the linchpin of this project. Why is it so important?

A: We no longer have to speculate and I no longer have to spin: We booked 54 [conventions] this year at the Convention Center for upcoming years, and I think if you go back and ask L.A. Inc. why did they just have the best year in the history of the organization, they'll tell you one reason: that hotel. If you look at [video game convention] E3 coming back to town, it's 8,000 room nights each and every night. If you look at the bids we are submitting to bring the NBA and NHL All-Star games back here, and yes, we are actively working and pursuing bringing a Super Bowl here at some point or another in the future, we couldn't do any of that, none of that, without this hotel.

When you can combine, let's just say for the sake of argument 20 major events a year: the Grammys, the American Music Awards, an NBA or NHL All-Star game, E3, another half dozen big conventions, the Pac 10 basketball tournament, what you begin to see is it is those kinds of events that ultimately will continue to help us as a community create new jobs, create a positive economic impact and be able to have additional developments that create additional jobs that create additional sales tax revenue.

Q: You probably could have had any entity you want in L.A. Live, yet were very purposeful in who you took. We're not talking about major chains in most cases. Why go this route? What was the strategy?

A: ESPN is here because [company president] George Bodenheimer is one of my best friends and someone I greatly admire and respect. George and I have been talking about this project for 10 years. So some of that's natural. Target has been a company I have had the pleasure of doing business with since I was in Minnesota opening the Target Center. So some of this is just based on partnerships, relationships, friendships.

For others, [AEG executive vice president] Ted Tanner did a phenomenal job of going out and getting a wide mix of different restaurants, and unique ones: To have Trader Vic's down here, believe me, we were really aggressive in saying we will do what we have to do to get them into this mix here. We picked Wolfgang Puck because I wanted Wolfgang to cater the campus, and he is.

We essentially went out and found none of the 12 [restaurants] overlap. Yeah, there is some duplication, i.e. Katsuya has a couple of other locations in town, but this Katsuya here will be world class. Same with Fleming's and same with Yard House. We picked brands that ultimately will draw from the region, above and beyond the 20 million people a year that are just going to walk through the campus because they happen to be coming down for a convention or Staples or the Nokia Theatre.

Q: How do you make this part of Downtown so it doesn't end up fortress-like, like the Music Center. How do you get the community involved?

A: That's why, although we were heavily criticized, we pushed the neighborhood associations to go after bond money to fix the Figueroa Corridor. Now I'm going to give you some controversy: I know there are some people who think Grand Avenue is the most important avenue in Downtown, but that's not true. The Figueroa Corridor is the most important corridor, because it hooks up USC, which is one of the top 10 educational institutions in the country, and I think a huge part of the future of Southern California is that university. So you have this iconic educational campus here. And then on the other end of it you have that brand called Dodgers, and Dodger Stadium. And I think we have to hook the Central Business District up with the Convention Center and L.A. Live, with USC, with Dodger Stadium.

If we can fix the Figueroa Corridor, make it livable - trolley systems, better walkways, better lighting, better landscaping, better bus shelters, a better DASH system - then it makes Downtown livable. That's what we all have to concentrate on now: We need to set a goal of having 100,000 people live in and around Downtown Los Angeles in the next 20 years.

So the last thing we're going to do is make this a fortress. It is critical to us that every restaurant in Downtown Los Angeles, every hotel in Downtown Los Angeles, prosper, because it is going to take all of us combined as a village to be successful here. You can't have 8,000 visitors to E3 and live off of L.A. Live. We only have 1,000 hotel rooms. So we need for Downtown to prosper.

Q: In preparing for Staples, you had some pre-construction problems with the community. There was no opposition this time. What did you learn from building the arena and how was it applied here?

A: We formed coalitions before we went to the Council. So whether the neighborhood coalition we created, or affordable housing or labor, they're all our partners now.

We did a much better job of consensus instead of dictation; not dictation from our standpoint, but the politicians'. We weren't going to let the Council ultimately put covenants upon our entitlement process. We were going to go to them and have a process that was already positively impacted by us forming these partnerships.

So the neighborhood coalition, the Central City Association, certainly the unions, all played a huge role. And look, we still have our bumps in the road occasionally, but for the most part this has been a process that has been about partnership and a vision, not a leverage or dictation by the City Council, and I think it makes for a much better project if you get in front of it.

Q: Who's going to live in the Ritz-Carlton condos?

A: I can tell you who's going to be living there, because we have half of them sold. You're going to see businessmen who work Downtown. Some of them only work down here three or four days a week and then live in Newport Beach or Montecito or Santa Barbara. So they have a condo here because ultimately it's the most convenient and certainly a very nice way to live.

We have families whose kids go to USC that are buying condos for the families or the kids. We have people who commute into L.A. from New York or San Diego or San Francisco for business. You have people that work full time in Downtown Los Angeles, like me, that love the ease of having a place here.

You have Lakers fans, huge Lakers fans, that are spending, I don't know, a quarter of a million dollars a year on tickets, and they know this is just a fantastic way to enjoy the whole experience and never have to worry about traffic.

You have people in Mexico, South Korea, Japan, China, even as far away as Qatar, that have bought this to have as a second, third or fourth home. And then finally, what makes me most excited is young, urban professionals.

Q: They must be pretty successful urban professionals?

A: Yeah, but you know what? For a million dollars, which is what some of the condos start at, there are lawyers, investment bankers, even people who work here, that are young and successful but are single and look at this and say, "Look, I can walk everywhere now."

It's a good mix. That's what I like about these condos: We're not reliant on one classification or one kind of customer. We are very diverse in the kind of people who are buying here, and that makes us happy. In fact, we're right in the middle of closing one of the penthouse units for $9 million. We range in price from $1 million to $10 million and we're selling all levels of the condos.

Q: You've been working on this campus for more than a decade. As you look out there, what goes through your mind, knowing you're close to finishing it, and that within a year and a half you'll be done?

A: Well, because we're not done, nothing goes through my mind but staying after it. I've been getting up earlier and going home later. I'm part nerves, part fear and part determination, and zero joy right now.

Q: Really? No joy?

A: None. Not yet. We're not done yet. There will be a moment I'm sure where we can all take a step back and appreciate what we've done, but now is not the time to smell the roses, 'cause the roses have thorns and we should be cautious.We have work to do here.

That said, just me personally, it occurred to me the other day I have spent half of my adult life working on this, and so I think for Mr. Anschutz and Mr. Roski, and certainly for myself and the guys that have been here, like Ted Tanner, almost since day one, I am sure there will be a time we step back and begin to appreciate what 14 years of hard work and $2.5 billion worth of risk created here. And the fact that it's going to be successful, despite the economy, is a wonderful tribute, especially to Mr. Anschutz, who never blinked on this project. Never. That says something. This took guts.

USC Plans For the Future

University Preps for Expansion That Would Strengthen Ties to Downtown

by Anna Scott
LOS ANGELES DOWNTOWN NEWS

DOWNTOWN LOS ANGELES - The University of Southern California is in the early stage of creating a sweeping development plan that could bring millions of square feet of new housing, retail and other amenities to the southern end of the Figueroa Corridor. It would be a major step in strengthening the ties between the university and the heart of Downtown Los Angeles.

The proposed USC Specific Plan would pave the way for up to approximately 2.5 million square feet of new academic facilities, 350,000 square feet of retail and 2.1 million square feet of mostly student housing over the next 10-20 years. The plan targets 207 acres including the USC campus, a small area east of the 110 Freeway between Jefferson and Exposition boulevards, and the USC-owned University Village shopping center just north of campus, which the school plans to replace with housing.

It is too early to determine a budget, but enacting the plan would likely exceed the approximately $100 million per year that USC currently spends on capital improvements.

"We prepared a master plan, which lays out the university's needs for the next 20 years," said USC Director of Entitlements Brian League. "The Specific Plan is the way that, in partnership with the city, we can implement those needs."

The plan also addresses community needs beyond the university, calling for more public open space, pedestrian-friendly streets and community-serving retail in the neighborhoods surrounding USC.

Despite the expansion, the school does not plan to grow its student body, officials say.

Much of the new housing and retail, League said, will be concentrated on and around Figueroa Street. Two miles to the north, Figueroa has seen a wealth of development, including the $2.5 billion L.A. Live

"From the Coliseum to USC, the Con-vention Center, L.A. Live, eventually Grand Avenue and Dodger Stadium, you will basically be confronting what we consider the educational, cultural, entertainment and sports capital of the city of Los Angeles," said City Councilman Bernard Parks, whose Eighth District encompasses the university.

Thinking Big

With more than 33,000 students and an estimated $4 billion in annual economic impact, USC sits one block north of Exposition Park.

If approved by the City Council, the USC Specific Plan would allow USC to create new housing, school facilities and commercial space in an area bounded by Vermont Avenue to the west; Hoover Street to the east, north of Jefferson Boulevard; Flower Street to the east, south of Jefferson; 30th Street to the north; and Exposition Boulevard to the south.

A sort of generalized blueprint, the Specific Plan would give USC wide latitude in using its entitlements, and construction would unfold in phases over at least 10 years.

The first priority, League said, would be building more student housing.

Currently, many students live in a mishmash of apartment complexes and sub-divided single-family homes on the streets around campus. USC offers 6,000 beds and guarantees housing to first- and second-year undergraduates. The Specific Plan would aim to add another 5,400 beds, allowing USC to guarantee housing for all four undergraduate years.

The housing would also take pressure off the surrounding neighborhood, where residents have complained for years of being encroached on.

Yolanda Jones, president of the North Area Empowerment Congress, a neighborhood group, said that her organization would also push for ground-floor retail in the new residential developments.

"We would like to see fresh food options, not just fast food. Obviously we don't need more liquor stores," she said. "And we'd like to see things related to the median income of the community, not just the student income."

Ninth District Councilwoman Jan Perry, who represents part of the area around USC, most of Downtown and portions of South Los Angeles, said she is attuned to the community's concerns.

"I'd like to see it balance the need for more student housing and leverage the land we have left to develop in the area," she said of the Specific Plan, "making sure we create opportunities for people to have neighborhood needs met; places to eat, shop and get services."

Perry and Parks have asked the city Planning Department to create a development agreement with USC to ensure that its plans benefit the community. The agreement would add stipulations to the Specific Plan, such as a local hiring quota, green building standards and establishing preferential parking districts in residential areas.

Aside from prioritizing new student housing with commercial components, it is not clear yet how the Specific Plan will unfold.

The proposed 2.5 million square feet of academic facilities will depend largely on future advances beyond USC's control. For example, in recent years the school has added a new molecular biology facility to stay competitive in the research arena, and grown its cinema school in part to keep up with digital film technology.

The plan also would also entitle a hotel with up to 150 rooms, and a university-affiliated K-8 school. Yet those plans could change, and flexibility will be key, said League.

"We want to create a big enough basket of development, because come 2011, it's hard to predict the future," League said

Long Timeline

One project already under way that provides a glimpse of the future is Downtown-based developer Urban Partners' University Gateway.

On the southeast corner of Figueroa Street and Jefferson Boulevard, the $168 million project broke ground last May and, when it opens in the fall of 2010, will provide 421 apartments with 1,600 student beds. The complex's more than 80,000 square feet of retail space is still being negotiated, said Urban Partners CFO Matt Burton, but will appeal to students and non-students.

"It will include restaurants, a drug store concept that's a national retailer, and then a lot of it will just be your coffee shops, that kind of use," he said.

That project will start to extend the development energy from the campus north to Downtown. In the meantime, the Specific Plan still has several hurdles to clear.

Last Wednesday, the city hosted the second and final public meeting to gather community input before launching an environmental study of the plan. An Environmental Impact Report is expected to be complete by December and go to the City Council for approval in the summer of 2010. If approved, USC could then begin construction on projects under the Specific Plan.

It is not clear yet how long the entitlements granted under the Specific Plan will apply.

"We did our master plan through 2030, and we're looking to get as long an entitlement as we can," said League. "Ten years, we hope so. If we can get 20 years, all the better."