DOWNTOWN | Development News

[slipperydog]

Originally Posted by Mojeda101

Well the Occupy LA protests were on the other side of the street =P

As long as those neanderthals keep off the grass and pick up their s*** when they get tired of being unemployed...I'm all good


(with all due respect to any protesters on here)

[PinkFloyd]

Who needs Fox News when you got slipperydog

[Mojeda101]

Originally Posted by slipperydog

As long as those neanderthals keep off the grass and pick up their s*** when they get tired of being unemployed...I'm all good


(with all due respect to any protesters on here)

I went to take a look around the day of the removal and boy did it smell. Shame that civic park might end up being the new camp ground.

[pesto]

Protest is just part of democracy in big cities. But it's self-regulating: the ones with coherent messages and who clean-up after themselves, win new adherents. The others become jokes.

[klamedia]

Occupiers meant well. But it's hard to have a coherent message when your Tea Party parents are still supporting you.

[milquetoast]

PROPERTY SALE CLEARS PATH FOR MAJOR APARTMENT PROJECT

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ASTANI

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A long-vacant site in the heart of downtown Los Angeles has been sold to investors who are expected to start work within two months on one of the largest new apartment buildings to be built in the region since the economic downturn.

The seller was Beverly Hills developer Sonny Astani, who secured city approval to build a 700-unit, steel and glass apartment building with a rooftop pool on nearly a full city block. It would include enough ground floor retail space for a grocery store and almost an acre of open space.

The development would cost $300 million to build and house about 1,000 residents on what is now a three-acre parking lot on 8th Street flanked by Grand Avenue and Olive Street. The existing buildings on the block are early 20th-century office structures, facing 7th Street, including the Brockman Lofts.

A 40-foot pool on the roof of the eighth floor surrounded by cabanas, a lounge and barbecues would be the centerpiece of the development, said Astani, who won’t be involved in building the project. "It was a complicated structural engineering process to design it," he said of the large pool.

Astani sold the entitled land to a Colorado limited liability corporation called CPIVG8 for $63 million. At $500 per square foot, it was one of the most expensive land deals ever in downtown L.A., Astani said.

With vacancy falling and rents rising in much of Southern California, however, apartments are considered a choice investment among many institutional and individual investors.

"Downtown is a great center for job growth and the multifamily market has stayed vibrant through the downturn," real estate broker Bradford McCarthy of CBRE Group Inc. said.

Astani built the $260-million Concerto, a 30-story condominium tower a few blocks away at 9th and Figueroa streets. He sold his interest in the property in 2011 after a complex legal battle with hedge fund Starwood Group after federal regulators seized control of Astani's lender.

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ROGER VINCENT

LOSANGELESTIMES

[Mojeda101]

LA, say bye to another parking lot!

[pesto]

Hope it's really happening. That's a substantial sized lot biting the dust. How many stories in the latest version?

[soup or man]

7 stories. While that might seem like a lot, this is going to be a very large building.

[pesto]

Originally Posted by soup or man

7 stories. While that might seem like a lot, this is going to be a very large building.

That's what I was afraid of when I saw the rooftop pool was on the 8th floor. I would like to see higher, but you are right that this is a large lot and this gets rid of it completely.

[klamedia]

Keep it coming!!

[112597Jorge]

New Empire hotel set to open in Downtown LA

Historic Trinity Auditorium to Become “Empire Hotel” in Downtown LA

Posted on June 24, 2012 by Brigham Yen | 1 Comment
Trinity Auditorium to become the Empire Hotel in South Park Downtown LA

Back in December last year, there was speculation swirling that the Chetrit Group-owned Trinity Auditorium — a beautiful Beaux-Arts structure built in 1914 located at 9th and Grand Ave — would become a second King & Grove operated hotel. In case you missed it, we found out earlier that month that King & Grove would operate the Hotel Clark near 4th and Hill (also owned by Chetrit Group). Now, thanks to readers Rob DeFrancesco and Cara who both sent me a Notice of Public Hearing they received in the mail (as DTLA residents), more details have been revealed about the Trinity Auditorium hotel project, including its new confirmed name: Empire Hotel.

Brighamyen.com

[pesto]

thanks Jorge; this is good news, but a couple of comments.

The lack of any time-line is troubling. I hope this is more than a PR announcement.

You would think that you could do a decent restaurant experience without the wall. It's not like there aren't outdoors restaurants all over LA right on the street. Removable walls of some kind would help out the look from the street without limiting the ability of control weather issues.

I'm curious to see what they have planeed for the auditorium. It could be a dancing venue on weekends or kept for private parties. Maybe both.

[soup or man]

It'll be a while before renovation will truly begin (there have been a few workers that have been chipping away at things for a while now) and I wouldn't doubt that the design of the pool will change a bit. Maybe a pool hanging over the restaurant maybe?

[Fight On Archies!]

Stopped by Fig@7th today and snapped some pics! The aerial shot was taken by a buddy of mine that works at the adjacent 777 Tower.

image hosted on flickr

IMG_7266 by citru22, on Flickr
image hosted on flickr

IMG_7161 by citru22, on Flickr

image hosted on flickr

IMG_7165 by citru22, on Flickr

[pesto]

Thanks for the post. My worry here is that it is not exactly on the street and too much in a hole. But it does look a bit more open than the last iteration. Hoping for the best.

[croyboy]

hopefully the canopy and immediate escalator entrance gains people's attention

[pwright1]

image hosted on flickr


image hosted on flickr


image hosted on flickr


image hosted on flickr


image hosted on flickr


image hosted on flickr


image hosted on flickr


Sorry for the darkness of these
image hosted on flickr


image hosted on flickr


image hosted on flickr


That fountain is so cool.
image hosted on flickr


image hosted on flickr


image hosted on flickr

[justinong]

That does look very nice, hopefully it will bring more foot traffic and activity to the civic center area like shown. The fountain alone would triple the activity around civic center

[Mojeda101]

I can confirm on the opening day, there was a ton of people not only in the park, but on the streets! All over the place the streets seemed more alive than usual and I think this park will bring a ton of people around the Civic area. Here are my shots.

*Note: Massive wall of pictures*

Just came back from my visit from downtown and I took plenty of pictures! Grand Park was fantastic. Exceeded by expectations. I had no idea it'd be so crowded. The community pool was a great touch. Seeing all the kids play with the parents chilling in the shade drinking a coffee. So many different types of plants too! I can't imagine how it's going to look like when all the plants grow. I was told that the park doesn't extend all the way to Hope St, but a lot of pedestrians that were there to see the park actually crossed the street to see that fountain too, it felt like park of Grand Park if you ask me.

While I was in the area I walked down to The Broad and decent progress has been made. I'm curious when they will begin on the residential towers, but LA can wait, it always has. Due to the position of the building, I couldn't get a good shot and I never got the chance to cross the street and take one for that particular angle like Colemonkee.

Anyways, I also took a trip to go see how the Courtyard Marriott was doing and they've made a ton of progress since yesterday! A lot of cement was added and more steel is rising. It's finally above ground level! I went to go eat in the Ritz and the waiter told me it would be just a tad bit taller than the 26 story wing of the Ritz even if being 3 stories short of 26. I have no idea how he had this information but it's a start.

I swung by the Wilshire building to see if any visual changes have been made. I took a peak inside the lobby and a lot of the textures and carpet have been stripped. I also noticed the top floor was missing curtains and it was darker than the other floors. Unfortunately, I couldn't get a good shot.

I then swung by LA Live. They added a few new monitors in the area. It's starting to become a time square look alike! The center was blocked off, and I noticed a few labor workers working on the floor tiles, I have no idea what they were doing. Anyone have word on this?

Well that was my trip, enjoy the pictures!

Grand Park























































Courtyard Marriott












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