The Grand (Phase 1)| 19 fl | Under Construction

[soup or man]

.....

Ferney, I'm not going to say anything as I just had Cold Stone and am in a pretty good mood. No smart remarks for you.

My only complaint is that it doesn't seem too pedistrian friendly. Mabye it's because of Gehry's use of blocks but I'm guessing that the bottom will liven up a lot upon completion.

[Fern~Fern*]

Originally Posted by Threehundred

.....

Ferney, I'm not going to say anything as I just had Cold Stone and am in a pretty good mood. No smart remarks for you.

^ Woohoo! So ice cream and sex keeps you happy!!!!

[Westsidelife]

Council Planning Committee Approves Grand Ave Tracts

I'm almost to the point where I'm not going to mention the Grand Avenue Project until there's a groundbreaking date to report, but I thought it worth noting the Times' report that the City Council's Planning Committee approved tract maps for the project and rejected the Bonaventure's appeal.

"Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa has been trying to strike a deal with Bonaventure owner Peter Zen that would head off a time-consuming legal battle over the project. Zen issued a similar legal threat two years ago when the city offered tax breaks to L.A. Live, another hotel mega-project being built near Staples Center.

In that case, Villaraigosa reached an agreement that allowed Zen to convert some of his hotel rooms into condominiums if vacancy rates reached a certain threshold."

It sounds like Peter Zen may have been taking lessons from Conquest (or perhaps the other way around?). In less pleasant news, groundbreaking has been pushed back to December.

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Source: blogdowntown

[jjyspankey]

I know I'm probably thinking too ahead here, but anyone have any input for phase 2 and 3, or if It will ever be done.

[Westsidelife]

My patience is running out. I know it'll take 3 years for this thing to be completed, but I'll feel A LOT better once this thing is officially underway.

[redspork02]

Originally Posted by Westsidelife

My patience is running out. I know it'll take 3 years for this thing to be completed, but I'll feel A LOT better once this thing is officially underway.

Will this be LA's similar version of Millenium Park??

[VZN]

Originally Posted by redspork02

Will this be LA's similar version of Millenium Park??

Some people are comparing it to even the Champs Elysees or Central Park. Which shouldn't be compared to those 2 IMHO, as Grand Avenue Park should be compared to well... Grand Avenue Park. It's nothing like anything else.

I like this rendering...

[TICONLA1]

Is there a final plan for the Grand ave. park, or is it still in the planning stage, i have not seen anything recent on it.??

[GilbyDM101]

Originally Posted by VZN

Some people are comparing it to even the Champs Elysees or Central Park. Which shouldn't be compared to those 2 IMHO, as Grand Avenue Park should be compared to wel... Grand Avenue Park. It's nothing like anything else.

I like this rendering...

If I'm not mistaken, That picture was first shown in an LA Times article around 7 years ago or so. It is because of that very picture that I became interested/involved in urban issues!

[redspork02]

Originally Posted by VZN

Some people are comparing it to even the Champs Elysees or Central Park. Which shouldn't be compared to those 2 IMHO, as Grand Avenue Park should be compared to well... Grand Avenue Park. It's nothing like anything else.

I like this rendering...

Not a visual comparison, but a tourist spot that a couple visiting LA will stop by and stroll alomg the paths, take pics of themselves and city hall behind them!! and show there friends back in Ohio there wonderfull time in LA with a beutiful monument behind them in pics!! or a Frank Gehry designed Scraper!!
In that kind of way????!!!!

[VZN]

Originally Posted by redspork02

Not a visual comparison, but a tourist spot that a couple visiting LA will stop by and stroll alomg the paths, take pics of themselves and city hall behind them!! and show there friends back in Ohio there wonderfull time in LA with a beutiful monument behind them in pics!! or a Frank Gehry designed Scraper!!
In that kind of way????!!!!

Yup, in that way. It's pretty much a brand new reason to explore and visit the area around City Hall. I can't wait for the next 2 phases to go through.

[CITYofDREAMS]

Do we know when the park will be completed?

[VZN]

Originally Posted by CITYofDREAMS

Do we know when the park will be completed?

I had emailed Susanne Kerenyi on the Grand Avenue Committee and she gave me a date of July of 2011. We still have 4 more years to go, but at least it'll be at the turn of the decade.

[CITYofDREAMS]

For some reason I thought this was the first part of the project to be completed... or is it?

[ArchiTennis]

Here's some good news (sorta'):

Grand Avenue project EIR, zone changes win approval
BY RICK ORLOV, Staff Writer
Article Last Updated: 09/19/2007 09:44:37 PM PDT


Clearing the final hurdle for construction to start, the Los Angeles City Council on Wednesday routinely approved an environmental report and zone changes for the $2.5 billion Grand Avenue redevelopment project.

"As long as I've been in Los Angeles, people have been talking about how there is no heart to downtown, no center," said Councilwoman Jan Perry, who represents the area where the project is to be built.

"This will change all that. This will be a redefinition of downtown and I want us to do it right."

Perry said the project is expected to create thousands of well-paying jobs.

"There was a time when we had people in these jobs who were able to afford to live in Los Angeles," Perry said. "That's what we want to create again. And I am also hopeful about bringing in a mix of housing where we have people of all different incomes living here."

Plans call for the Frank Gehry-designed project on the site across from the Walt Disney Concert Hall to become a massive commercial-residential complex that includes a four-star hotel.

The city is contributing to the project by waiving $60.5 million in future hotel-bed taxes as well as kicking in $5.5 million in parking taxes. The city's Community Redevelopment Agency has pledged $24 million and the county is contributing $4.6 million.
The city and county also will provide other investments totaling $29 million, including $10 million for affordable housing, $12 million for on-site public improvements, $5 million for off-site improvements and $2 million for street improvements.

A 16-acre park is planned between City Hall and Grand Avenue as part of the project, which also includes more than 2,600 residential units.

Plans also call for a 50-story glass tower that would contain the hotel, 250 condominiums, a rooftop pool, a bar and a spa. Also included are plans for open-terraced restaurants and a garden-like atmosphere featuring outdoor art.

The project was first conceived by billionaire Eli Broad, who wanted to see a Los Angeles version of New York's Central Park.

In 2003, the city and county created a joint-powers authority to develop the final plans, which have doubled in cost since the original estimates. The only major objection to the project has been from the owners of the Bonaventure Hotel, who have argued that the bed-tax waiver gives the proposed hotel a competitive advantage.

Perry said the next step for the project will be to prepare final plans. Work is scheduled to begin on the site later this year.

rick.orlov@dailynews.com

(213) 978-0390


I don't like that last part..."the next step for the project will be to prepare final plans."?!?!?! wtf? it's supposed to start construction by the end of the year and there still aren't final plans? What are they waiting for?

[milquetoast]

Originally Posted by tennisguyinHtown

The project was first conceived by billionaire Eli Broad, who wanted to see a Los Angeles version of New York's Central Park.

As much as I respect Eli's devotion to this city, a 16 acre park does not compare to an 800 acre one. Please don't say this, and I still say that the county structures on either side should be razed and rebuilt as towers that would frame City Hall from the vantage point of the fountain at the Music Center. God, I wish I were king.

[milquetoast]

Originally Posted by tennisguyinHtown

The project was first conceived by billionaire Eli Broad, who wanted to see a Los Angeles version of New York's Central Park.

As much as I respect Eli's devotion to this city, a 16 acre park does not compare to an 800 acre one. Please don't say this, and I still say that the county structures on either side should be razed and rebuilt as towers that would frame City Hall from the vantage point of the fountain at the music center. Towers erected on Hill at the corners of Temple and Tom Bradley would frame the City Hall as well as free up space and provide unobstructed sight lines from my proposed fountain/skating rink of the Gehry project, The Disney and the rest of the Music Center as well as the Cathedral. God, I wish I were king.

[TICONLA1]

Final plans, IE working drawings, or actual construction drawings, usually site and excavation plans, finished drawings for the towers will still be going on after excavation has begun.

[klamedia]

Originally Posted by milquetoast

As much as I respect Eli's devotion to this city, a 16 acre park does not compare to an 800 acre one. :

What 800 acre park are you talking about?

[Westsidelife]

Originally Posted by milquetoast

Please don't say this, and I still say that the county structures on either side should be razed and rebuilt as towers that would frame City Hall from the vantage point of the fountain at the music center.

I'd much rather have more park space instead.