Loft and Found
Publish Date: 02/21/2005
Loft and Found
With 122 Developments, Downtown Is Abuzz in the North, South, East and West
by Chris Coates and Kathryn Maese
What was a murmur and then a buzz is now nothing less than a roar: Everywhere you look, and listen, is the sound of development in Downtown.
The former St. Vibiana's Cathedral will contain a residential element, along with a hotel and restaurant. Photo by Gary Leonard.
The happenings are literally in every corner of the community. In the north, near Chinatown, there is progress on the new Cornfield State Park, while South Park is witnessing ground-up condominium construction for the first time in decades. The Vista Hermosa school and public park is underway in City West, while more lofts are being developed in the east near the Los Angeles River and the Arts District.
The loudest sound comes from the thousands of construction workers who are continuing the adaptive reuse rush, turning defunct buildings into new lofts with state-of-the-art amenities. People are flocking into the Historic Core, into South Park, into the Financial District: The new catchphrase might as well be, wherever there's a building, there's a way to make it into housing.
All the evidence indicates that the momentum will continue. Rising players such as the South Group are announcing three-phase projects, following other multi-phase developments like Santee Court and South Village. There is also a burgeoning buying power: A recent survey revealed that half of the housing units being developed are for sale, and half are for rent. The study by the Downtown Center Business Improvement District also found that the median household income of residents in the new Downtown buildings is an amazing $90,000.
Need more proof? Just check out the following pages, where Los Angeles Downtown News details the latest updates on 122 projects. These developments are changing the present, and the future, of Downtown.
MIXED USE
BLOSSOM PLAZA
A groundbreaking is scheduled for next summer on the site of the former Little Joe's restaurant (it closed in 1998) at Alameda and College streets; the property will be turned into a mixed-use complex known as Blossom Plaza. The development is a collaboration between the city and private developers. The city purchased the plot for $4.7 million from owners Laeroc Partners and Bond Companies. Plans call for a parking garage, as well as a pedestrian bridge linking the adjacent Chinatown Gold Line station to Broadway. Construction on the parking garage is set to begin by mid-2005 and last a year. Laeroc and Bond retained the air rights to build on top of the garage. Larry Bond, who heads Bond Companies, said the housing will be compatible with Chinatown's design. Construction will last about two years, he said.
CAPITOL MILLING BUILDING
Steve Riboli and his family are reworking plans to renovate the 60,000-square-foot Capitol Milling Company building into a mix of residential and commercial spaces. Riboli said the project at 1231 N. Spring St. is in the conceptual stage, although plans call for converting the building into mixed-use with add-on elements. He is meeting with the city this month to discuss the proposal. Riboli said he is working with Larry Bond, who is developing the nearby multi-million dollar mixed-use Blossom Plaza, on creating a public space that would fuse the two sites. Riboli said he would not begin construction until Blossom Plaza is completed. The structure, built in 1831, is a former grain mill and silo. The Riboli family also owns the San Antonio Winery north of Chinatown.
GRAND AVENUE PLAN
The development team headed by New York-based Related Companies is conducting the final round of community meetings on preliminary plans for the Grand Avenue redevelopment project. The Related team was selected to implement a $1.2 billion plan to reinvent a strip of Grand Avenue - from Cesar Chavez on the north to the Richard J. Riordon Central Library at Fifth Street on the south - into promenades, high-rise apartments, hotels, offices, clubs and cafes. The developers are scheduled to present a preliminary proposal for the project next month. The team's architects include David Childs, who designed the proposed Freedom Tower on the site of the World Trade Center in New York, and Thom Mayne of Morphosis, who designed the new Caltrans headquarters on First Street. A concept released last year by a Joint Powers Authority established by the Community Redevelopment Agency and the County Board of Supervisors calls for the development of 3 million square feet of space - mainly two county-owned parcels and two city-owned.
MEDALLION
Developers Saeed Farkhondehpour and Morad Neman hope to break ground as early as June on the $125 million, 207,000-square-foot mixed-use project at Fourth and Main streets in the Historic Core. Farkhondehpour said the developers have met with city officials to iron out a plan for the project, which includes 375 market-rate rental units and 200,000 square feet of retail space in two 11-story towers. One would rise on the northeast corner of Fourth and Main, across the street from Pete's Café and Bar, and the other at Third and Main. The developer said the units would average 850 square feet, with 11-foot ceilings. He estimated that rents could range from $2 to $3 per square foot. The complex would include three commercial structures, ranging from two to three stories. Farkhondehpour said about 25 housing units fronting Main and Los Angeles streets would be scattered on the upper floors. The project would also include a two-acre courtyard and park. M2A Architects and Leo A Daly are the architects. Farkhondehpour said the aim is for construction to wrap in 2007.
METROPOLIS
Plans for a mixed-use project on a 6.3-acre plot bounded by Ninth and Francisco streets and the 110 (Harbor) Freeway have been submitted to the city, said John Vallance, executive vice president of City Centre Development Company. Phase one of the construction process includes a 53-story building with 548 apartments and 25,000 square feet of retail. Phase two calls for a 47-story structure with 288 apartments, a 480-room hotel and 10,000 square feet of retail. The third phase envisions a 38-story tower with more than 893,000 square feet of office space, 11,000 square feet of retail and a 95,000-square-foot space for a cultural institution. The project originally had a larger office component and retail elements, but was downsized after negotiations with the Community Redevelopment Agency in favor of more residential units, Vallance said. The developers, who have been working on various forms of the project for more than a decade, hope to start construction in the first quarter of 2006.
SANTEE COURT
Construction started in January on the second phase of Santee Court, a $130 million conversion of nine former garment factories in the Fashion District. Crews last month started demolishing the interiors of the Textile Center Building at 315 E. Eighth St. and the Gray Building at 824 S. Los Angeles St. to make way for 299 apartments and 30,000 square feet of retail, said developer Mark Weinstein of Santa Monica-based MJW Investments. Construction should wrap in December. The three-phase mixed-use and mixed-income project will eventually add 578 units to three blocks bounded by Los Angeles, Seventh and Ninth streets and Maple Avenue. The first portion, with 165 units, opened in May. Rite Aid opened a store in the 12,000-square-foot ground floor space and Weinstein said about 85% of the food court vendors have been secured. Construction on the final 80-condominium phase should start in March, with construction scheduled to wrap in September 2006. The entire project includes about 780,000 square feet of live-work lofts, shops and restaurants, with such amenities as a basketball court and a golf driving range. MJW Investments has secured a 70-year lease allowing it to build a parking structure on Maple for Santee Court tenants. The lot would also serve as a staging area for MTA buses.
SOUTH VILLAGE/RALPHS
CIM Group is building a $220 million, 7.2-acre, multi-block project that will contain 1,200 residential units and a 50,000-square-foot Ralphs grocery store. The first phase, the 251-unit Gas Company Lofts at 800, 810 and 820 S. Flower St., opened last year. Work on the $60 million second phase is set to get underway this month; it was delayed late last year by soaring construction costs. CIM has since redesigned the housing component planned atop the supermarket. Previously set to become rental units, the project will now hold 267 condominiums. The phase will be completed in December 2006. The Lee Group will take over as the housing developer, while CIM will oversee financing and the development of 10,000 square feet of retail along Ninth Street.
Phase 3, estimated at $21 million, would develop 152 rental lofts and 25,000 square feet of retail on the southwest corner of Eighth and Hope streets. Phase 4, estimated at $90 million, would develop sites that flank the supermarket on the northwest corner of Ninth and Flower, as well as a vacant parcel on the northeast corner of that block. Two new buildings would be constructed with 520 for-sale condominiums and another 30,000 square feet of retail.
page 13, 2/21/2005
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