Monthly Archives: June 2011

More Companies Relocating to Downtown LA

Posted on June 29, 2011 by | 2 Comments

Insurance giant Zurich as well as global architect firm Gensler are two major companies that have relocated to Downtown LA from other Southern California sub-markets (Photo: Brigham Yen)

In yet another sign of Downtown LA’s ongoing resurgence, companies once apt to locate their regional headquarters in outlying satellite cities are moving back to the city center. Attracted by new amenities and entertainment options in the area not to mention its accessibility by mass transit, companies are ditching the office park in favor of iconic high-rises in the downtown core.

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Posted in downtown los angeles, economic development, environmentally green, guest writer, mass transportation, restaurants, smart growth

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Brigham Yen Appointed to Pasadena Transportation Advisory Commission

Posted on June 28, 2011 by | 19 Comments

Me taking an oath at the City Clerk's office (Mark Jomsky) at Pasadena City Hall as I am appointed to the Transportation Advisory Commission (Photo: Ann Erdman)

Today was a great day for me as a transit advocate. I was formally appointed onto the 9-member Transportation Advisory Commission (TAC) for the City of Pasadena. (See me taking oath in the picture above.) Councilwoman Jacque Robinson (District 1) nominated me for her district and I was chosen to serve for 3 years on TAC where we will advise the City Council concerning policies that affect Pasadena’s transportation system. I am honored and I look forward to helping my community become more walkable, bike friendly, and transit oriented.

A closer look at my T-shirt:

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Posted in bicycle oriented, environmentally green, mass transportation, pedestrian oriented, smart growth

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The Met Apartments Get New Paint Job in Downtown LA

Posted on June 27, 2011 by | 6 Comments

The Met apartment high-rise on Flower Street is getting a much needed new paint job

The Met in South Park–a 14-story apartment high-rise built in 1989 and owned by Forest City–is finally getting a very welcomed new paint job after sitting many years of having been painted from a previous time with a tacky combination of bright yellow, purple, orange, and green! Whenever I walked by this building, I would always cringe because the colors just reminded me of some giant mutant kindergartener who got lose in the city (think a cuter version of Godzilla) and went a little too “crayon happy” with this poor victimized apartment building.

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Posted in architecture, downtown los angeles

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Buzz Wine Beer Shop Now Open in Downtown LA

Posted on June 26, 2011 by | 7 Comments

Buzz grand opening on Monday, June 27, 2011 in Downtown LA

Buzz Wine Beer Shop will have its grand opening tomorrow (Monday, June 27), located at 5th/Spring in the heart of the Historic Core in Downtown Los Angeles. According to their website, Buzz will carry “4,000 bottles of the World’s most unique red-white-pink-bubbles; 100 bottles of the World’s best beer; 200 types of the top rated beers by the keg; and the best sake and shochu from Japan.”

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Posted in downtown los angeles, food, retail

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More Frequent Gold Line Service Starting Monday, June 27, 2011 (Downtown LA ↔ Pasadena)

Posted on June 24, 2011 by | 8 Comments

Shorter waits at stations along the Gold Line as Metro adds more frequent rush-hour service starting this coming Monday to cater to the growing ridership

Great news for those who commute to Downtown Los Angeles and beyond using the Gold Line. According to The Source Metro (L.A. MTA’s official transit blog), starting Monday, June 27, 2011, more trains will be added to service the growing ridership on the Gold Line, which has seen an 11% ridership increase since last year. “​May [2011] ridership levels on the Metro Gold Line reached 36,623 average weekday boardings, an increase over May 2010 ridership of 32,434.”

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Posted in downtown los angeles, environmentally green, mass transportation, pedestrian oriented

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New Blair Middle School Now Completed in Pasadena

Posted on June 24, 2011 by | 7 Comments

The brand new Blair Middle School in Pasadena

The new Blair Middle School, which is actually directly across the street from Blair High School near Glenarm and Marengo in Pasadena, is now completed and will start school in the fall. I first covered the gkkworks-designed school under construction back in May 2010 and it has risen steadily since then. The new ground-up school was funded by Measure TT funds that was passed by Pasadena voters back in 2008 to pay for new schools.

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Posted in architecture, education, environmentally green

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LAX Getting LA-Based Restaurants in Updated Terminals

Posted on June 22, 2011 by | 7 Comments

Cole's, among other LA-based restaurants, coming to LAX (Photo: LA Times)

Just a few days ago, I wrote about LAX getting a major face-lift by adding a brand new international terminal and an exciting new rail connection coming within the next few years. The good news doesn’t stop there as new LA-based restaurants, like Cole’s and Pinks (LA institutions basically) among many others, have been approved by the LA City Council for the concession contract, according to LA Times Daily Dish.

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Posted in food, mass transportation, restaurants

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New 7-Eleven Opening Soon in Financial District in Downtown LA

Posted on June 21, 2011 by | 6 Comments

A new 7-Eleven convenience store is opening in Downtown LA's Financial District

Thanks to downtown resident Fred Camino for alerting me to the new store signs that just went up this past week for the new urban 7-Eleven that will be opening on 7th Street (between Flower and Figueroa) in the heart of the Financial District in Downtown LA. The newest 7-Eleven will open on the ground floor of the 12-story historic Barker Brothers Furniture Showroom building (from 1923).

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Posted in downtown los angeles, food, retail

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New 3-Story Mixed-Use Project Proposed for Old Pasadena

Posted on June 21, 2011 by | 14 Comments

A new 3-story mixed-use project is proposed for the NW corner of Fair Oaks and Green Street in Old Pasadena (Photo: Gonzalez Goodale Architects)

Could another ugly surface parking lot (aka “deadzone”) bite the dust in Old Pasadena? That’s the question for a parking lot on the NW corner of Fair Oaks and Green St with a possible affirmative answer if a new 3-story mixed-use project gets approved and financing is secured. According to Pasadena Senior Planner, Mark Odell, the Design Commission will hold a public hearing on this project next week on Monday, June 27, 2011.

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Posted in mixed-use development, pedestrian oriented, smart growth

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Construction Update on Civic Center Improvement Project in Pasadena

Posted on June 21, 2011 by | 1 Comment

New brick sidewalks installed on Garfield by the post office

It’s been about 5 months of construction since the Civic Center Improvement Project began in Pasadena. Since then, many aesthetic upgrades–new brick sidewalks and new landscaping for example–have been implemented that have really made a dramatic difference in both the way the Civic Center looks and how it will interact with the surrounding neighborhoods as it pertains to pedestrians. I am very excited to see how all these improvements will turn out after they are all completed sometime later this summer.

Check out some of the improvements below.

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Posted in pedestrian oriented, public spaces

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