Category Archives: mixed-use development

Rumor Mill: Hilton Buying Downtown LA Parking Lot for Future South Park Hotel

Posted on May 14, 2013 by | 12 Comments
A surface parking lot at the SE corner of Olympic and Grand is currently in escrow with the purported buyer being Hilton Hotels

A surface parking lot in South Park at the SE corner of Olympic and Grand is currently in escrow with the purported buyer being Hilton Hotels

An ugly surface parking lot at the SE corner of Olympic and Grand, adjacent to the infamous and now defunct Crash Mansion night club, may have a much brighter future ahead reborn as a potential mixed-use hotel development, improving and activating this anti-pedestrian intersection. Several sources have informed me that the 58,000 square foot lot is currently in escrow and point specifically to Hilton as the purported buyer. The South Park site, located a stone’s throw from LA Live/Staples Center, is definitely hot on the hotel industry radar. In fact, at one point, even Four Seasons was apparently kicking the tires a bit.

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Posted in downtown los angeles, hotels, mixed-use development, real estate, south park

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1889 Victorian Pershing Hotel Begins Construction on 69 Affordable Units in Downtown LA

Posted on May 13, 2013 by | 4 Comments
The Pershing Hotel begins construction, turning this priceless 1889 Victorian beauty into 69 affordable housing units at 5th and Main in the Historic Core (Photo: Killefer Flammang Architects)

The Pershing Hotel begins construction this week turning this priceless 1889 Victorian beauty into 69 affordable housing units at 5th and Main in the Historic Core (Photo: Killefer Flammang Architects)

Late last week, the LA Times reported that one of Downtown LA’s most beautiful examples of Victorian architecture (the kind we usually associate with San Francisco with those lovely bay windows and ornate facade details) will be receiving some major positive upgrades. Located at 5th and Main, the Victorian beauty known as the Pershing Hotel that was built in 1889 by real estate developer Charles Charnock, will be converted to 69 units of affordable housing for the homeless or very low income population and will be called the New Pershing Apartments. The $15 million project will be designed by Killefer Flammang Architects and take about one year to complete.

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Posted in architecture, downtown los angeles, historic core, mixed-use development, real estate

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Rumor Mill: Is Whole Foods Coming to 8th & Grand in Downtown LA?

Posted on March 25, 2013 by | 34 Comments
Rumor has it that Whole Foods is looking at opening in the new 8th and Grand project (Photo: Carmel Partners)

Rumor has it that Whole Foods is looking at opening in the new 8th and Grand project (Photo: Carmel Partners)

What do we want more of in Downtown LA? More grocery stores of course. The growing residential population downtown has been clamoring for more grocery options (even though we really do love our Ralphs Fresh Fare!). A source working closely with Whole Foods has confirmed to me in an email that the Austin, Texas-based supermarket chain “is looking at a number of sites” in Downtown LA.

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Posted in downtown los angeles, environmentally green, financial district, food, mixed-use development, real estate, retail

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Construction Watch: “One Santa Fe” Mixed-Use to Bring 438 Apartments to Arts District in Downtown LA

Posted on March 17, 2013 by | 33 Comments
The One Santa Fe mixed-use project will bring 438 new apartments for rent along with almost 80,000 square feet of dining, retail, and possibly a new grocery store

The One Santa Fe mega mixed-use project will bring 438 new apartments for rent along with almost 80,000 square feet of dining, retail, and possibly a new grocery store to the burgeoning Arts District in Downtown LA

As the Arts District in Downtown LA continues to grow with the addition of more dining and retail — Stumptown Coffee, Eat.Drink.Americano, Poketo, and Apolis: Common Gallery to name a few — the next exciting game changer on the horizon that will have the single largest impact on the burgeoning urban neighborhood is the $160 million One Santa Fe mixed-use project being developed by three entities forming “One Santa Fe PMC, LLC” (“PMC” includes Polis Builders/Nick Patsaouras, The McGregor Company/Bill McGregor and Cowley Real Estate Partners/Chuck Cowley) with two financial partners (Goldman Sachs and Canyon-Johnson Urban Fund).

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Posted in architecture, arts district, downtown los angeles, economic development, mass transportation, mixed-use development, office, parks, pedestrian oriented, public spaces, real estate, restaurants, retail, smart growth

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TCA Architects Help Design the New Urban Neighborhoods of Downtown LA

Posted on March 11, 2013 by | 37 Comments
Hanover Mixed Use Project in Downtown LA

(CLICK TO ENLARGE) A new 7-story mixed-use project with 287 market rate units, designed by TCA and developed by Hanover, will rise at the NW corner of Olympic and Hill in Downtown LA (Photo: TCA)

Earlier this year, I had the pleasure of meeting Thomas P. Cox who is the CEO of TCA Architects (formerly Thomas P. Cox Architects, Inc.). I met him and his colleagues at their Downtown LA corporate office located on the 10th floor of the Chase Plaza tower with stunning skyline views of Downtown LA. It was the perfect setting and vantage point to sit down and talk about how TCA views urbanism and the future of Downtown LA, and more importantly, how have they been directly involved with the revitalization process.

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Posted in architecture, downtown los angeles, economic development, little tokyo, mixed-use development, pedestrian oriented, real estate, smart growth, south park

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Now Renting: 1111 Wilshire Brings 210-Units to Downtown LA City West Neighborhood

Posted on February 27, 2013 by | 25 Comments
The new 210-unit Eleven Eleven Wilshire in City West has completed construction and expects the first residents to move in next month

The new 210-unit Eleven Eleven Wilshire in City West has completed construction and expects the first residents to move in next month

Last summer, we saw that construction was humming along nicely for the newest mixed-use project rising in City West, which is an urban neighborhood of Downtown LA just west of the Financial District over the 110 freeway (the landmark 1100 Wilshire tower resides in City West as well). The seven story apartment rental building with ground floor retail developed by Holland Partners, named simply after its address “Eleven Eleven Wilshire” (aka 1111 Wilshire), is about 95% complete and is waiting to receive their TCO (Temporary Certificate of Occupancy) from the city soon before their first residential occupants can begin moving in hopefully by March 2013.

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Posted in city west, downtown los angeles, mixed-use development, pedestrian oriented, real estate, smart growth

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New 6th Street Courtyard Coming to PacMutual Building in Downtown LA

Posted on February 24, 2013 by | 15 Comments
An artist rendering of what the new courtyard will look like when the Verizon section is removed from the PacMutual Building along 6th Street (Photo: Rising Realty Partner)

An artist rendering of what the new courtyard may look like when the “Verizon section” is removed from the PacMutual Building along 6th Street (Photo: Rising Realty Partners)

Earlier this month DTLA Rising broke the news that popular health-conscious eatery Tender Greens is officially coming to Downtown LA later this year, opening a 3,300 SF location at the PacMutual Building by Pershing Square, which was purchased last April 2012 by urban-minded developers Rising Realty Partners. But the exciting news doesn’t stop there. A new courtyard will be “carved out” of the PacMutual Building fronting 6th Street that will complement the arrival of Tender Greens by allowing for expanded outdoor patio dining. The proposed courtyard really isn’t “new” to be exact but is actually just restoring what was originally there: a historic courtyard created when the PacMutual Building expanded early on in the building’s history.

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Posted in architecture, downtown los angeles, financial district, food, mixed-use development, pedestrian oriented, pershing square, restaurants

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Breaking News: Downtown LA’s New Landmark Tower, Wilshire Grand, to Become West Coast’s Tallest

Posted on February 7, 2013 by | 52 Comments
A rendering of the Wilshire Grand Tower that will rise at 7th and Figueroa in Downtown LA's Financial District with a height of 1,100 feet tall to the spire (Photo: AC Martin)

A rendering of the Wilshire Grand Tower that will rise at 7th and Figueroa in Downtown LA’s Financial District with a height of 1,100 feet tall to the spire (Photo: AC Martin)

Los Angeles, feast your eyes on the new finalized rendering of Wilshire Grand Tower from AC Martin that will rise prominently in Downtown LA’s burgeoning Financial District. So prominent, in fact, that the new “billion dollar tower” will surpass LA’s current tallest skyscraper — Library Tower (aka US Bank Tower) at 1,018 feet — as the new tallest on the West Coast (taller than any other structure west of Chicago). At 73 floors and 1,100 feet tall including the spire, which counts toward the building’s official height according to the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat, the new Wilshire Grand Tower will be a substantial addition to the LA skyline, reorienting the visual weight currently centered around the Library Tower toward this new gleaming structure to the southwest. The tower will be capped by an iconic sail-shaped architectural feature that will be illuminated with LED lighting at night (a common sight in Asia’s flagship cities like Shanghai).

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Posted in architecture, downtown los angeles, economic development, financial district, hotels, mixed-use development, office, real estate, smart growth

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Groundbreaking Begins: Onni Group’s New 32-Story 888 Olive St Tower in Downtown LA

Posted on January 28, 2013 by | 9 Comments
Groundbreaking begins today on Onni Group's new 32-story apartment tower at 9th and Olive in Downtown LA (Photo: Ryan Lehman)

Groundbreaking begins today on Onni Group’s new 32-story apartment tower at 9th and Olive in Downtown LA (Photo: Ryan Lehman)

Better late than never right? What was supposed to be a “Dec 1, 2012″ groundbreaking for Vancouver-based Onni Group’s 32-story apartment tower at 9th and Olive has been delayed until now, almost two months later. A reader sends in this photo from today that shows construction activity has now finally begun in earnest for the 888 Olive tower. Fencing has been put up around the perimeter and construction equipment and crews were spotted on site performing pre-construction work.

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Posted in architecture, downtown los angeles, historic core, mixed-use development, real estate, smart growth

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Groundbreaking Imminent for 8th & Grand Project in Downtown LA

Posted on January 25, 2013 by | 35 Comments
Green tarp construction fencing went up earlier this week in preparation for ground breaking for the 8th and Grand project by Carmel Partners

Green tarp construction fencing went up earlier this week in preparation for ground breaking for the 8th and Grand project by Carmel Partners

One of the biggest urban dead zones in Downtown LA is a vast 3-acre surface parking lot just south of Bottega Louie (voted most popular restaurant in the nation on Yelp in 2011) bounded by Grand, 8th, and Olive St. As you might remember, developer Sonny Astani (Concerto, Vero, etc.) was supposed to develop an audacious 875-unit three-phase project called Opus back in 2006 before the economic recession hit. Obviously that didn’t happen, but now the new owners/developers, Carmel Partners from San Francisco — who purchased the entitled land from Astani for $63 million back in June 2012 — are planning to break ground soon on a scaled back version that will still have a tremendous impact on the development of Downtown LA.

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Posted in architecture, downtown los angeles, financial district, mixed-use development, real estate, restaurants, retail, smart growth

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