Baldwin Hills-Crenshaw Plaza plans massive expansion

A promotional display has popped up in the middle of the Baldwin Hills-Crenshaw Plaza mall. On it are pretty renderings that depict what one developer hopes the downtrodden mall can transform into. The revitalization project, which is still in early planning stages, hopes to add 2.5m sf of retail, residential, office, and hotel to the existing 1m sf mall. The new mall would resemble more of an "urban village" with pedestrian pathways and access to the planned Crenshaw corridor lightrail.

In the CEQA "Notice of Preparation" document compiled by the CRA, the plan calls for 1.8m sf of retail/entertainment, 150k sf office, a 400 room hotel and about 1000 dwelling units. The majority of the newly constructed buildings would be built on what are now surface parking lots, and all parking would be concentrated in two large structures at the southwest corner of the site. From the looks of the proposed site plan, the developer is aiming for an LA Live South, complete with "public plazas," restaurants, and an "entertainment district." This will be an ambitious, even dubious, feat. Rios Clementi Hale Studios prepared the initial architectural designs. The developer is Capri Capital Partners of Chicago, who has owned the property since 2006.

The LA Sentinel reports that support for the mall addition is strong in the local area, likely because it will add investment and jobs to a part of the city that has long lacked both. But projects of this magnitude rarely get off the ground in the current economic climate, and unfortunately this project's location poses a huge hurdle to its financial feasibility. LA Live barely scraped through on its final phases, and that was with lots of public money and a pre-recession groundbreaking. The Grand Avenue project, one of the largest and most exclusive mixed-use proposals out there, is on the back burner and running out of steam. But perhaps Baldwin Hills-Crenshaw Plaza can take advantage of its under-market status. When Macy's moved out of the historic Broadway department store building in the late 1990s, Wal-Mart was quick to fill the void, and remain's the only Wal-Mart in Los Angeles and the only 3-story Wal-Mart. Developers must be careful to improve the center in a lucrative and prestigious way, while preserving the African-American identity and pride of place the mall has come to embrace.

LA Trade Tech unveils phase I of massive building spree

Los Angeles Trade Technical College, the career-based community college located on Grand Ave and Washington Bl downtown, completed the first round of an aggressive building campaign early last week. For a long time, the 21-acre campus hardly resembled a college campus at all, and bore more similarities to the gritty industrial tracts that surround it. But administrators are hoping to turn around that rough-hewn image with a sprinkling of new buildings that the architect calls "competitive" with other downtown buildings. This first $85m phase is a small slice of the $600m that voters approved for campus renovations and additions back in 2002.

The two five-story buildings are located on Grand Ave between Washington and 23rd St., and were designed by MDA Johnson Favarro. Both buildings are about 120,000 sf and are expected to receive LEED Silver certification. When the Spring semester begins in February, the buildings will be home to 2 lecture halls; the admissions, registration, and administration offices; and various other offices and classrooms. Plans also call for a rooftop photovoltaic system that will supply up to 20% of the school's electricity demands. Up next for the school are a new track and field, a sports and wellness center, and a construction technology building.

The architecture, which features a suggestive combination of brick and concrete curving in Gehry-esque waves, is meant to represent "trade as art." On the rear are huge letters near the top of the building that spell out LATTC and are visible from the 10 and 110 freeways. The striking contrast of red brick and sinuous white walls forms a pleasing respite from the low, bland architecture that has come to define this stretch of Grand. But the buildings don't feel out of place here, as they seem to pay homage to the area's--and the school's--industrial heritage. The construction is not without fault however. The buildings frame what is dubbed an entry plaza and is meant to establish a new gateway for the campus, but instead forms just a typical driveway complete with security arms, and is hardly welcoming to pedestrians.

Source: LA Downtown News

LA Times: Hollywood W Hotel "ungainly"

The 15-story, $600m W Hollywood Hotel and Residences opened this morning after 10 long years of planning and construction. The development, which sits atop the Hollywood/Vine Metro Red Line station, boasts 305 hotel rooms, 143 residences, and 375 rental units, 78 of which are designated low-income. The mess of buildings, billboards, and public space occupies an L-shaped site with the historic 1924 Taft Building at its corner. LA Times architecture critic Christopher Hawthorne calls it "equal parts Chateau Marmont, LA Live, and Pershing Square," going on to say that it aptly symbolizes an LA that is "groping toward a denser, more vertical and more public future while still reluctant to abandon its love affair with the car and the glossier, more exclusive corners of celebrity culture."

The W Hotel is the largest mixed-use development to open in Hollywood since the Hollywood/Highland TOD in 2001. But the W project is higher market, more aspirational, and further from Hollywood's epicenter. Because of this, the W project faces more challenges than its neighbor to the west. Back in April of last year, we reported that the new W hotel would attempt to steal back the traditional press junket from the Four Seasons Beverly Hills. It has made an admirable attempt at this lofty goal, with 20 large suites specially suited to accommodate hair and make-up crews and heavy-duty electrical demands. But the W must also cater to a high-end residential market that doesn't want that glitzy Hollywood exposure. Still more divergent are the needs of the low-income renters and Metro passengers - a group that seems likely to be ignored by an upscale hotel management.

The intractable scale and awkward amalgamation of uses and users is less the result of poor planning than it is of a pioneering compromise between a multitude of diverse stakeholders. Nothing like this has ever been seen before in Los Angeles. As Hawthorne suggests, it may be too much to ask that low-income subway commuters mingle with the glamorous Hollywood elite. The complex also suffers from chronic design schizophrenia; a whopping five architecture offices (HKS, Designstudio, Architropolis, Daly Genik, Rios Clementi Hale) produced designs for different aspects of the project, with almost no regard for the intentions of the others. The flashing hotel lobby poses as much of a contrast to the stark rooftop pool as the subway station does to the valet station. Whether the W Hotel and Residences proves to be that much-fantasized catalyst of urban activity and merger of LA's notoriously divergent classes will be its chief test over time.

Rooms sell for between $259 and $1000/night and residences are 30% sold.

This Just In: Broad eyes Downtown for museum

All of Downtown has been abuzz this week after billionaire developer/philanthropist Eli Broad officially announced that a Grand Ave site is also under consideration for his $60 million art museum and foundation headquarters. Just last week, we reported that a strange site in Culver City was Broad's elusive third choice. But the President of neighboring West LA College has heard nothing from Broad's people, so that revelation may have been a distraction.

Broad obviously has very strong ties to--and friends in--Downtown, from his support of the lingering Grand Ave behemoth to his recent $30m bailout of MOCA. Impatient with developer Related Co.'s inability to get things going on Grand Ave, Councilwoman Jan Perry has expressed excitement at the prospect of Broad moving in nearby. The site under consideration is a surface parking lot on the south side of Disney Hall, sunken below street level on Grand Ave. The lot is one of the smaller parcels owned by Related Co., a developer that has been hit hard by the real estate setback, and is waiting for the capital market to rebound before plowing forward. Related would likely get an extension on their city-mandated deadline to break ground if some of the land is sold to Broad's project.

The City of Los Angeles was initially left out of consideration for the museum. In old age and frustrated by a lifetime of red tape, Broad is desperate to expedite this project as much as possible. But Santa Monica's city council isn't voting on the deal until next month - a time frame that may prove to hurt their bid. Some Santa Monicans argue however that the city is offering too many concessions to bring Broad's museum to the derelict Civic Park neighborhood (selling the land for $1, for example); they believe a much better deal can be reached via a developer who has commercial plans for the site. Meanwhile, Beverly Hills, who doesn't even own the property Broad wants, might as well kiss its chances good bye.

Source: Santa Monica Daily Press; Photo: Eric Richardson

California passes nation's first green building code

Long the pioneer of environmentally progressive policy, California became the first state to institute a "green" building code with legislation passed this week. The code, which will go into effect on January 1 of next year, is modeled closely from the US Green Building Council's LEED construction and building energy code. Cities that already enforce green building standards that are stricter than the new state requirements (San Francisco and Los Angeles), will be allowed to retain their local codes. Other cities will be able to adopt individual building codes that are stricter than the state's in the future if they choose.

Among the new building requirements are: plumbing must cut water use by 20%; half of construction waste must be recycled; low-polluting paints, carpets, and flooring must be used; separate water meters for indoor and outdoor must be installed; and building inspections must include appliance efficiency checks. The green building code is part of a state initiative to cut carbon emissions by 25% by 2020. Buildings are the biggest consumers of energy and the largest polluters, responsible for emitting more carbon than transportation and industry combined.

But some environmental groups including the Sierra Club are critical of the plan, arguing that the imposed restrictions are not harsh enough. They also say the two-tier Calgreen system, as it is called, will be confusing for builders and will allow for abuse.

Source: Christian Science Monitor

Santa Monica plans second freeway cap park

Santa Monica City Council approved a proposal to cap an additional portion of the 10 freeway on Tuesday. This second cap park would be over the freeway slot between Ocean Ave and 4th St. The decision comes just months after another park was approved over the Santa Monica Freeway between 14th and 17th Sts. But that project is still in early feasibility stages. This latest development brings the number of LA area freeway cap parks under consideration to 4 - the others over the 101 in Hollywood and Downtown.

City leaders hope a park bridge over this section of the freeway would help create a stronger pedestrian connection between the Third Street shopping area, the pier, and the newly revitalizing civic center. The freeway segment is already conveniently "cut" about 20 ft below ground, but is still exposed to the open air. At Ocean Ave, the freeway briefly tunnels below Ocean Park and the entrance to the pier, before emerging again as the Pacific Coast Highway along the beach. By extending the tunneled portion of the freeway, both parks might also benefit from larger green spaces and greater pedestrian access. The park would also be convenient to the Expo light rail station planned for Colorado Ave and 4th St.

The approval allows spending of ~$300,000 for a feasibility study and ~$3m for initial engineering. Local planning and engineering firm AECOM is charged with conducting the preliminary study and will present its findings to the council within 3 months. The park has been a pipe dream of the city's since at least 1999.

The added land, which is in the super-prime center of Santa Monica, would be more valuable than the cost of capping the freeway. Besides the obvious mitigation of the visual and aural impacts of the freeway, and the shifting of transportation priority from freeways to public transit, projects like this are significant case studies in the frontier of "land creation." As suburban sprawl has lost its appeal in the aftermath of recent economic and environmental events, developers are looking to disprove the old adage 'you can't build more land.' Freeways occupy huge expanses of our built environment, often in inefficient ways. Where freeways have been dug below ground, or where they pass through expensive land, there can be innumerable benefits from capping or reclaiming that ugly and wasteful infrastructure. Santa Monica's experiments should be watched closely by civic leaders and developers everywhere.

Source: Santa Monica Daily Press

Culver City enters running for Broad art museum site

In an interview last week, billionaire developer and philanthropist Eli Broad revealed that a 10 acre site in Culver City is also under consideration for the location of a new museum that would be endowed in his name. When Broad announced plans for the museum back in November of 2008, a site at the southeast corner of Santa Monica and Wilshire Blvds in Beverly Hills was the principle consideration. A year ago however, Broad announced that he was also looking at a 2.5 acre city-owned lot next to Santa Monica's Civic Auditorium. The Culver City site is located along Jefferson Blvd on the West LA College campus.

Broad's revelation was shocking to all, but perhaps more so to Mark Rocha, West LA College's president, who says that he hasn't heard from Broad's foundation. After reading about the competition between Santa Monica and Beverly Hills last year, Rocha wrote the foundation, asking them to consider his site as well. Unfortunately that vacant lot is currently being used as a staging area for the college's capital construction project, and will likely be in use for another 2 years.

But Broad says that at age 76, he wants the project to move fast, with as little red tape as possible. While Santa Monica already owns its site in question, the City of Beverly Hills would have to acquire the parcel that Broad has been eyeing. And whichever city gets the honor of landing Broad's museum would be asked to donate the land, contribute $1m+ in construction fees, provide parking, and pay for landscaping. It is a pricey investment that each municipality believes will be well worth the prestige and popularity of the Broad collection. While Broad has said he is not trying to pit each city against the other to generate the best deal, he is probably selecting jurisdictions based on their ability to expedite the bureaucratic process. The City of Los Angeles, notably but not surprisingly, is not on Broad's short list.

The 50,000 sf facility is to house Broad's 2000 piece art collection, his foundation, storage space, and a research component. The museum would be launched by a $200m endowment, said to sustain a $12m/year operating budget. That bequest would be the largest infusion into Southern California arts, second only to the $2.76b Getty Trust. It is estimated to cost ~$60m.

Source: LA Times

State sells 2 LA office buildings to tighten budget gap

The State of California listed 17 buildings for sale statewide last month; two are in Los Angeles. Commercial real estate brokerage firm CB Richard Ellis has been contracted with the representation of these buildings, estimated to total $2b in value. The only two buildings for sale in Southern California are located Downtown - the Ronald Reagan building and the Junipero Serra building. The State hopes to raise about $660m from the sales toward its staggering budget deficit of $21b.

The state will engage in what is known as a sale-leaseback, where it will automatically enter into a 20 year lease agreement with whoever buys the properties. This is an ideal situation for a buyer because it guarantees a favorable occupancy rate, which in the case of the LA buildings, is 100%. The Ronald Reagan State Building, which was built in 1990, is considered to be one of the largest and best-equipped Class A office buildings in Los Angeles. It is located on 3rd St. between Spring and Main Sts. The smaller Junipero Serra building on the corner of 4th St. and Broadway, is a historic building completed in 1914.

The 17 building listing is the largest real estate portfolio on the market, and is a bold move for the State of California, desperate to shorten its hopelessly deep budget deficit. Gov. Arnold Schwarzanegger made headlines last year when he proposed the possible sale of large state-owned properties like San Quentin prison in Northern California and the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. While that controversial proposition never materialized, the 150 acre Orange County Fairgrounds will also be marketed for sale.

Council to vote on lifting Hollywood height limits

A controversial mixed-use project slated for the corner of Sunset Blvd and Gower St is asking for an exemption from the area's 45 ft height limit. The project's developers, AREA Property Partners, have plans for a 28-story residential tower and a 17-story office tower on the site of the old CBS studios. Having already received approval from the city planning commission, the project expects to get the greenlight from city council, including council president Eric Garcetti, who happens to represents the area in question.

But the permitting of this project has consequences beyond just an isolated zoning exemption - it will change the height limits for the entire surrounding neighborhood - a historically low-lying area on Hollywood's fringes. And this is what has sparked some very vocal opposition to the tower. Local residents are mainly concerned about large buildings casting shadows over their homes and yards, but many are worried about the potential Manhattanization of a once-laidback part of town. Robert Silverstein, a local land use lawyer often involved with historic preservation said the city was "willingly [permitting] the destruction of its own past." Zoning, he says, should concentrate development in certain areas while leaving others small-scale.

And what does the developer have to say to that? AREA associate Brian Earle says it is part of the "city's desire to have more density...instead of going out we are going up." While it may sound like a developer jumping on the trendy 'denser is better' bandwagon, he has a point. Sunset and Gower is in an underdeveloped stretch of land just outside the confine's of boomy central Hollywood. If a developer thinks he can make something better out of a stretch of low-density strip malls and dingbat apartments, all the power to him. Besides, it takes a lot more to pencil a project than it used to. Hollywood has arguably become the most dense, walkable neighborhood outside of Downtown. That some locals are still enamored by the drugged-up, run-down Hollywood of old remains a mystery.

Grand Ave Scales Back Amid Recession

Frustrated by stalled progress on developer Related Co's part, Councilwoman Jan Perry of District 9 has called for a smaller project sooner. Unable to secure full financing for the Gehry-designed megaproject, New York City's Related Co. has pushed the entire $3b development to the back burner. The project, intended to be completed in phases, has shown almost no progress since its conception in 2000 and the large lot across from Disney Hall remains empty. The project was scheduled for groundbreaking in 2007.

The Grand Avenue Authority, the committee organized to oversee the project's development, is composed of city, county, and redevelopment agency stakeholders, as the project contains a large public portion. Related's West Coast president Bill Witte defends that the Civic Park portion of the project that would link Grand Ave to City Hall is expected to break ground as early as next summer. It is this portion of the project that has drawn the most frustration from local government, as the land and monetary concessions made by the public sector have yet to see any fruition.

As for the 2.5 million sf condo-hotel-retail aspect? Related is still waiting on a $700m construction loan that, considering the sickness of the condo market, will be a long time coming. Also of concern is the state of Istithmar, the royal Dubai investment fund that has put $100m into the project, and was recently found to be drowning in $26b of debt. But as Witte has tenuously assured, the Dubai money has been "pretty much spent." Meanwhile, the pressure is on to see if Related can make good on its promise to deliver at least a portion of the project before its entitlements expire in 2011.