Greater Los Angeles Region: Projects and Developments

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Stagecoach music fest adds variety to winning formula

It's been nominated twice by the industry publication, Pollstar, as the Best Major Music Festival in North America, alongside its bigger cousin, Coachella. It was named the world's highest-grossing country festival in 2014 by Statista.com, which measures aspects such as concert revenue. Billboard reported last year's gross revenue as $18,615,000 based on paid attendance of 63,400 people a day. This year, it sold out again with total attendance expected at about 75,000 people a day.

http://www.desertsun.com/story/life/...ival/26242729/

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Porto’s Bakery is coming to West Covina

After months of uncertainty, Porto’s Bakery & Cafe will be coming to town.

The bakery is expected to bring in $70,000 to $80,000 in annual sales tax revenue to the city and create about 175 jobs, city officials said.

“We had been searching in West Covina for a very long time because it is the perfect community for us to thrive,” said Raul Porto, Jr., son of company founders Raul Porto Sr. and Rosa Porto. “We appreciate the efforts of both the City of West Covina and the County of Los Angeles for working so quickly with us to make this dream a reality.”

The eatery chain bought the former Crazy Horse bikini bar and grill building at 1360 W. Garvey Ave. and plans to open its new location in 2017, West Covina officials said Thursday in a written statement.

http://www.sgvtribune.com/business/2...to-west-covina

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“Furious 7,” a film whose fate was once in doubt after the death of star Paul Walker midway through shooting, has now made $1.3 billion globally. Only two other films, both by James Cameron —”Avatar” and “Titanic” — have made more money internationally than “Furious 7.”

http://www.sgvtribune.com/arts-and-e...-ultron-looms/

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Council backs development that expands Old Pasadena

A million square-foot development that will reshape the northwest portion of Old Pasadena received unanimous support from the City Council on Monday.

The 100 West Walnut project will turn 22 acres of land surrounding the Parsons building near Walnut Street and Fair Oaks Avenue into an expansion of the city’s downtown with new restaurants, office space and 475 residential units.

“It’s transformative for the city, and it’s transformative for Old Pasadena, because what it allows is for Old Pasadena to complete its neighborhoods, north up to Walnut and filling in that space,” said Councilwoman Margaret McAustin. “I’ve lived in Pasadena for 40 years and I’ve never seen a 1 million square foot project.”

“Overall, 100 West Walnut is a game-changer for Pasadena,” Walker said. “It will bring new housing to a great part of the city, it will bring class-A beautiful office space to hellp recruit and create business in Pasadena. This will be a job generator for Pasadena, which also means steady resources for general fund revenue to fund critical city services over the long term.”

http://www.sgvtribune.com/government...s-old-pasadena

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Kroenke Adds to L.A.-Area Portfolio
By HANNAH MIET
Thursday, April 30, 2015
St. Louis Rams owner Stan Kroenke’s Kroenke Group, a Columbia, Mo., real estate investor and developer, acquired a portfolio of five retail properties in the San Fernando Valley last month for $115 million.

The firm purchased the five Northridge shopping centers, totaling 268,362 square feet, from New York investment firm Angelo Gordon & Co. At $429 a square foot, the deal surpassed the $387-a-square-foot average sale price for retail properties in the Valley, according to CoStar.

The portfolio consists of 19320, 19350 and 19324-19352 Nordhoff St., and 8941-8959 and 9001 Tampa Ave. All of the properties were between 76 percent and 100 percent leased at the time of the sale. Tenants include Lane Bryant Inc., 24 Hour Fitness, Bed Bath & Beyond Inc. and Petsmart Inc.

Kroenke’s plans for the properties are unclear. Long before he became a National Football League owner, the bread and butter of Kroenke’s estimated $6.3 billion fortune was made developing shopping centers and warehouses across the country, many of them anchored by Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (Kroenke is married to a niece of Wal-Mart founder Sam Walton.)

Kroenke is already heavily invested in Los Angeles. He owns a home in Malibu and, more recently, bought a 60-acre site in Inglewood from Wal-Mart and is partnering with the developers of Hollywood Park on a proposed $1.86 billion football stadium on the joined sites.

http://labusinessjournal.com/news/20...rea-portfolio/

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California tourism surges, but strength of U.S. dollar threatens growth

California hosted a record 251 million visitors last year, up 3% from the previous high of 243 million in 2013, according to Visit California, the state's nonprofit tourism agency. Visitors spent $117.5 billion in the state and supported more than 1 million jobs, the agency said.

http://www.latimes.com/business/la-f...506-story.html

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Carson stadium land sale completed
Chargers, Raiders transfer site to Carson, retain lease for stadium option

The Chargers and Oakland Raiders completed the transfer Tuesday of 168 acres in the Los Angeles suburb of Carson, completing another step in building a proposed $1.7 billion, 68,000-seat joint-use football stadium.

The teams, acting as Carson Holdings, obtained 157 acres from Starwood Capital, doing business as Carson Marketplace, the name of the previously approved master-planned community at Interstate 405 and Del Amo Boulevard.

The teams then transferred the land to the Carson reclamation authority at a cost of $1,000, according to Carson City Attorney Sunny Soltani. This action was taken to shift liability to the public agency for any issues related to the cleanup of the landfill.

Soltani said the teams signed a 17-month lease to give the NFL enough time to decide if the Chargers, Raiders or both may relocate to Carson. The teams are obligated to pay $400,000 in lease payments per year.

http://www.utsandiego.com/news/2015/...-stadium-sale/

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Chargers, Raiders add heavy hitter Carmen Policy to Carson stadium bid

In a move that adds muscle to their joint pursuit of a football stadium in Carson, the San Diego Chargers and Oakland Raiders have hired a heavyweight in the world of NFL politics.

The teams have enlisted the services of Carmen Policy, former president of the San Francisco 49ers and Cleveland Browns, and he will spearhead the push for the proposed $1.7-billion venue.

"I understand the league," said Policy, 71, whose last formal involvement with the NFL ended in 2004 when he sold his minority ownership stake in the Browns. "Even though I've been gone for awhile, the dynamic within the room is basically the same, although many of the faces have changed.

http://www.latimes.com/sports/nfl/la...519-story.html

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Raiders owner Mark Davis says Oakland must act fast on team's future

Davis said the fact that the city of Oakland and Alameda County are now talking is "a flicker of hope," but doesn't seem overly optimistic a solution is on the horizon. Asked if this process is in the 11th hour, he said: "I don't want to put a time limit on it, but it's getting close."

If the Rams were to leave St. Louis, and that city came up with a stadium plan, the Raiders would not consider moving there. "That's a completely false report," he said. "No interest in doing that."

Sharing a stadium with the 49ers in Santa Clara is a non-starter. He doesn't want his team to be a second tenant to anyone, so the 50/50 Carson arrangement is far more appealing. "It's just as far for me to get to Santa Clara as it would be for me to fly to L.A.," he said. "So if we're going to move the team, let's get something that's going to be for the Raiders.

http://www.latimes.com/sports/nfl/la...520-story.html

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The Citizens Stadium Advisory Group revealed its long-awaited proposal for financing a new stadium two days early, in time for the report to be in the hands of the Chargers and key NFL personnel prior to the league owners gathering here for two days of meetings.

“I have not seen the actual report,” Chargers chairman Dean Spanos said Wednesday before departing the league’s two-day owners meetings here. “I’m going back today, and I’m going to look at it this afternoon.”

The Chargers say they need time to vet the proposal before committing to beginning negotiations with the city and county. Mayor Kevin Faulconer has suggested a June 1 start date for those talks. Spanos said Tuesday night he was unaware of that request.

“I think they submitted some sort of framework of a potential financing plan,” Spanos said of CSAG. “That’s what we’re going to take a look at this week ... I’ve always said, and I maintain the fact we want to stay in San Diego. We’re committed to keep trying to see if there is a viable solution. It has now come down to a financing plan, so I am anxious to see what the city puts forth.”

“I know what the San Diego market is all about,’ Spanos said. “I’ve been there for 31 years. It’s a great market. This is all going to come down to: Can we find a viable solution from a financing perspective?”

http://www.utsandiego.com/news/2015/...ners-meetings/

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The most significant developments were both expected — the league is likely to accept relocation applications sooner than it originally planned, and an additional owners meeting is tentatively scheduled for August to further address the L.A. situation.

The window for relocation applications is Jan. 1 through Feb. 15, but Commissioner Roger Goodell is considering compressing that — six weeks is unnecessarily long — and moving it sooner as to give teams time to handle a potential move.

http://www.latimes.com/sports/sports...520-story.html

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Colts owner Jim Irsay says NFL team moving to L.A. is inevitable

At the conclusion of Wednesday's NFL annual owners' meetings in San Francisco, Irsay characterized the NFL's return to L.A. as inevitable.

“It’s not a matter of ‘if’ now, but ‘when,'" Irsay told the San Francisco Chronicle.

He isn't the only notable name in the NFL seeing Los Angeles in a strong position to land a team. San Francisco 49ers Chief Executive Jed York said L.A. is offering a more attractive deal than other cities that are in danger of losing their teams.

“I don’t think they’re in the same position as Los Angeles,” York said. “If I was going to handicap it, I think L.A. is much further along than any of the home markets at this point.”

http://www.latimes.com/sports/sports...521-story.html

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Raging Waters delivers coaster thrills with new Aqua Rocket water slide
http://www.latimes.com/travel/themep...525-story.html

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Meet summer's hottest new coaster, Twisted Colossus at Six Flags Magic Mountain

Magic Mountain converted the aging wooden coaster into the world’s longest hybrid coaster with two barrel roll inversions and a first-of-its-kind-in-the-U.S. “high five” element. The 4,990-foot-long wood-steel hybrid ride combines the twin tracks of the dueling coaster into a single course featuring two separate lift hills and a pair of near-vertical drops.

http://www.latimes.com/travel/themep...520-story.html

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Rick Caruso's hotel in Montecito to meld relaxed feel, luxury amenities

Seeking to meld the family feel of the original Miramar with the luxury demands of today's well-to-do travelers, he unveiled Tuesday the design for his first hotel project — set to open in 2018.

Included are waterfront cottages where families are expected to check in for months at a time and a beach club for nearby residents, some of whom have been skeptical over the years about the new development.

Caruso also revealed that the 170-room inn will be operated by Rosewood Hotels & Resorts, a chain of high-end hostelries based in Hong Kong that caters to well-to-do international travelers.

http://www.latimes.com/business/la-f...603-story.html

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Techies who surf are stoked about Silicon Beach club

Even in the frigid Pacific waters the group of techie surfers couldn't go gadget free.

A group member from a Manhattan Beach start-up arrived with something for their surfboards: prototype sensors that measure the speed, power and difficulty of waves.

A few hours later, the surfers were relishing the results, glued to the streams of data pouring onto a screen inside a cozy beach house on the famed El Porto shoreline.

This is surfing, the Silicon Beach way.

The invitation-only Silicon Beach Surfers club has proved to be a fertile pool for business networking — attracting more than 430 members of Southern California's burgeoning tech scene.

http://www.latimes.com/business/la-f...607-story.html

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Additional owners meeting on L.A. set for August 11

During last month's Spring League Meeting, NFL executive Eric Grubman, the man in charge of handling potential relocation to Los Angeles, indicated that another meeting would be necessary to discuss the situation.

We now know when that added owners meeting will take place.

NFL Media Insider Ian Rapoport reported Thursday that the NFL has set an additional owners meeting for Aug. 11 to discuss the L.A. topic. It will take place in Chicago, per a league source.

http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap300...-for-august-11

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L.A.'s tech industry is booming, but how big is it?

Meanwhile, Mark Suster, managing partner at Santa Monica venture capital firm Upfront Ventures, prefers to focus on the start-up landscape, from where he said the vibrant growth is really coming.

A better method, he insists, is to look at the hundreds of new companies popping up around the region and the investment dollars flowing in to support them.

To that end, Upfront teamed up with research firm CB Insights to conduct its own study, finding that 2014 was a record-breaking year for the greater L.A. area. Two billion dollars in venture capital was invested across 194 deals, up 25% from 2013; based on first-quarter data this year, the region is on pace for a new record in 2015.

"The real measure of the future economy is how many tech start-up jobs you have," Suster said. "We've had a demonstrable improvement in the last five years."

At UCLA, economist William Yu has focused on analyzing just the information sector, positing that growth in those jobs — which include software companies, data processing and communications, broadcasting, entertainment and Internet companies — can be used to form an accurate reflection of tech health overall.

His research found that information sector employment in L.A. County from 2005 to 2013 rose 17%, the ninth-highest increase in the U.S. That's impressive and shows that tech is doing well, he said, but he'd like to see even more entrepreneurship in the sector.

"This is the future of the economy," Yu said. "It is high skill, high knowledge, high education and export-oriented, and usually it will create a bigger economic multiplier effect."

That trickle-down effect is at the core of the tech economy's importance.

http://www.latimes.com/business/la-f...608-story.html