LOS ANGELES | Downtown Project Rundown 6.0

[citywatch]

Arizona State to expand into downtown L.A. at historic Herald Examiner building

By Roger Vincent
Aug 21, 2018


(Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)

Students from Arizona State University’s journalism school will soon be typing away in the Herald Examiner building in downtown Los Angeles, the long-vacant home of one of the great newspapers founded by legendary media mogul William Randolph Hearst.

ASU, which operates the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication, has agreed to lease the century-old newspaper headquarters as part of an ambitious expansion program in multiple disciplines that will see it compete with Los Angeles-area colleges including USC, UCLA and the California Institute of Technology.

“Los Angeles is a behemoth place with three research schools,” ASU President Michael M. Crow said. “Who says that’s enough?”

“Los Angeles is one of the two global cities in the United States” along with New York, Crow said — and ASU has global ambitions. The Tempe-based school of 109,000 students has outposts in China, Vietnam, Mexico City and Dubai. It also recently opened a branch in Washington, D.C.

ASU’s downtown Los Angeles campus, which Crow called “a starter facility,” will fill all 80,000 square feet of office space in the old five-story Herald Examiner building. It will have open floor plans so the space can be used for classes, community events and other programs. The lease was first reported by the Los Angeles Business Journal.

The once-blighted neighborhood around the old newspaper headquarters is being transformed with apartments, hotels and offices. Just north on Broadway, the Ace Hotel and theater in a former 1920s office tower has become a thriving recreation destination since it opened in 2014.


(Georgetown Co.)

The Herald Examiner building is at the intersection of three up-and-coming downtown neighborhoods — the Broadway Historic District, South Park and the Fashion District — said real estate broker Carl Muhlstein of JLL, who represented Georgetown in the lease.

“It’s breathtaking how the neighborhood is evolving,” Muhlstein said.

.

[colemonkee]

^ Those are some wealthy ASU students driving around in Bentleys and Austin Martins...

[cesar90]

• Video Link

[Wilcal]

Originally Posted by caligrad

https://urbanize.la/post/broadways-s...livework-lofts

The Singer building next to the future Apple Store is going full revive, Vans lucked out getting their store next to an Apple Store.

City, you forgot to note that for all the bravado this squirrelly dude is not very good at chipping or putting.

[citywatch]

Originally Posted by colemonkee

Those are some wealthy ASU students driving around in Bentleys and Austin Martins...

Originally Posted by Wilcal

City, you forgot to note that for all the bravado this squirrelly dude is not very good at chipping or putting.

Originally Posted by cesar90

-

^ your vid helps give a better sense of the south pk area right now, esp around the herald examiner bldg. The large screens on the circa apt towers are giving some life to what has long been a dark, rundown part of dt. the area across from the convention ctr is a long overdue next step in a work in progress going back yrs.

Another work in progress is the pershing sq area. Even though concerts sponsored by the city's rec dept are free, they're not attracting what would be SRO in certain other cities. for instance, the size of crowds that'd show up to watch paint dry in NY's Central pk.

The same youtuber has done vids of another concert on that same stage & more than a few empty seats are again visible. that's why the number of ppl living in bldgs in dtla, or sticking around after work, still could use a boost.


• Video Link

[colemonkee]

To be fair, you can't post a video of the Spin Doctors in concert in 2018 and complain about empty seats...

[citywatch]

Originally Posted by colemonkee

To be fair, you can't post a video of the Spin Doctors in concert in 2018 and complain about empty seats...

ok, here's another group at pershing sq....not exactly a household name, but crowds in certain other major cities are known to turn out just to turn out, even during bad weather.


• Video Link


dtla is admittedly still a work in progress....but it's much better today than the time when ppl like this wouldn't have wanted to be closer than 100 miles from where they are now....


• Video Link

[sportbiker]

Originally Posted by citywatch

ok, here's another group at pershing sq....not exactly a household name, but crowds in certain other major cities are known to turn out just to turn out, even during bad weather.

The seats up front are for season donors (VIPs) who can show or not, but their seats are still reserved. VIPs are the only ones who have seats supplied: the hoi polloi bring blankets or their own collapsible chairs.

You cannot judge crowd size by counting empty VIP seats.

[correct as of a few years ago...I haven't heard of any changes]

[citywatch]

Originally Posted by sportbiker

The seats up front are for season donors (VIPs) who can show or not, but their seats are still reserved.

• Video Link

[citywatch]

this definitely will be competition for the xlanes sport arcade in the little tokyo bldg on alameda st and the nearby eightytwo games arcade about a block away.

I hope all these projs end up reinforcing one another....but competition for ppl's time, money & attention is increasing.

Inside Two Bit Circus, LA’s new VR and arcade amusement park


arstechnica.com

LOS ANGELES—A new kind of entertainment is opening next month: a large, carnival-like arcade filled with VR headsets, brand new arcade cabinets, holograms, escape rooms, a robot bartender named Guillermo del Pouro, hidden passages, and more.

It's called Two Bit Circus, and it's run by a company of the same name. Their previous individual installations have appeared at nightclubs, corporate events, and more. But the company is also a branded experience studio—a sort of VR carnival ad agency that has produced installations and pop-up events for brands like Disney, Google, Intel, and the NBA. The team even organized an E3 event for Microsoft, and the founders worked together to create the Rube Goldberg machine in OK Go’s “This Too Shall Pass” music video

Gradman and Bushnell told Ars they wanted to start this project to do their own thing, not just rep other brands. This space is Two Bit Circus' first attempt at launching a series of venues across the country that the founders hope will revive both the arcade and the carnival for digitally savvy audiences of adventurous 20-somethings and families. (At least, the space will be family friendly until 9pm, at which time it will shift gears for adults.)

The idea of a VR arcade isn't new (or even uncommon), but Two Bit Circus is a much more robust operation that adds live performance, circus attractions, escape rooms, and more. Entry will be free, but the venue will charge for games, food, drinks, and room rentals—just like a Chuck E Cheese's restaurant. Two Bit Circus hopes to eventually open additional spaces in new cities, scaling the concept across the United States.

Two Bit Circus will open to the public on September 7 in the arts district near downtown LA.



arstechnica.com

[Steve8263]

So I had jury duty last week and got to spend some time downtown during the day instead of a more typical dinner and bar crawl pattern around South park or the arts district. I made a point of walking from the courthouse to the seventh st metro station each day to explore the ongoing changes.

While the area has come a long way, much needs to be done still. A few observations-

-I walked thru Pershing Square for the first time ever and can see why people avoid it at all costs. It's truly awful. The planned redo can't happen fast enough.

-The pedestrian experience from block to block continues to be a total crap shoot. Where new development has taken place the sidewalks and landscaping are in good shape, but most everywhere else show decades of neglect. The incredible amount of filth, the stench, the lack of any shade, etc is staggering. the mayor and city council should be ashamed.

-All that said, I was pleasantly surprised to see a decent number of tourists walking and exploring. All the new hotels and the energy of places like Grand Central Market and Little Tokyo are clearly drawing people from far and wide.

The good news is there's much changing for the better thanks to the incredible amount private investment in the area. And there's lots of upside potential, especially if the city would make a big push focusing on obvious basic stuff that's been neglected for so long.

[sopas ej]

Originally Posted by Steve8263

So I had jury duty last week and got to spend some time downtown during the day instead of a more typical dinner and bar crawl pattern around South park or the arts district. I made a point of walking from the courthouse to the seventh st metro station each day to explore the ongoing changes.

Which courthouse did you have to go to?

[Steve8263]

Originally Posted by sopas ej

Which courthouse did you have to go to?

I was at Foltz criminal court.

[ocman]

Originally Posted by Steve8263

So I had jury duty last week and got to spend some time downtown during the day instead of a more typical dinner and bar crawl pattern around South park or the arts district. I made a point of walking from the courthouse to the seventh st metro station each day to explore the ongoing changes.

While the area has come a long way, much needs to be done still. A few observations-

-I walked thru Pershing Square for the first time ever and can see why people avoid it at all costs. It's truly awful. The planned redo can't happen fast enough.

-The pedestrian experience from block to block continues to be a total crap shoot. Where new development has taken place the sidewalks and landscaping are in good shape, but most everywhere else show decades of neglect. The incredible amount of filth, the stench, the lack of any shade, etc is staggering. the mayor and city council should be ashamed.

-All that said, I was pleasantly surprised to see a decent number of tourists walking and exploring. All the new hotels and the energy of places like Grand Central Market and Little Tokyo are clearly drawing people from far and wide.

The good news is there's much changing for the better thanks to the incredible amount private investment in the area. And there's lots of upside potential, especially if the city would make a big push focusing on obvious basic stuff that's been neglected for so long.

I wish we could force the city council to actually walk through the citys desperate areas every month.

[ocman]

Originally Posted by citywatch

.

Great that they have a tenant, but such a waste of a beautiful space. Better served as something open to the wider public where they can experience this jewel of an interior.

[circuitfiend]

Boy, things are pretty dead as far as tower groundbreakings. We were supposed to see the modest Cambria push dirt and Related demo on Bunker Hill in August. Instead, crickets.

Quite frankly, I don't think we're going to see any new towers happen until after the midterms. Elections have consequences.

[WonderlandPark2]

Originally Posted by ocman

Great that they have a tenant, but such a waste of a beautiful space. Better served as something open to the wider public where they can experience this jewel of an interior.

Most of the interior is sucky, its depressing office space and a print room. The lobby and Hearst's office are the real gems. I've been in it a number of times on film shoots.

[blackcat23]

Originally Posted by circuitfiend

Boy, things are pretty dead as far as tower groundbreakings. We were supposed to see the modest Cambria push dirt and Related demo on Bunker Hill in August. Instead, crickets.

Quite frankly, I don't think we're going to see any new towers happen until after the midterms. Elections have consequences.

The Cambria always seemed like a half-baked proposal with shaky financial footing.

I'm curious as to why people keep saying that the tinker toy garage was supposed to start coming down in August. Related has been giving the same vague "Fall 2018" start date for a while now, and has never gotten more specific than that.

[LosAngelesSportsFan]

Originally Posted by circuitfiend

Boy, things are pretty dead as far as tower groundbreakings. We were supposed to see the modest Cambria push dirt and Related demo on Bunker Hill in August. Instead, crickets.

Quite frankly, I don't think we're going to see any new towers happen until after the midterms. Elections have consequences.

sigh... Dont be so negative...Grand Ave, Lightstone and Cambria are all gonna break ground in the next couple of months

[colemonkee]

Someone reported on the DTLA Development Facebook page that the operator of the parking garage on the Grand Ave. lot will be closing Sept. 30th. So we're likely looking at an October start for demolition. It's a three-story steel and concrete structure, so likely won't take more than a few months to take down.