LOS ANGELES | METRO Project Rundown 2.0 (non-downtown)

[edale]

Originally Posted by ChelseaFC

Most of America looks like this, dense downtown financial districts are the exception.

Um...no. There are a million shades of grey between "dense downtown financial districts" and this walled off fortress of a development.

[ChelseaFC]

Originally Posted by edale

Um...no. There are a million shades of grey between "dense downtown financial districts" and this walled off fortress of a development.

Probably due to safety concerns. If a similar development is built in Pasadena, you probably get something a little more open.

[citywatch]

In the dtla compilations pg I've been describing vids of other places & cities throughout the world, most posted to youtube. Totally different vibe elsewhere.

When I've pointed out the major fountains in dt aren't working right now...whether due to drought or not...some ppl have had a 'no biggie' attitude. Seeing how big time & busy....full of street life, crowded sidewalks.....other cities are like, my complaining about fountains not working makes me feel like I should be complaining that the town's one traffic signal has burned out.

I mentioned a few wks ago that ppl in LA love to live in their car....crowded fwys are the main way to tell LA has a somewhat large population. I also originally thought that nicer looking streets in LA would be more appealing, so ppl might be more likely to go out & walk around....not necessarily so.

The transit in LA has been described by some ppl as now being too sketchy or full of too much drama to want to keep using. When I mentioned that going into dtla itself, after being stuck in crowded fwys all around it, often gave a sense of way fewer ppl out & about, & as though LA was a smaller city, an ssper became resentful.

Maybe LA doesn't have nice enough weather? Maybe ppl don't walk to walk around unless they're one block from the beach? Maybe a disneyfied place like the Grove is what ppl in LA are willing to drop by & visit?

[homebucket]

Originally Posted by citywatch

In the dtla compilations pg I've been describing vids of other places & cities throughout the world, most posted to youtube. Totally different vibe elsewhere.

When I've pointed out the major fountains in dt aren't working right now...whether due to drought or not...some ppl have had a 'no biggie' attitude. Seeing how big time & busy....full of street life, crowded sidewalks.....other cities are like, my complaining about fountains not working makes me feel like I should be complaining that the town's one traffic signal has burned out.

I mentioned a few wks ago that ppl in LA love to live in their car....crowded fwys are the main way to tell LA has a somewhat large population. I also originally thought that nicer looking streets in LA would be more appealing, so ppl might be more likely to go out & walk around....not necessarily so.

The transit in LA has been described by some ppl as now being too sketchy or full of too much drama to want to keep using. When I mentioned that going into dtla itself, after being stuck in crowded fwys all around it, often gave a sense of way fewer ppl out & about, & as though LA was a smaller city, an ssper became resentful.

Maybe LA doesn't have nice enough weather? Maybe ppl don't walk to walk around unless they're one block from the beach? Maybe a disneyfied place like the Grove is what ppl in LA are willing to drop by & visit?

You took so long to get to the point that I'm not sure what your point actually is. Are you saying that since LA is so autocentric and people don't walk around (as in Angelenos drive to places to walk around) that this particular Hollywood Park project is actually the desired mixed use typology, at least for this area?

[citywatch]

Originally Posted by homebucket

Are you saying that since LA is so autocentric and people don't walk around (as in Angelenos drive to places to walk around) that this particular Hollywood Park project is actually the desired mixed use typology, at least for this area?

Bingo. One of the posts above implies the layout of the new stadium area in inglewood is too car-centric. It is. But the more sidewalk oriented nature of certain other hoods in LA, including dtla or fancy bev hills, aren't necessarily all that more full of ppl as their counterpart areas in certain other cities are.

Fighting the nature of LA....which I admit to wanting to do on occasion too....is similar to fighting the wave action of the ocean.

[hughfb3]

Originally Posted by homebucket

Below the 10, does Sepulveda or Overland have higher density/anticipated ridership? I'd probably go with HRT Overland or HRT Sepulveda based on that answer. Otherwise, I agree with either route as a Sepulveda extension to LAX. The Purple Line Extension to LAX doesn't make a lot of sense to me, especially once the Crenshaw northern extension to the Purple Line is complete. A one seat ride for people from the Valley to LAX seems more ideal.

The reception to the Overland alignment was quiet. The one with a surprising buzz was the Centinela alignment as it is one of the routes that would give way to the most amount of new developments and new transit trips… it would also be the most expensive. The Sepulveda route also has a high development potential around fox hills and the north eastern side of playa vista, like this new TCA tower at Howard Hughes... and it would be the most direct to LAX.

I’m partial to the 405 alignment as it would be the fastest most direct route to LAX and the cheapest by a few billion, as well as the only one that would give riders expansive views of the westside and basin *with only 1 freeway median station.* But this is a development thread and I say all that to relate back to the development potential on the westside with phase 2 contributing to the expanding Howard Hughes skyline and combining it with a new high rise district at Fox Hills just across the freeway.

[colemonkee]

My issue with the I-405 alignment, aside from the benefits you mention (which I think we could get with any of these alignments from a development perspective), is that it's awful from a pedestrian perspective to put the line where users will have to walk underneath 6 lanes of traffic and then up stairs/elevators just to reach the stations. It's similar to the Green Line east of El Segundo, which hasn't seen much development around it's stops further east likely due in part to that impediment to riding. It would also put development right against the freeway, which is not the greatest thing from a health perspective for those living/working there.

[112597jorge]

Originally Posted by homebucket

Unlikely. Here are the renderings. Looks to be one of those insular outdoor shopping mall fortresses kind of like the Citadel or something. Why not make it more open? Isn't Intuit Dome going to be right across from it on Century Blvd? They should make it more pedestrian friendly and accessible so people could easily go there before and after games.

Theres ample space between the Cinema Walls and Century Blvd and Praire Ave sidewalks for restaurants and bars to serve the Intuit dome crowds and Sofi Crowds too. This urban design is absolutely terrible.

[ChelseaFC]

Originally Posted by 112597jorge

Theres ample space between the Cinema Walls and Century Blvd and Praire Ave sidewalks for restaurants and bars to serve the Intuit dome crowds and Sofi Crowds too. This urban design is absolutely terrible.

It's really not designed to be urban in the way that say Old Town Pasadena is. Not only are Century and Prairie way too wide for sidewalk cafes and boutique shops, but it's mostly a safety and security issue. They don't want just anyone off the street to drift in and out, so they have designated access points where they can monintor things more closely.

[112597jorge]

Originally Posted by ChelseaFC

It's really not designed to be urban in the way that say Old Town Pasadena is. Not only are Century and Prairie way too wide for sidewalk cafes and boutique shops, but it's mostly a safety and security issue. They don't want just anyone off the street to drift in and out, so they have designated access points where they can monintor things more closely.

Yeah you are 100% right, just felt they could have done something like this on Katella in Anaheim Resort District. Less tacky of course.

https://www.google.com/maps/@33.8034...7i16384!8i8192

[HeySparky]

I hope the Santa Monica city counsel increases their security starting today, because they just unanimously approved the Frank Gehry building for Ocean Avenue. The yokels in the community are going to be out for blood.

https://www.smdp.com/planning-commis...kQOcsMSKUCMxn4

[colemonkee]

^ Great news!!!!

[LosAngelesSportsFan]

Originally Posted by HeySparky

I hope the Santa Monica city counsel increases their security starting today, because they just unanimously approved the Frank Gehry building for Ocean Avenue. The yokels in the community are going to be out for blood.

https://www.smdp.com/planning-commis...kQOcsMSKUCMxn4

Awesome! So glad to see that

[LAisthePlace]

Originally Posted by HeySparky

I hope the Santa Monica city counsel increases their security starting today, because they just unanimously approved the Frank Gehry building for Ocean Avenue. The yokels in the community are going to be out for blood.

https://www.smdp.com/planning-commis...kQOcsMSKUCMxn4

While this is fantastic news, it is actually just the City Planning Commission and not the City Council just yet (if I'm reading it right).

Still a bit to go...

[caligrad]

Originally Posted by ChelseaFC

Hollywood Park Retail/Residential - Inglewood, CA



https://twitter.com/hollywoodparkca

The saving grace (whether it happens or not) is that there is enough space to completely wrap that entire corner with retail/housing at a later date. I don't think Inglewood has hit that point where people will go there on
a day trip outside of events and football games. With the clippers arena coming which will equal more foot traffic since there will be way more games than football, hopefully that, the Olympics and the current boom of gentrification will warrant the addition of the wrap around retail.

[craigs]

Environmental review starts for West L.A. Civic Center redevelopment

More than 900 homes could be added to the nine-acre site

Steven Sharp
Urbanize Los Angeles
May 23, 2022

A year-and-a-half ago, Abode Communities and AvalonBay Communities were selected to lead a long-proposed revamp of the West Los Angeles Civic Center. Now, the two developers must negotiate the hard part of the process: CEQA.

The West L.A. Commons project, per an initial study released this month by the Los Angeles County Department of Regional Planning, would include 1.1 million square feet of new development across a nine-acre site bounded by Santa Monica Boulevard, Iowa Avenue, Corinth Avenue, and Butler Avenue. Plans call for the construction of nine new buildings featuring a combined total of:
926 residential units (including 495 market-rate and 431 income-restricted units)

• 36,569 square feet of neighborhood-serving retail and restaurant uses
• 76,341 square feet of municipal offices, and
• a 23,868-square-foot replacement facility for the Felicia Mahood Multipurpose Center.

Plans also call for more than 100,000 square feet of publicly-accessible open space on the campus - roughly double what exists today - as well as parking for over 1,500 vehicles.

West L.A. Commons - designed by a team which includes Koning Eizenberg, Olin, and AC Martin - would include contemporary low-rise structures, ranging between two and eight stories in height. The new construction would be arranged around a network of interior paseos and courtyards.

Several structures from the existing mid-century campus are to be retained, including a public library, a police station, and a historic band stand, which are not slated for changes. The former West L.A. Courthouse, however, is slated to be converted into an arts pavilion with housing and commercial uses.

Pending approvals and the availability of financing, construction of the redevelopment scheme is slated to occur over a roughly four-year period commencing in 2024 and concluding by 2028.

The comment period for the West L.A. Commons initial study will run through July 1. A scoping meeting is scheduled for June 14.

The current plan for West L.A. Commons dates to 2020, when the City and County of Los Angeles agreed to jointly release a request for proposals seeking developers for the publicly-owned land. The winning team of AvalonBay and Abode Communities, which was selected by a panel which included both County and City officials was announced in January 2021.

Since partnering on the West L.A. project, Abode and Avalon have expanded their partnership to another publicly-owned site in Southern California: the former Marine Air Corps Station in Tustin. The two developers were recently selected to build more than 1,200 homes on a 20-acre section of the former military facility.

[craigs]

And the images:

[homebucket]

Nice project. I like how the artist put “Boba” on one of the signs for the retail spots. They are with the times!

[craigs]

I lived in that neighborhood--my old apartment is included in the schematic drawing--and this renovation is long, long overdue. Goodbye parking lots! I would lament the loss of the old, faded mural on the post office building--but it's been so bleached out over the decades that I don't think people even notice it anymore.

[homebucket]

Originally Posted by craigs

I lived in that neighborhood--my old apartment is included in the schematic drawing--and this renovation is long, long overdue. Goodbye parking lots! I would lament the loss of the old, faded mural on the post office building--but it's been so bleached out over the decades that I don't think people even notice it anymore.

It looks like the post office won't be a part of the project, so it should stay in place as is.

But yeah, overall a big improvement compared to what is there right now.