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L.A. Urban New York Influence When developer Tom Gilmore, a former New Yorker, started eyeing downtown L.A. for adaptive reuse potential in the mid-1990s, people thought he was mad. Not only was he considering buying property downtown, he was looking in the Old Bank District, a long-neglected area adjacent to Skid Row that struggled with crime. Upon completion of his first building, the 70-unit San Fernando Building, located on the corner of Fourth and Main Streets, 70 percent of the units were already leased, much to Gilmore's relief. Interest in his next ventures, the Hellman and Continental, grew through word of mouth and a little publicity. Before their construction was completed, the leasing office was receiving up to ten telephone calls per day. The overwhelming response to his projects confirmed Gilmore's intuition — L.A. was ready for a change. Gilmore attributes this interest to a generational shift. "In the postwar period, when the older generation was raising their families, the suburbs were considered the safe and clean place to live," he says. "Dense, urban areas had a negative connotation. People in L.A., [in contrast to those in] New York, Chicago, or Philadelphia, just weren't interested in the city." But, a growing aversion to strip malls and big box stores is drawing to downtown a new generation of renters and homeowners who value a dynamic urban environment over large lawns and two-car garages. In addition, a popularization of downtown living is attributed to television comedies such as Friends and Seinfeld, which are built around closeness to neighbors, meeting in cafes, interesting street scenes, and dining out. "I wasn't sure that we could break the L.A. mindset about urban living," says Gilmore. "But pop culture has helped to reintroduce the notion into the psyche here." Urban Luxe That's not to say L.A.'s new urban dwellers are not interested in a few luxuries. Indeed, many of downtown's residential developments come with a host of amenities, including rooftop pools, workout areas, and gardens. "Some developers think amenities are critical, while others think the city itself is the amenity," says Wade Killefer, principal of Killefer Flammang Architects. With over 40 downtown projects under his belt, including the Pegasus, a stylish 322-unit adaptive reuse project, and the rehabilitation of the historic Eastern Columbia building, Killefer has a pretty good understanding of downtown — where it's been, and where it's going. "Our first projects there were SRO [single room occupancy] hotels," says Killefer. Now, his firm has 20 architects dedicated solely to adaptive reuse projects. "It's very exciting, rehabilitating these old buildings," he says. Sometimes they discover ornate cornices or beautiful ceilings hidden away for years behind dropped ceilings. Architectural elements like these add both aesthetic and financial value to a building. The DCBID study reveals that between 2000 and 2006, nearly 7,000 residential units and 32 commercial and public facilities have been rehabilitated or built from the ground up in downtown L.A. Currently, another 100 projects are under construction or in the planning or permitting stages. Included in this number are L.A. Live and the Grand Avenue Project, two major commercial, residential, and entertainment developments. L.A. Live, with the firm RTKL designing the retail, office, and entertainment portions, has been described as "Times Square West." Construction began in fall 2005. As part of the Staples Center, L.A.'s sports arena, a new entertainment facility will host conventions in a new a 1100-room hotel and awards programs at the new Nokia Theater. Outdoor plazas lined with giant LED screens for broadcasting events will serve as a public, albeit noisy, meeting place. The Grand Avenue Project, a 16-acre (6.5-hectare) civic park and street revitalization, is touted as L.A.'s version of the Champs Elysées. In April, the project design team lead by New York-based, Related Companies, and including Frank Gehry, presented the first phase of a $1.8 billion master plan to the city. In addition to hotels, retail, and entertainment, the plan calls for 2,600 residential units to be created in three phases. Located adjacent to Gehry's Walt Disney Concert Hall, the Museum of Contemporary Art by Arata Isozaki, and the Music Center, the Grand Avenue Project is expected to draw more tourists to the area as well as create a more lively, pedestrian-friendly streetscape for locals. These projects are part of a formula that Gilmore describes as necessary for a successful urban environment. The most important ingredient however, is the local population. "The meat of this (downtown) environment should not be tourism," he says. "It's important that the core maintain an authenticity." For decades, downtown Los Angeles was written off as a soulless center, a wasteland of old buildings and dirty streets. But, all that is changing, quickly. L.A. is being forced to use what urban land and architectural attributes it has to sustain growth. As Gilmore notes, as long as people, the key ingredient to successful revitalization, are considered in the overall plan, businesses, as well as public spaces, will thrive. >>> Discuss this article in the Architecture Forum... Allison Milionis is a downtown Los Angeles-based freelance writer covering architecture and design, politics, and other goings-on around L.A.
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