Building Trades News

By Christopher Honey
BTN Reporter

 

A rendering of the Grand Ave. development.

 

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wo massive develop-ment projects in downtown Los Angeles, with construction costs of a combined $3.5 billion, promise to transform the downtown skyline with the Grand Avenue project near Disney Hall and LA Live near the Staples Center.

Both the Grand Avenue development, in the northern part of downtown and L.A. Live to the south, are attempts to create a vibrant downtown, with mixed-use development of residential housing and businesses. They also fuel hopes of creating an international tourist destination spot.

“The Building Trades is proud to once again be contributing to an historic effort to transform the downtown of the country’s second-largest city,” said Richard Slawson, Executive Secreatary of the LA/OC Building Trades Council.

“These two projects create thousands of jobs for union members and help fuel the city’s economy. The work our members do will help accomplish one of the most ambitious goals of the city — to create a city center and civic spirit in Los Angeles.”

The $1.8 billion Grand Avenue project includes plans for upscale shopping, four 30-story condominiums, a 40-50-story hotel and a 16-acre public park. Eli Broad, co-chair of the Grand Avenue Committee, says that the vision for the development is modeled after the Champs-Elysees in Paris.

Unveiled earlier this year, the Grand Avenue event featured three former mayors and a number of city leaders who spoke about how the project would give the downtown the center that it has lacked.

At the other end of downtown, the Anschutz Entertainment Group’s $1.7 billion development broke ground on Sept. 15. The project will feature a 55-story convention center and hotel, a 7,100-seat auditorium, broadcast facilities, a 14-screen movie theater, and a variety of restaurants and clubs.

The L.A. Live development has drawn praise as a forward-thinking project that the city has long waited for. It will bring people, jobs, excitement and international prestige to the city as well as tens of millions of dollars into the public treasury every year.

ESPN will be joining L.A. Live in this new, downtown entertainment district. They have plans to complete a 5-story, $100 million dollar building next to the Staples Center. In addition to 70,000 feet of studio space for the production of live and taped programming, the facility will also include an ESPN Sports Zone Bar and Restaurant.

ESPN Senior Vice President Bob Eaton said that they chose the location so that the company could “benefit from all of the excitement you’re going to see at Staples with L.A. Live.”

Rather than one of them creating a single center for downtown, the two massive projects are more likely to create two distinct areas. Grand Avenue will likely serve upscale urban dwellers, particularly in the nearby loft district while L.A. Live would cater to the thousands of students who live nearby, as well as visitors to the Staples Center and the struggling Convention Center.

The projects promise to add much-needed housing to the city’s supply, transform the city’s downtown, and infuse millions of dollars into the city’s treasury.

“This will not be known as the Times Square of the West,” said Councilman Alex Padilla. “Times Square will be known as the L.A. Live of the East.”