EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

This is the Downtown Center Business Improvement District’s (DCBID) second annual Outlook & Insights Report – an update on the state of Downtown Los Angeles (DTLA) – combining the DCBID’s signature Survey of Downtown residents, workers, and visitors with detailed economic and demographic data. The report paints a comprehensive picture of DTLA as a market – and a community – and positions it in the context of the City of Los Angeles, Southern California region, nation, and globe.

This report arrives at a critical moment not just for Downtown Los Angeles, but city centers worldwide. Last year’s report was published as we began to emerge from the COVID-19 crisis; this one finds us in the early stages of our post-pandemic reality - with states of emergency lifted but impacts still evident. This is particularly true for central business districts which have been upended by shifts in office work and the interrelated effects the pandemic has had on other sectors and on the public realm.

The market statistics that the DCBID tracks on a quarterly basis show much of Downtown well on the way to recovery. Residential occupancy has returned to prepandemic levels, and perhaps more impressively, so has hospitality. Visitation numbers similarly affirm that people are returning to DTLA. The exception of course is uncertainty around the future of office work, and what lower occupancy levels and a reduced population of daytime workers might mean for Downtown’s vitality.

In counterpoint to the market statistics in this report are the survey results of almost 2,000 respondents, which, when compared to the halcyon days before COVID, present a significantly reduced sense of optimism about the future. Whether on general questions about Downtown’s direction or specific ones regarding issues such as public safety, the responses express understandable concern and frustration at what seem to be intractable problems and a perceived lack of progress in addressing them.

Despite these issues, and the challenges around remote/ hybrid office work, Downtown remains vital to the strength of the LA region - not only as its primary core of commercial activity and most significant job base, but also as a vibrant local community of over 90,000 residents; a dynamic global center of arts, culture and entertainment; and the critical hub of its regional mass transit system.

By combining the dual vantage points of market conditions and public sentiments, this report illuminates the concurrent opportunities and challenges of this moment and demonstrates the clear and present need for urgent action to secure Downtown’s future – not just for Downtown, but for all of Los Angeles. When the 2028 Olympic Games were awarded to Los Angeles, the hard-won progress Downtown had made over 20 years to become a truly great urban center was an important factor. When the eyes of the world are on the City of Los Angeles five years from now, what they see will largely depend on how we have met the challenges we are facing today – and whether we have seized the opportunity to reimagine DTLA once again.