03-16-15

TALKING SHOP FIVE COOL NEW DOWNTOWN STORES

MARCH 16, 2015 I VOL. 44 I #11

SEE PAGE 9

INSIDE THIS WEEK Remembering Farmers Field | 5

Jennifer Althouse in her Main Street store.

A Huge Project For South Park | 7

photo by Gary Leonard

St. Patrick’s Day Fun in Downtown | 15

THE VOICE OF DOWNTOWN LOS ANGELES

2 Downtown News

DT

AROUND TOWN

Jiu-Jitsu Tournament to Hit Orpheum Theatre

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razilian jiu-jitsu hit the mainstream with the rise of mixed martial arts, in which grappling and making someone submit with a chokehold is just as effective as a one-punch knockout. Now, one of the sport’s top practitioners, Eddie Bravo, is bringing a jiu-jitsu tournament to Downtown. The third iteration of the Eddie Bravo Invitational will be held Sunday, March 22, at 4 p.m. at the Orpheum Theatre at 842 S. Broadway The 22-competitor roster includes grapplers from some of the sport’s top schools, including Renzo Gracie Academy, Atos and Bravo’s own 10th Planet. Unlike some other BJJ tournaments, no match can go to a draw, meaning the audience will get their fill of chokes, ankle locks and arm bars. General admission is $20, reserved seating is $35 and VIP front-row seats are $85. Tickets and more information are at eddiebravoinvitational.com. Bravo’s event continues a theme of sorts for historic Downtown theaters: On March 7, former superstar boxer Oscar De La Hoya launched his monthly L.A. Fight Club at the Belasco Theatre on Hill Street.

Big South Park Project Breaks Ground

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he South Park building boom continues, and weeks after ground was broken on

TWITTER: @ DOWNTOWNNEWS the 22-story condominium tower Ten50, work has started on a pair of seven-story structures. Downtown-based Mack Urban announced that construction began March 2 on the project that will create a total of 362 residences in buildings separated by an alley at 1230 S. Olive St. and 1231 S. Hill St. The budget for the buildings is $144 million. Mack Urban also announced that Capri Capital Partners has joined the Mack Real Estate Group and AECOM Capital as partners in the development. “We have spent 15 months on the strategic design and planning of this project, and we’re happy to get it under way because we believe it is well tailored to local demand,” said Mack Urban CEO Paul Keller in a prepared statement. Completion is expected in the first quarter of 2017. The rental project will have units that average 760 feet, with 75% of them being studio or one-bedroom apartments. The project will include 438 parking spaces and a bicycle room and repair shop that can hold 400 two-wheelers. There will also be two dog runs.

Burlington Store Coming to Downtown

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he Downtown retail revival continues, with another national chain announcing its intentions to open in the Central City. Last week, discount retailer Burlington said that it will open a store this fall at 309 W. Seventh St. in the for Big Lots space. The company, frequently known as Burlington Coat Factory, opened its first store in 1972 and now has 541 outlets in 44 states and Puerto Rico. The Downtown Los Angeles shop will be 56,565 square

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March 16, 2015

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feet and will create 50-100 jobs. The business, which sells goods at 65% off department store prices, will features men’s, women’s and children’s apparel, as well as accessories, shoes, home decor and gift items. Hiring for the new store, one of 62 Burlington locations in California, will begin in the fall. “We are thrilled to open a new Burlington in the Los Angeles community, bringing even more jobs to the neighborhood and providing local residents with a valued shopping experience,” said Tom Kingsbury, chairman and CEO of Burlington Stores, in a prepared statement. Burlington’s arrival in Downtown will follow the addition of

March 4, 2015

national retailers such as Urban Outfitters, Ross Dress for Less, The Gap, Zara and H&M.

Plans for 33-Story Tower at Fourth and Hill Streets

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parking lot at Fourth and Hill streets could be seeing some action, as developer Equity Residential has filed plans to erect a 33-story tower. The project would rise on a nearly one-acre parcel at 340 S. Hill St. and would have 428 residential units, along with Continued on page 24

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4 Downtown News

DT

EDITORIALS

TWITTER: @ DOWNTOWNNEWS

March 16, 2015

Urban Scrawl by Doug Davis

A Fifth and Main Revival

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hose who have some history in Downtown Los Angeles will remember what the intersection of Fifth and Main streets used to be like.

Calling it an atrocity isn’t that much of an overstatement. Even after the first stages of the residential revolution began in 2000, it was still effectively an open-air drug bazaar.

It is hard to imagine that past given the recent completion of the New Pershing Apartments. Los Angeles Downtown News last week wrote about nonprofit developer Skid Row Housing Trust’s $28 million effort that preserved the last Victorian structure in the heart of the Central City. The project has 67 housing units for the formerly homeless (a combination of those just off the streets and previous residents of the building) in the structure on the southeast corner of the intersection.

Count this as another big victory for the community. The New Pershing follows the burst of residential, retail and restaurant projects that have changed this portion of Main Street. While some suburban dwellers might still feel uncomfortable in an area that holds a number of homeless individuals, most Downtown residents and workers know how to handle themselves here. Far more important for the future of the area are the terrific additions, including the also recently opened music club The Regent at 448 S. Main St. This is another impressive accomplishment for SRHT. The developer, under Executive Director Mike Alvidrez, continues to redefine what housing for the formerly homeless should look like. Its past successes include the circular New Carver Apartments at 17th and Hope streets and the Star Apartments in the heart of Skid Row (both of those were designed

by Michael Maltzan). Now, with the New Pershing, SRHT has taken buildings that date to 1889 and 1905 and given them a modern use.

The easy move would have been to tear down the decrepit structures and build anew. Instead, the developer and architect Wade Killefer came up with a way to save the historic façade, complete with the large jutting windows, and gut the interior. In the process the floors were leveled and the opportunities for interaction in the building were vastly improved.

There’s a lot to like about the New Pershing. It has the type of communal areas, including a rooftop deck and a ground-floor courtyard, that are often found in market-rate structures. These are complemented by on-site social services to help the formerly homeless re-enter the mainstream of society.

The physical beauty of the building, as with other SRHT projects, communicates to residents that the problems of their past shouldn’t deprive them of a brighter future.

We also appreciate that SRHT is looking to use one of the ground-floor retail spaces to bring the greater community together, possibly with pop-up art galleries and civic discussions. The neighborhood has a history of supporting mixed-income developments. It’s smart to plan such interaction from the beginning.

The community continues to change, and the New Pershing won’t be the last addition. Still, it is one of the most important to date. It’s great to see a project that speaks to both the city’s past and the neighborhood’s future.

José Huizar’s Long and Final Term

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n March 3, voters in the 14th City Council District, which includes almost all of Downtown Los Angeles, overwhelmingly re-elected José Huizar. While participation was disappointing — once outstanding ballots are counted, the citywide turnout will likely hover around 11% — the incumbent’s victory is a good thing on a number of fronts.

An important aspect of the win is that, with nearly 66% of the vote, Huizar will not be bogged down by a runoff. Without having to fundraise and campaign incessantly, he can focus on the existing and future needs of his district. That is fortunate, because this will be his last term, and in Downtown there is a mountain of work.

Huizar’s victory coincides with the passage of Charter Amendments 1 and 2. These will change when Los Angeles voters go to the polls, giving Huizar and some other elected officials not four more years, but a 5 1/2-year term (city elections will shift from March and May of odd-numbered years and align with the federal and state cycle of June and November in even-numbered years).

With Huizar’s victory in the primary, he may be in office until the close of 2020. This would give him nearly six years from today.

This is an unprecedented amount of time for a city council rep, and it offers Huizar tremendous advantages in terms of pushing his agenda and achieving long-term goals. If he seizes the opportunity, then he will both propel the district forward and establish an impressive legacy.

To start, we hope that the Huizar we saw in the past six months will be the Huizar of the future. His election challenge from former County Supervisor Gloria Molina spurred him to a new level of visibility in the community, and we witnessed an impressive display of leadership. While the activity will certainly be dialed back some because of the end of the campaign, we hope it does not completely stop.

There are a number of issues on which we would like Huizar to take action, starting with Downtown’s very long list of sidewalk closures. While this may not seem as pressing as other topics, it could be a literal matter of life and death. The construction of numerous new housing and other projects is creating a bevy of shuttered sidewalks, particularly in South Park and the Financial District.

Rather than cross the street to an open sidewalk, many people step into the road. This is a recipe for disaster, and it is only a matter of time until someone trying to save a few minutes gets hit, and possibly killed, by a speeding car. Huizar has looked at the subject in the past, and proposed requiring builders and developers to provide sidewalk access during construction. This needs to be a frontburner issue.

Huizar has shown that he understands the importance of a denser Downtown — it even became a topic during a campaign debate, and his support of greater density separated him from Molina. Now, we’d like him to revisit another proposed ordinance he authored in the past, one that would put a moratorium on low-rise projects in certain neighborhoods. This topic deserves discussion and fleshing out. While we are reticent about government telling people what they can build on their property, this opportunity to create a denser Downtown should not be missed.

A related subject is the creation of more workforce housing in Downtown. Currently, the community is seeing a lot of housing construction at the poles — either low-income developments for those living on or just off the streets, or luxury complexes with rents of $3-$4 a square foot. This runs the risk of squeezing out the teachers, the administrative assistants and other mid-level earners. Huizar has discussed providing incentives to developers that could spur more mid-range housing. The conversation needs to happen now.

Downtown is a better place with a mix of people and incomes.

There are other areas where Huizar can wield his influence.

More stores are opening in Downtown, and we hope he will help ensure that the community gets a mix of independent and chain shops, and does not wind up with the same cookie-cutter retail lineup seen in other urban areas. We also look forward to him making progress with plans to improve Pershing Square. The park needs a reworking, and he has started the process. It’s time to take the next steps.

This is Huizar’s moment of opportunity, and we hope he will seize it. Even if his next swearing-in doesn’t take place for a few months, his last term is effectively underway. The community is watching.

March 16, 2015

Downtown News 5

DOWNTOWNNEWS.COM

The Obituary of Farmers Field The Short, Tumultuous Life of Downtown’s Billion-Dollar Baby

By Jon Regardie armers Field, the proposed $1.4 billion Downtown Los Angeles football stadium with a related overhaul of the Convention Center, has died. It was 5.

The project had been on life support since

F

THE REGARDIE REPORT last October, and was not expected to live beyond April 17. News of the 68,000-seat stadium’s demise came last week from its corporate parent, the Anschutz Entertainment Group.

The cause of death was lack of interest from the billionaire cabal at the National Football League combined with competition from proposed stadiums in the little cities of Inglewood and Carson. However, the Downtown Los Angeles project had been in ill health for almost two years, ever since its Leiweke was removed.

The project was born in early 2010, and shocked and thrilled a city that had not hosted professional football since the Raiders and Rams both left town after the 1994 season. The plan for a stadium adjacent to the Convention Center was the second football go-round for AEG, following an aborted South Park attempt eight years before.

While Casey Wasserman was a key player behind the scenes, the stadium was primarily raised in public by AEG President and CEO Tim Leiweke. He laid out a grand vision for the billion-dollar baby on 15 acres of city-owned land adjacent to the Convention Center, saying it would ultimately hold two professional

teams and allow Los Angeles to capture major business gatherings and trade shows. He always promised the stadium would be privately funded.

The project matured in late 2010, when Leiweke morphed into a combination of P.T. Barnum and Tony Robbins and started selling the heck out of the thing. In November of that year he told a Downtown crowd that he wanted the stadium to host 50 events a year, including the 2016 Super Bowl. At a Central City Association luncheon in December, he said AEG was working with architects and expected to have an NFL plan within three months.

The baby received a name the following February, when Leiweke rode herd at a gigantic Downtown pep rally, complete with cheerleaders and a blimp, to announce Farmers Field.

Press accounts put the naming rights deal at $700 million over 30 years.

Farmers Field grew up in a world of affluence and privilege. In July of 2011, Leiweke told a crowd at a Crenshaw Boulevard church that AEG anticipated spending $45 million on the project even before it broke ground, with money going to architects, an environmental impact report and more. “Mr. Anschutz would not be spending $45 million if he wasn’t convinced we can get a team,” he stated.

The money spent on the project would later be put at more than $50 million.

Farmers Field’s influence spread far and wide. In August 2011 the City Council approved the framework of a deal with AEG. Be-

Former AEG President and CEO Tim Leiweke in April 2012 with the proposed stadium’s 10,000-page EIR. It would turn out to the project’s highlight moment.

photo by Gary Leonard

fore its second birthday, the project had been shepherded through the halls of power in Sacramento, where Leiweke and AEG lobbyists persuaded state lawmakers to give the stadium special protections from legal challenges related to the California Environmental Quality Act (the same kind afforded to Ed Roski’s proposed football stadium in the City of Industry).

The project’s highlight moment occurred April 5, 2012, when Leiweke delivered a 10,000page EIR, complete with 27 technical reports and 170 mitigation measures, to the city. Leiweke said he anticipated the first game occurring in September 2017.

While Farmers Field publicly appeared to be surging, there were hidden problems. AEG’s big boss man, Phil Anschutz, wanted to buy a discounted portion of a team in exchange for building a stadium. No NFL owner would bite.

AEG again shocked the city in September

T:10.25 in

2012, when the company was put up for sale just as the City Council was asked to approve the EIR. In one of the greatest feats of business magician-ship in the history of L.A., Leiweke persuaded the full council to still approve the plan, even if no one knew who would own the company or the proposed stadium.

The project suffered what seemed like a near-death experience just short of its third birthday. On March 14, 2013, AEG announced that the sales process had been terminated and that Leiweke was leaving the company. Media accounts said that Leiweke and Anschutz had clashed over the stadium and the sale.

Although the tumult prompted Anschutz himself to do some of his first media interviews in more than two decades, during which he stated the company would push forward on Farmers Field, the project was never viewed the Continued on page 24

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6 Downtown News

March 16, 2015

With Farmers Field Done, Downtown Looks to the Future

City officials have begun the process of trying to modernize and expand the Convention Center so it can attract larger trade shows and events.

Convention Center Expansion Takes Precedent In Wake of AEG Announcement

By Eddie Kim nschutz Entertainment Group’s announcement last week that it is no longer pursuing a Downtown Los Angeles football stadium was sudden, though few were shocked, as the plan had languished for months. With its formal demise after five years and an investment of about $50 million, local players have a new question: Now what?

The answer appears to be some form of a modernization of the aged Convention Center, undertaken by the city, though with a caveat: AEG’s football plan included having the company bankroll a full expansion and renovation of the complex, which it operates and manages.

Industry experts have long said that the South Park venue’s lack of contiguous space and a shortage of nearby hotel rooms has made it hard for Los Angeles to compete against regional convention leaders such as Anaheim and San Diego.

“I continue to believe that the NFL should have a home in Los Angeles, and know that the Farmers Field proposal was by far the best put forward, but I understand AEG’s decision to shift focus,” Ninth District City Councilman Curren Price said in a prepared statement. “We will continue to move full speed ahead with the much-needed expansion of the Los Angeles

A

Convention Center.”

Farmers Field was broached in 2010 by thenAEG President and CEO Tim Leiweke, who partnered with Casey Wasserman on the concept.

On March 10, AEG Vice Chairman Ted Fikre said in a prepared statement that a deal could not be reached “that would be satisfactory to AEG, the City and the NFL.” AEG declined to discuss future development plans or any partnerships with the city on the Convention Center renovation. Still, as the operator of the venue, AEG will continue to have a hand in the project.

The city last spring announced that it was looking at its own proposal, dubbed “Plan B,” to update the building without an attached stadium. Similar to AEG’s project, it would build a new convention hall that would also create ballrooms and meeting spaces, bringing the total square footage up from 720,000 to about 1 million.

The city would finance the project itself, with payments over 30 years. When those begin is a key question. In 2014, the city had about $322 million in outstanding debt on the Convention Center. According to a city report, it could defer new renovation payments until 2023, which would give the city short-term flexibility but could cost more in the long run. Or it could be-

photo by Gary Leonard

that delivers the greatest benefit to our communities and economy.”

No timeline for the city design competition has been announced.

Competing NFL stadium plans in Inglewood and Carson are marching forward. Los Angeles has been without an NFL team since the Rams and Raiders both left after the 1994 season.

While the Downtown plan once had significant momentum, David Carter, executive director of the Sports Business Institute at the University of Southern California, said the proposal was complicated by AEG’s desire to take part ownership in whatever team played at Farmers Field while also owning and operating the stadium. The bid was also affected by the departure of Leiweke in 2013, he added.

“The terms sought by AEG may ultimately have proven too much for the NFL to embrace and, with the passage of time, senior leadership changes occurred, politicians moved on and these developments helped spawn potentially competing stadium sites,” Carter said in an email. eddie@downtownnews.com

gin payments in 2016, which would save money but add near-term pressure to the city’s budget.

Then there’s the question of who will design the renovation. As part of its agreement with the city to extend the stadium contract from last October to April 2015, AEG agreed to pay $750,000 to fund a city design competition for the Convention Center renovation.

The city in October picked three design teams as finalists: AC Martin Partners with LMN Architects, Lehrer Architects with Gensler, and HMC Architects with Populus. Each pair will submit two designs, with budgets between $250 million and $350 million. A panel of judges including members of the City Council and Mayor Eric Garcetti will choose the winner.

“Our priorities in L.A. have always been about accelerating Downtown’s revitalization and improving our Convention Center and that continues to move forward full steam ahead,” Yusef Robb, Garcetti’s director of communications, wrote in an email. “In terms of football, we continue to stand with the fans — we would welcome a team anywhere in our region

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Downtown News 7

Shifting the Shape of South Park Chinese Company to Break Ground This Week On $1 Billion Fig Central Project

By Eddie Kim ust a year after Shanghai-based developer Greenland broke ground on the Metropolis mega-project north of L.A. Live, another Chinese real estate juggernaut is putting shovels in the dirt for its own massive development.

Beijing-based Oceanwide is scheduled to hold a groundbreaking ceremony on Thursday, March 19, for a roughly $1 billion project that will rise on a 4.6-acre lot just east of Staples Center. It marks a turnaround for a site that had been in development turmoil for nearly a decade.

The development, dubbed Fig Central, will feature one 49-story tower and two 40-story towers, all sitting on top of a 100-foot-tall podium. The podium will have 1,444 parking stalls and an open-air galleria with more than 166,000 square feet of retail space. The project will be built in a single phase.

Fig Central is the first real estate venture outside of China for Oceanwide. The developer bought the site and its entitlements last year for a reported $200 million from New York Citybased Moinian Group. Fig Central is slated for completion by 2018.

“We feel that Downtown L.A. has become the most vibrant area of Los Angeles, and we look forward to helping accelerate its growth and adding to its renewed vitality,” Thomas Feng, CEO of Tohigh Construction Investment, Oceanwide’s local subsidiary, wrote in an email.

Fig Central’s towers will have 504 condominiums and 183 hotel rooms. Most of the proper-

The $1 billion Fig Central will bring three high-rise towers with 504 condominiums and 183 hotel rooms to a site across from Staples Center. A 100-foothigh parking and retail podium will offer more than 160,000 square feet of shopping and entertainment space.

rendering courtesy of RTKL

Central, which transitioned into Fig Central.

However, the recession and other factors prevented the plan from moving forward. The site long functioned as a parking lot, and for a time AEG and Moinian were engaged in litigation over the property.

The big investment from a major Chinese company is not surprising to Eric Sussman, a real estate expert and lecturer at UCLA’s Ziman Center for Real Estate. Increasing government

regulations and slowing economic growth has inspired many Chinese investors to take their capital abroad, he said, particularly to the West Coast of the United States and Canada. Making a splash with a landmark development in Downtown makes long-term sense, he added.

“The Chinese are not going to do suburban projects, so you’re going to see activity in central business districts,” Sussman said. “They’re Continued on page 8

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J

ty’s amenities, including a pool and a park, will sit on a deck on top of the podium overlooking Figueroa Street. A 30,000-square-foot ribbon of LED signage will wind around the podium and illuminate the street below.

“This site deserves landmark architecture and we’ve been advised that it’s the prime residential site in Downtown,” said Mark Nay, senior associate vice president at RTKL and the project manager on Fig Central. “We want this to become a signature address and something everyone visiting L.A. wants to see.”

Mayor Eric Garcetti and 14th District City Councilman José Huizar are among those scheduled to attend the groundbreaking this week.

Not a Mall A key component of the project is the retail space, with stores spread across two floors. No tenants have yet been announced.

RTKL, which designed L.A. Live, is intent on creating an extension of the pedestrian experience. Nay said the firm and the developer don’t want a traditional “mall.”

“It captures the activity of Staples and the Convention Center and L.A. Live. If you have to open a door, it’s not the same feel,” he said.

“We’re making it very tall so that breezes are able to move through this space.”

It has been a long and winding road for Fig Central. Anschutz Entertainment Group owned the site but sold it to the Moinian Group in 2006 for $80 million. The developer revealed plans for a $700 million project dubbed L.A.

8 Downtown News

TWITTER: @ DOWNTOWNNEWS

March 16, 2015

Fig Central, 8

A FRESH new look is coming

rendering courtesy of RTKL

McDonald’s Opening Soon!

201 W. Washington Blvd Los Angeles, CA 90015 (Across the street from LA Trade Technical College) We invite you to join us at our NEW McDonald’s restaurant in Downtown Los Angeles. When we open the doors on March 23 our new McDonald’s restaurant will be one of just 18 in the world to provide our Create Your Taste experience for lunch or dinner!

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You will be able to completely customize your burger with new flavors, choose your own ingredients, and have it delivered with table side service. Create Your Taste is going to be different from anything you’ve experienced at McDonald’s.

Mark your calendars for March 23 - Join us for lunch or dinner and be one of the very first in the world to experience Create Your Taste. All of us at your Downtown Washington and Hill McDonald’s are excited and we hope you will be too!

McDonald’s 201 W. Washington Blvd Los Angeles, CA 90015 (across the street from LA Trade Technical College)

© 2013 McDonald’s. At participating McDonald’s.

Beijing-based developer Oceanwide plans to place amenities, including multiple pools and a park, on top of the podium overlooking Figueroa Street. A huge ribbonlike LED screen will wind around the structure.

looking for safe havens for their investment and that’s in major urban hubs.”

That’s also true of Greenland’s Metropolis, designed by architecture firm Gensler, which will ultimately include 1,500 condos. The project will create an 18-story hotel and 38-story condo tower in its first phase, slated to finish at the end of 2016. A second phase with 40- and 56-story condo towers has not yet broken ground.

Community Focus While Oceanwide is new to Los Angeles, some Downtown stakeholders have praised the company for its flexibility and willingness to alter plans. One of the most important changes was the street-level activation of all sides of the development, said Simon Ha, an architect and chairman of the Downtown Los Angeles Neighborhood Council’s Planning and Land Use Committee.

In previous plans, a massive loading dock was to be built along the Flower Street side of the project. RTKL and Oceanwide retooled the design to bury the loading area underground and add retail uses, as well as the residential lobby entrance, along the corridor.

“There’s going to be development pressure along the Flower corridor once Figueroa gets built out, so we care that there’s an attractive transition from L.A. Live into the neighborhood to the east,” Ha said.

Jessica Lall, executive director of the South Park Business Improvement District, also is pleased with the change. She said Oceanwide representatives impressed her with their commitment to meeting with local stakeholders.

Lall hopes to see more transit opportunities around Fig Central, but one lingering issue is the Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s Pico/Flower Street station, which could see an increase in traffic once the project is completed. The narrow station would have seen $10 million in improvements from AEG as part of a deal for its Farmers Field football stadium, but that plan was scuttled last week.

“I hope personally that the activity draws attention to the need for the city and Metro to figure out how to develop and expand that stop,” Lall said. “It’s not equipped to serve these types of projects. It’s not large enough.”

Those concerns will arise again in the future. For now, the biggest issue in the area is how quickly construction cranes and growling diggers can bring Fig Central to life. eddie@downtownnews.com

ve oF i F n’s w o t n w Do

March 16, 2015

Downtown News 9

DOWNTOWNNEWS.COM

woo

t s e l ooew ores CN St

taci Woo has been making clothes in her Arts District warehouse for eight years. The 41-yearold Santa Monica resident started with bags, then expanded into undergarments and, later, children’s clothes, dyed jersey blouses, dresses and more.

Opening a store in the front of her design studio had always been a dream, Woo said, and it finally happened in December 2013. The 5,200-square-foot space at 209 Garey St. showcases Woo’s designs, which she describes as a combination of global, with a California flair, and bohemian, with a little bit of luxury. The shop is on an industrial street that had been relatively quiet, though it will be far busier at the end of the year when a 320-unit housing development opens.

For Woo, the community is already changing, much to her benefit.

“We started out opening five days a week, but there became a real demand for retail on the weekends,” she said.

“When Poketo and Alchemy Works opened up, it just made so much sense for us to have a regular retail operation.”

In the back of her Arts District space, Woo and her team make preproduction items, sample pieces and children’s apparel, dubbed “Little Woo” (everything else is manufactured in the Fashion District, Vernon and other locations). The store, meanwhile, is an airy space with high ceilings awash in natural light. Wooden tables feature folded clothes, while dresses and tops hang from a handful of racks. Woo said half of the

A Glimpse at Some of the Recent Arrivals on the Rapidly Expanding Retail Scene

By Donna Evans he Downtown Los Angeles retail scene is flourishing.

Everywhere one looks, prominent stores are opening or being announced. Broadway has an Urban Outfitters, the trendy boutiques Oak and Aesop, and a Gap Factory Store, among many other shopping options. The FIGat7th mall boasts a huge H&M as well as Zara and Sport Chalet.

New stores are being announced for The Bloc (the former Macy’s Plaza) and The Yards at the Arts District’s One Santa Fe. Retail experts say chains such as Nordstrom and TJ Maxx are kicking the tires in Downtown.

All that is good for the present and the future of the Central City. However, these arrivals overshadow some intriguing new additions to the retail scene. Across the community, a scattering of unique shops are giving Downtowners options they would never have expected a few years ago.

In the following pages, Los Angeles Downtown News runs down five of the most interesting new stores to open in the past year. Think of them as a small sample of what’s available, and a harbinger of what is to come.

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photo by Gary Leonard

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inventory is items she created by herself, and half come from other designers who she said reflect her brand. Greeting cards, candles, lotions, hats and bags are all for sale.

The price points vary. Cards can be found for $5 while a decorative feather hat is $450. Imported Moroccan floor pillows run upwards of $200. Woo’s ruffled blouses go for about $77 and dresses are $225. Moroccan pom basket purses are $78-$88.

Woo’s signature is mixing wearable fabrics, such as adding a lace trim to a soft jersey, or including bemberg, a rayontype of yarn with a silky texture.

“This is not a high-fashion line,” said Woo. “It’s a California lifestyle brand.”

At 209 Garey St. or ilovewoo.com.

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10 Downtown News

March 16, 2015

Daiso USA

Althouse J

“Daiso is a private brand with a higher quality,” he said.

Little Tokyo was the perfect spot to open a store, he said, because of the area’s long history and concentration of Japanese residents and businesses. He said the Japanese-Americans living within walking distance of the Galleria are the target audience for the company’s variety of kitchen items such as sushi molds and silicone gloves.

All Daiso stores have the same layout, Murata said, whether they’re in Tokyo or Little Tokyo. There’s a reason the Downtown shop, at 8,191 square feet, is so large, he added: They make a lot of items, and thus need a place to sell them.

At Little Tokyo Galleria, 333 S. Alameda St., (213) 265-7821 or daisojapan.com.

ennifer Althouse loves the fashions of the 1960s and ’70s. Need proof? Just walk into the dressing area of her store at 761 S. Main St. and check out the black-and-white framed photographs of Robert Redford, Steve McQueen and Ali McGraw.

Althouse opened her self-named store last October on the ground floor of the Great Republic Lofts. During the build-out, Althouse, 36, opted to break up the cement and unearth the original flooring.

“People were like, ‘Just pour fresh cement on top and make it really clean.’

I was like, no way,” she said. “I love that Downtown has these buildings from the early 1900s. I didn’t want to go to Melrose or Beverly. I feel like those places are done. I really wanted to open in an edgy, up-and-coming area.”

Another reason Althouse, who lives in West Hollywood, liked the Central City spot is because she sells multiple Continued on page 12

photo by Gary Leonard

hen asked to describe his store, Yoshihide Murata, the senior vice president for Daiso USA, ticked off four words to describe the business in the Little Tokyo Galleria: quality, value, variety and uniqueness.

Variety and value are the most obvious. The store that opened last fall on the ground floor of the hulking shopping center looks like something you’d find after the eruption of a cute retail volcano.

The gleaming tile floors and halogen bulbs are bright enough that visitors could be forgiven for walking inside and putting on their sunglasses.

Inventory runs the gamut from ceramic banks and gloves to dried squid and chocolate chip cookies.

Murata said the Downtown store is one of 28 shops that the Tokyo-based company has opened in Southern California since last March.

What really makes Daiso USA stand out, though, is the price. Nearly all of the 10,000 items in the store are $1.50. Need an umbrella? It’s $1.50. A water bottle? That’s $1.50 too. A heart-shaped basket? You guessed it: $1.50.

Bonito flakes? Exactly, $1.50.

“We have a lot of items you don’t typically see in the United States,” Murata said. To prove his point, he mentioned “stainless soap,” a bar of stainless steel that removes stubborn fish or garlic smells from a person’s hands.

Some items cost as much as $15 — think pots and various kitchenware. There are also some $3 organizer baskets.

The vast majority, however, ring in at $1.50. While the obvious temptation is to compare Daiso with the 99 Cent store, Murata says that is not the case.

photo by Gary Leonard

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Downtown News 11

Articulum he phrase “general store” has a few immediate connotations: staple items, or maybe a shop in an Old West town with horse feed, rope, mining supplies and other gear.

Nothing could be further from the truth at Articulum, a Historic Core business that Narumi Ogawa opened Jan. 11 and that she describes as, yes, a “general store.”

The 860-square-foot spot on Main between Sixth and Seventh streets (don’t be fooled by the address of 111 W. Seventh St.) features jewelry, knitted hats and scarves. There are kids’ toys, paper clips in the shape of dogs and cats and a collection of housewares such as handmade cutting boards and kitchen and end tables, all crafted from reclaimed wood.

If it’s a general store, then it’s one for the Etsy generation.

“Every product has a story, and each is connected to the designer,” said Ogawa, 42, who noted that she and her boyfriend, Funn Roberts, crafted many of the items in the shop.

Roberts is a carver — hence the furniture and cutting boards — and Ogawa herself knitted dozens of brightly colored hats and scarves.

The couple, who live in Echo Park, was considering opening a store in Ojai, but instead opted for Downtown, given the community’s retail and residential boon.

The Historic Core space offers high ceilings and an earthy atmosphere with exposed piping and wood floors. Prices go from $3 for a bar of hemp soap to $4,500 for a hand-carved table. A ceramic bowl is priced at $50 and a small, handmade frying pan costs $80. The children’s stuffed animals, which Ogawa knitted, run from $25 to $100.

A favorite teddy bear is dubbed Mr. Funky; the creature holding a knitted duck costs $55. Ogawa also tapped local artisans to sell their handmade jewelry, with rings, bracelets and necklaces starting at $40.

The name Articulum is a derivative of the Latin word “articulus,” which means “a point in time,” Roberts said. She said that it is befitting of her entrepreneurial moment in time.

At 111 W. Seventh St., (323) 428-8913 or articulumgeneralstore.com.

photo by Gary Leonard

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TWITTER: @ DOWNTOWNNEWS

12 Downtown News

March 16, 2015

Austere alling a store eclectic is usually either a cliché or a marketing tool. That may be the case at Austere, but it also happens to be true.

Walk in to Austere, at 912 S. Hill St., and one might find customers browsing designer furniture and clothing. There may be a special event happening, like the one for Snoop Dogg’s line of socks last year (yes, it’s true). There’s even a chance someone is getting a haircut in one of the three barber’s chairs.

Ultimately, the two-level, 4,800-square-foot Austere is a space for designers to showcase their fashion, furniture, technology or other artistic items, said Emily Arrivas, a buyer for the space filled with Scandinavian goods.

Austere opened in May 2014. Owner Fredrik Carlström, who lives in New York, is often asked why he didn’t plant his inaugural store in that bustling metropolis. Arrivas said Carlström chose Downtown Los Angeles because, “It is such an up-and-coming area, a place transitioning from underdeveloped to way more dynamic and creative, and we wanted to be a part of that.”

There are sofas, chairs, beds and tables, mostly imported from countries such as Sweden, Denmark, Norway and Finland. However, the store does stock some pieces from local designers, Arrivas said.

Much of the furniture has a sleek, minimalist look. There are classic, decades-old pieces as well as contemporary reproductions of vintage furniture.

While it is also a cliché to say that price points run the gamut, it is, again, true in Austere. One recent afternoon there was a $9 Swedish chocolate bar and a $16 garlic chopper. On the opposite end of the spectrum was a $26,000 Mid-Century Modern armchair by Danish designer Philip Arctander. Known as the “Clam Chair,” it is covered in wool and features polished birch wood. When asked about the soaring price, Arrivas said,

photo by Gary Leonard

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“It’s vintage.”

The store sells a variety of Scandinavian clothes, including high-end brands from Sweden. There’s a variety of women’s wear such as skirts, blouses and tailored raincoats. Clothes range from $150 to $800.

Austere also has the aforementioned trio of barber chairs, positioned in front of mirrors, with buzz clippers and hair dryers hanging from the wall. The chairs are visible through the windows, which are lined with passages in English from

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brands of women’s high-end clothing. She felt she wouldn’t have much competition in the area.

The store, in a building that dates to the 1920s, is a vintage-inspired boutique, full of ruffled blouses, capri pants, mini-skirts and other women’s apparel. Althouse gets her items from around the world and sells 35 different brands, which she said are a mix of statement pieces and affordable basics.

Although customers can snap up some vintage pants for approximately $50, Alt-

house said typical price points are $300$400. A blousy baby-doll top from Suno, for example, goes for $360. Jeans and lingerie can fetch $200.

A benefit of being in Downtown, Althouse said, is that she gets to be part of a community that is both changing and holding on to historic charm. Althouse said she likes the juxtaposition of a 90-year-old building with freshly spray painted graffiti.

At 761 S. Main St., (213) 488-1374 or shopalthouse.com donna@downtownnews.com

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“The minimalism of the art shows a simplicity, as does the all-white wording, which is in line with Scandinavian design: pure, white and clean,” Arrivias said.

An excerpt: “After the dancing, we sit close together on the warm wooden benches. The sun is long across the fields. Everything is fresh.”

How Swede it is.

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Downtown News 13

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A New Kind Of Girl Power

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photos by Carol Rosegg

March 16, 2015

An Updated Cinderella Sweeps Into Downtown

Kecia Lewis is the fairy godmother and Paige Faure plays the storybook princess in an updated version of Rodgers & Hammerstein’s musical Cinderella. It opens this week at the Ahmanson Theatre.

By Jacqueline Fox he Cinderella story has been told many times in many ways through many different mediums since Charles Perrault originally penned the fairytale in 1698. Interest is surging once again as a new film version of Cinderella, directed by Kenneth Branagh and with Cate Blanchett as the evil stepmother, opened March 13.

Yet another adaptation lands in Downtown Los Angeles this week, with Rodgers & Hammerstein’s version opening at the Ahmanson Theatre on Wednesday, March 18 (there’s a Tuesday preview). The show, a touring production of a 2013, Tony-winning Broadway presentation, runs through April 26.

This modernized stage version of the classic fairytale tilts the happily-ever-after saga just enough to offer contemporary wannabe princesses something to snap and chat about, while holding to the familiar storyline.

It also adds some new songs to the version that Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II originally created for a 1957 TV musical starring Julie Andrews.

Directed by Mark Brokaw and choreographed

by Josh Rhodes, the show got an update from writer and five-time Tony nominee Douglas Carter Beane. It now sports some 21st century dialogue and a fresh spin on romance and the power of beauty as a social game-changer.

There’s also a name tweak — the title character, played by Paige Faure, goes by Ella.

Remaining true to a show with such a history, while catering to the interests of modern audiences, requires a bit of a balancing act.

“The writing approach is really special in this production,” said Faure, who also played Ella on Broadway. “There is still a lot of the highfalutin language and pageantry that most may

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remember from the other versions. But audiences will enjoy the fact that the writer has so wonderfully managed to plug in some very contemporary dialogue and references.”

The basic plot remains the same. Ella dreams of escaping the wrath of a malevolent stepmother, Madame (Beth Glover), and a pair of pitiless stepsisters, Gabrielle (Amy Garcia) and Charlotte (Antoine L. Smith). She still hopes to get an invite to the party of the century and, with any luck, meet and marry Prince Topher (Andy Jones), who is throwing it.

One of the new elements, said Faure, is Ella’s drive for democratic, if not feminized ideals while still holding a place open for the preservation of lasting, romantic love. However lush and idealized her visual and emotional transformations on stage, at the heart of her glass-slipper reconnaissance mission, and subsequent rescue from domestic servitude, is a message of social justice and equality.

In other words, being pretty does not necessarily guarantee a carriage ride to the ball.

“I think this version of Cinderella presents a very timely and important message to audiences that everyone needs to hear,” said Faure.

“Previous renditions of Cinderella have really all been makeover stories. They’ve shown us that the prettiest girl in the room gets the prince.”

There is still a makeover in this version. However, Faure notes, it comes with a lesson. She added that audiences have responded to the show’s modernized message.

Other differences come from Kecia Lewis, who plays the Fairy Godmother, Marie. The Broadway veteran has taken cues from her own background to make the character stronger, if not stingier than past versions. She is also the first AfricanAmerican to play the role in a major presentation.

“Marie is a little bit tougher on Cinderella in

this version,” Lewis said. “She doesn’t give anything away. Marie is like my own mother and grandmother who would guide with a swift kick in the pants if you messed up, but then turn around and give you a piece of pie. It’s a tough love policy for Ella. It’s all about a learning experience.”

Not that things veer too far from the past.

Highlight songs including Ella’s “In My Own Little Corner” and “Ten Minutes Ago” are still part of the production, which runs approximately two hours and 25 minutes with one intermission. There also are plenty of laughs and singing and dancing, and nothing gets too dark — after all, it’s recommended for kids as young as 6.

When it comes to that famous ball scene, there is also still plenty of reason to gush, as William Ivey Long, who earned a Tony in 2013 for the Broadway show, is heading up costume

design for this tour.

Faure said that playing perhaps the world’s most beloved and best-known princess, first on Broadway and now on tour, is a dream come true. However, she said that she has also seen Cinderella from a different perspective: that of the stepmother. It was a transformative experience, she said.

“When I was 8-years old, I actually played the role of Cinderella’s stepmother in a school play,” said Faure. “I loved it. It was so fun for me. That was the moment I knew that I could do this for a living.”

Clearly, she has come a long way. For that matter, so has the storytelling in Cinderella.

Cinderella runs March 18 (with a March 17 preview) to April 26 at the Ahmanson Theatre, 135 N. Grand Ave., (213) 972-4400 or centertheatregroup.org.

TWITTER: @ DOWNTOWNNEWS

14 Downtown News

March 16, 2015

Restaurant Buzz McCormick and Schmick’s Says Goodbye, More Grand Central Market Additions and Other Downtown Food News

By Eddie Kim Big Goodbye: A very familiar institution on Bunker Hill has closed. After decades of drawing Downtowners for its seafood, steaks, thriving bar scene and huge happy hour food specials, McCormick and Schmick’s recently shut its doors. The massive restaurant in U.S. Bank Tower will get a $4.5 million renovation and re-emerge as Monkee, a Cantonese establishment. The new project comes from the M2K Group, which owns Downtown’s Wokcano, Spear, Bunker Hill Bar and Grill and the upcoming Triple 8 Chinese restaurant at L.A. Live. The Singpoli Capital Group is also a partner on the project. Monkee will offer dim sum, seafood and Cantonese staples in a 12,600-square-foot space with 500 seats. The renovation is expected to start in May, with the new restaurant opening in the fall, according to M2K’s Kerry Moy. Coming to 400 S. Hope St.

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Falafel With Sara/h: It’s hard to keep up with the changes at Grand Central Market, which is abuzz with new food options. The latest addition to the roster is Madcapra Falafel, from Brooklyn chefs Sara Kramer and Sarah Hymanson. The two will offer a variety of falafel sandwiches and salads, and will make pretty much everything in-house, from the flatbreads to the condiments to the pickles. They hope to open in April. Kramer and Hymanson moved to Los Angeles last summer and saw a niche

Bruce Kalman, who made a splash at the Pasadena restaurant Union, is planning to open a pasta bar in Grand Central Market.

The as-yet-untitled venture is expected to open this summer.

for high-quality falafel. Grand Central Market was a perfect fit, Kramer said. “There’s an exciting community and energy there, and we like Downtown’s renewal,” she remarked.

Coming to 317 S. Broadway.

Pasta Galore: Remember that thing we just said about Grand Central Market’s buzz? Well, a top-notch chef from Pasadena is making his way there, too. Bruce Kalman, who has won accolades for his work at the Italian restaurant Union, is creating a Downtown pasta bar. Details are thin, but diners should expect to see fresh pasta, made on-site, served all day. The yet-unnamed establishment will fill the current Clark Street Bread spot and is slated to open during the summer. Kalman said he and Union partner Marie Petulla decided to open at Grand Central Market because of its intriguing mix of old and new. “In recent years, Downtown has become an incubator for the development of unique and experimental concepts in the dining space, and nowhere is that more apparent than at Grand Central Market,” he wrote in an email.

Coming to 317 S. Broadway.

A Taste of Paris: Workers and residents near Pershing Square will have a new option for freshly baked French pastries and breads when Pitchoun Bakery and Cafe opens on March 18. The project is coming to the ground floor of the PacMutual office complex along Olive

photo courtesy Life & Thyme

Street, around the corner from Tender Greens and Le Pain Quotidien. The shop will offer the usual French-bakery suspects, including baguettes, croissants, and sweet treats like tarte Tatin (a caramelized apple tart). The cafe segment will offer sandwiches and other casual eats. Fun fact: “Pitchoun” means “kid” or “kiddo” in French. Sacre bleu!

Coming to 545 S. Olive St. or pitchounbakery.com.

From the Cocina: Los Angeles is already filled with great Mexican food, but there’s always room for more. In Downtown, that means the impending arrival of Tabachines Cocina at 517 S. Spring St., in the space of the closed Ensenada Restaurant and Bar. Expect a menu with modern takes on familiar Mexican dishes such as ceviche, pozole, tacos, tostadas and larger entrees; one early highlight looks to be the cochinita pibil, a slow-roasted pork dish. Tabachines Cocina will also have vegan and gluten-

free dishes. An opening is expected by early April, according to the website Eater L.A. Coming to 517 S. Spring St. or tabachinescocina.com.

Bobamania: South Park is getting an outpost of one of Taiwan’s most popular beverage joints.

CoCo Fresh Tea and Juice is coming to 11th and Hope streets, on the ground floor of a parking structure that recently saw a renovation to create 11,000 square feet of retail space. CoCo will fill a roughly 1,500-square-foot spot next to The Briks restaurant, and will offer an array of boba (or “bubble tea”) drinks with flavors like milk tea, winter melon, green tea, passionfruit and more.

An opening is expected next month. CoCo Fresh has more than 1,900 locations worldwide, but this will be its first outpost in Downtown.

Coming to 11th and Hope streets.

Got juicy food news? Email eddie@downtownnews.com.

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March 16, 2015

ST. PATRICK’S DAY

Downtown News 15

There Once Was an Award-Winning Limerick….

The Best Submissions From Our St. Patrick’s Day Contest

P

eople in Downtown really like St. Patrick’s Day. The clearest evidence of that came when Los Angeles Downtown News revived its Downtown Limerick Contest. Although this was announced several weeks before the holiday, the entries poured in, almost as if the writers were possessed by the spirit of ebullient leprechauns.

OK, maybe leprechaun spirit wasn’t in play, but Downtowners certainly did step up. Here are some of our favorite entries, including a couple prize winners. The winners were selected by the editorial staff of Downtown News (some people, against contest guidelines, sub-

mitted multiple entries. Only their first entries were considered for prizes).

Thanks to all who submitted.

There’s always good weather Girls in green dresses and blonde tresses are here.

By Roy Reel Gloria Molina can say “Adios” Her bid for Council was toast Huizar is the one Who handily won And the person we liked the most.

Roy had the best limerick. Yay Roy! He wins a $50 gift card to Katsuya.

By Victoria Williams St. Patrick’s Day is celebrated once a year.

Visit L.A. Live for the best food, spirits and beer.

Go green on the Metro.

Leave your car and save Petro.

Have fun and remember to say Cheers!

By Michael P. Buccowich Once said a rich guy named Broad With MOCA across the road, “I’ll build a museum And make it a free one, A space for my private art load.”

Michael came in second and wins a $25 gift card to Amante Pizza & Pasta.

By Paul Feri Walking through Downtown L.A. a city that grows by the day from Grand Central Market to FIGat7th Target a little Hope goes a Broad-way

By George Fain Every day is St. Patrick’s Day of good cheer Celebrate life in Downtown L.A. this year Things are getting better

By Willie Arevalo I love living in Downtown L.A No other city where I’d rather stay, I love the skyscrapers, And watching the Lakers, But if they lose we still have the Clippers to play

By Jeanine Colini In Chinatown Downtown near Main, The Gold Line will take you by train.

You can shop there for tea And herbal remedy, Then lunch on a bowl of chow mein.

By Ma’ayan Dembo There once was a man named Geoff Palmer, Who knew how to manage his dollar.

His Da Vinci burned down Which caused him to frown But at least he’s still got Huizar by the collar!

By Roy Reel And what about Eric Garcetti?

Who makes more turns than spaghetti.

He avoids the big issues As we reach for tissues While he basks in election confetti.

By Andy Leeka Downtown has a man named Gilmore Who opened the Old Bank District doors Restoring St. Vibiana’s Beats raising domestic llamas His love of L.A. is now lore

By Roy Reel Geoff Palmer wants his projects quite big Like the one he was building on Fig, But some folks put a torch To his freeway front porch And now he will have to re-dig.

16 Downtown News

March 16, 2015

ST. PATRICK’S DAY

How to Make a Perfect St. Patrick’S Day cocktail Downtown Experts Share Their March 17 Drink Recipes

T

fer not to be in the midst of an unruly throng.

Those who prefer their fun and drinks in the comfort of their homes now have an option. Four Downtown Los Angeles bar wizards have helpfully shared the recipes for some St. Patrick’s photos by Gary Leonard

he downside of getting a drink at a bar on St. Patrick’s Day is that, well, you’re getting a drink at a bar on St. Patrick’s Day. While many people like being this close to hundreds of loud strangers, others may want the cocktail, but would pre-

tHe Pot of GolD

From Dylan sn oF Beelman’s yDer PuB recipe: 1/2 oz. Creme de Ca cao 1/2 oz. Galliano es presso liqueur Guinness

Day specialty cocktails, including a couple unique variations on the Irish Car Bomb. So go ahead, grab the ingredients, invite a few friends and mix ’em up. Just be sure to give credit to the inventor.

about the maker: Trafton Barney started bartending in Oklahoma City in 2005 and moved to Los Angeles in 2011. After parting ways with his band, Barney began crafting cocktails at Downtown’s OneEyed Gypsy and The Far Bar. He eventually moved to Villains Tavern, where he took over the lead bartending position in March 2014. about That Drink: “Irish and Mexican people are historically known for being the misfits of their respective regions,” said Barney. “And what do misfits do? They band together. In the MexicanAmerican War, there was a group of Irish deserters known as the San Patricios (St. Patrick’s) Brigade, who crossed enemy lines to fight with their fellow outsiders. The Saint Malverde I’ve created, which honors Mexico’s patron saint of outlaws and drug traffickers, pairs spirits of both cultures to toast the misfits of the world — who are always welcome at Villains Tavern.”

about the maker: Baltimore native Dylan Snyder is the beverage director for ACME Hospitality Group and its five Downtown Los Angeles bars (he prefers the term “drinkeries”). Snyder has tended bar at The Varnish and Bar Ama, and is co-founder of Beertender, a consulting company that assists in the creation of beer programs.

t Sain e H t erDe MalvFTon Barney

ra n From T lains TaVer oF Vil recipe: ice mon ju 3/4 oz. le ey syrup on 3/8 oz. h er syrup ing g . z o 3/8 zcal 1 oz. me Whiskey h eson Iris 1 oz. Jam gosutra bitters n 1 dash A lub soda 2 oz. c

about That Drink: “This Irish car bomb variation is meant to be sipped,” said Snyder. “Yeah, it’s actually that good!”

CASEY’S IRISH PUB / 613 S. GRAND AVE., LOS ANGELES, CA 90017

CASEY'S ST. PATRICK’S DAY STREET FESTIVAL LA GOES GREEN MARCH 17TH, 2015 6AM - 2AM

It’s Easy Being Green Three Big St. Patrick’s Day Choices in Downtown

I

t’s not hard to find the fun in Downtown on St. Patrick Day’s. Really, all you need to do is walk out of the office or your home and head to the closest bar or restaurant. Almost every area establishment will be festooned with shamrock decorations and will be offering some drink specials, including deals on the still unfortunately named Irish Car Bomb.

Still, for those who want to really do things up (and who don’t have to worry about work the next day), there are three prime choices.

One starts super early, another is extra loud and

a third is centrally located and perfect for local office workers.

Please, proceed carefully, and if you must drink to excess, remember that public transportation and Uber and Lyft are your friends.

A Parade With Swagger: What’s the downside of term limits for elected officials? In this case, it means 2015 is the last year that Fourth District City Councilman Tom LaBonge sponsors the St. Patrick’s Day parade and communal party at Pershing Square. The festivities start at 10:30

March 16, 2015

ST. PATRICK’S DAY

The Irish Coffee Bom b

photos by Gary Leonard

From Mary Sue Mi

lliken of Border

Grill Recipe: 5 oz. freshly brewed str ong coffee 1 oz. freshly whipped cream 2 oz. homemade Irish Cream, room temperat Place hot coffee in a mu ure (see recipe below) g and top with whipped cream, making a hole in shot of homemade Iris the center. Drop a 2 oz. h cream into the center and serve immediately garnished with a shamr ock.

Homemade Irish Cre am: 2 cups good Irish whisk ey 1 cup heavy cream 1 (14-ounce) can swee tened condensed milk or 1 cup dulce de leche 2 tsps. vanilla extract 1/4 cup cold strong cof fee or espresso (or 1 tbs About the Maker: Mary Sue Milliken is the co-chef and co-owner of the Border p instant coffee dissol ved in hot water) Grill restaurants in Downtown Los Angeles, Santa Monica and Las Vegas. She is also 1 tbsp cocoa powder Place all of the ingredien ts in an immersion blend co-chef/owner of the gourmet taco truck the Border Grill Truck. A pioneer of world er or normal blender an high speed for 20 secon d mix on ds. Strain into an airtig cuisine since the creation of City Café and CITY Restaurant in Los Angeles in the 1980s, ht bottle, store in refrigera sha kin g occ asi tor, on ally . Serve over ice with wh Milliken is a preeminent ambassador of authentic Mexican cuisine. She is also the co-author ipped cream on top or of five cookbooks, including Cooking with Too Hot Tamales, Mesa Mexicana and City Cuisine. in coffee after dinner.

About That Drink: “We were brainstorming ideas for our Spring Greening Cooking Class, and being so close to St. Patrick’s Day, we thought it would be fun to create our own version of the Irish Car Bomb,” said Milliken. “It’s the perfect early morning pick-me-up or celebratory dessert cocktail on St. Patty’s Day.”

About the Maker: Born and raised in Southwest Mexico, near the mezcal producing-town of Matatlan, Rios moved to Fontana at the age of 17. He has worked in numerous restaurants and bars, including at the W Hotel in Westwood, BoHo in Hollywood and Les Noces Du Figaro on Broadway in Downtown, where he designed the bar menu and cocktails. He joined Factory Kitchen in the Arts District last October.

Five s Point ios

ban R From Estery Kitchen of Fac to Recipe: hiskey 1 oz. Irish W l ro 1/2 oz. Ape s Me e t 1/2 oz. Pun be, garnish cu e ic large Stir over a range peel with o

About That Drink: “The inspiration behind the cocktail was the Five Points neighborhood in Lower Manhattan,” said Rios. “We wanted to create something simple that represents Ireland and connects it with Italy, so the marriage of amaro, vermouth and Irish whiskey was perfect.”

photo by Gary Leonard

The annual Downtown St. Patrick’s Day Parade starts at 10:30 a.m. on March 17 and winds up at Pershing Square. Participants include the L.A. Police Emerald Society Pipes and Drum Band and the LAFD Fire Hogs.

a.m. with the parade highlighted by the L.A. Police Emerald Society Pipes and Drum Band and the LAFD Fire Hogs (think firemen on motorcycles). The event will start at Fourth and Hill streets, roll down Hill, head west on Seventh and then come back up Olive Street to the Financial District park.

Speeches and other official announcements in the park begin at 11:30 a.m., and at noon the Irish band Swagger, which performs traditional Celtic music, takes the stage. There will also be a beer garden and food trucks. At 3 p.m. radio station 100.3 The Sound joins the action.

At 532 S. Olive St., (213) 847-4970 or laparks.org/pershingsquare.

Taking it to the Street: Bars across Los Angeles celebrate St.

Patrick’s Day, but no place does it quite like Casey’s Irish Pub. That’s because the festivities literally spill out the front doors of the Grand Avenue establishment and occupy the entire street.

Casey’s 42nd annual party will last for, egads, 20 hours, with doors opening at 6 a.m. and the action continuing until 2 a.m. on March 18. The street in front of Casey’s will be closed to cars and there will be a stage with musical performances and DJs, as well as a beer garden. Expect plenty of opportunities to eat and drink. General admission at the celebration orchestrated by 213 Nightlife is free before 3:30 p.m. and $10 after that. The entrance is at Wilshire Boulevard and Hope Street.

The 213 empire also has a few other specials at its Downtown Los Angeles establishments, including $2 off Irish whiskeys and $8 Guinness at Cole’s, and an Irish cocktail menu with $5 shots and $10 boilermakers at Seven Grand.

At 613 S. Grand Ave. or 213nightlife.com/st-patricks-day.

Band Together: The Toy District restaurant and bar The Escondite is a relative newcomer to the Downtown St. Patrick’s day scene — the March 17 party is “only” its fourth annual event. That said, the joint does things big, labeling its St. Patrick’s Day celebration an “extravaganza,” with the doors opening at 11 a.m. The kitchen will offer corned beef sandwiches and plates, along with Irish nachos, while the bar will pour loads of Jameson and Guinness specials, as well as the requisite cocktails and beer. Still, the big noise at The Escondite is, literally, the big noise: Nine local bands will take the stage, starting at noon, including Jeremiah & the Red Eyes, RT N the 44s, The Sheriffs of Schroedingham, Wicklow Atwater and the Fallen Flame and the always banging Blackwater Jukebox. Admission is free.

At 410 Boyd St., (213) 6262-1800 or theescondite.com.

Downtown News 17

TWITTER: @ DOWNTOWNNEWS

DT

CALENDAR LISTINGS

March 16, 2015

The Don'T MISS LIST

n m Johnso nnews.co

By Dan ndar@downtow cale

EVENTS

Indie Rock, Disney Hall Happenings, and the Theater of the Taxi All Land Downtown

Tuesday, March 17 St. Patrick’s Day Street Festival Casey’s, 613 S. Grand Ave. or 213nightlife.com.

6 a.m.-2 a.m.: The yearly bacchanalia continues as Grand Avenue closes down so you can binge drink green beer. The entrance is at Wilshire and Hope. Admission is free before 3:30 p.m. and $10 afterwards.

or those keeping score at home, Wilco is a Chicago-based indie rock band fronted

by Jeff Tweedy,, whose childhood was steeped in the sounds of early punk, folk and rockabilly. Nowadays, Tweedy’s taken a step back from Wilco to work on another, more personal endeavor. The collaboration with his drummer son, Spencer Tweedy, marches into the Theatre at Ace Hotel on Saturday, March 21, for what promises to be a rousing multi-generational show. Tickets were still available at press time for the 8 p.m. affair. At 929 S. Broadway, (213) 623-3233 or acehotel.com/losangeles.

Wednesday, March 18 Eric Owen Moss at SCI-Arc 960 E. Third St., (213) 613-2200 or sciarc.edu.

7 p.m.: SCI-Arc Director Eric Owen Moss, who has announced his departure from the Arts District school, pontificates on the future of the trade with a lecture entitled “Not Farewell But Fare Forward.”

TWo photo by Detlef Schneider

Friday, March 20 Constance Vale at SCI-Arc 960 E. Third St., (213) 613-2200 or sciarc.edu.

1 p.m.: Vale comes Downtown to talk about animation and its use as a property in architecture. sunday, March 22 Musicantica Studio Zanni at World City W.M. Keck Amphitheatre, 111 S. Grand Ave., (213) 9720777 or musiccenter.org.

11 a.m. and 12:30 a.m.: The World City program continues as Roberto Catalano and Enzo Fina drop by to share the folk music of Italy. Complimentary tickets are available online.

Parker Center Discussion LAPD Police Administration Building, Ronald F. Deaton Civic Auditorium, 100 W. First St., laconservancy.org/ parkercenterpanel.

3:30 p.m.: The imperiled and storied former LAPD HQ is in danger of being torn down. Hear a bit of its history and hopefully more of its future in an event hosted by the L.A. Conservancy.

William Pope.L at the Geffen Contemporary MOCA Geffen Contemporary, 152 N. Central Ave., (213) 626-6222 or moca.org.

3 p.m.: William Pope.L pops by MOCA for the opening of his latest grand exhibit.

I

t’s a big weekend at the Walt Disney Concert Hall. No, they won’t be polishing the exterior to blind passing motorists. Instead, Frank Gehry’s structure plays host to a night of superlative jazz and a recital from one of the foremost classical pianists of our time. Saturday, March 21, finds Herbie Hancock and Chick Corea reprising their 1978 dual piano tour.

Showtime is 8 p.m. The following evening at 7:30 p.m., the profoundly prodigious Lang Lang takes a seat to deliver a tour de force of classical compositions spanning Bach, Tchaikovsky and Chopin. At 111 S. Grand Ave., (323) 850-2000 or laphil.com.

Thursday, March 19 Gretchen Rubin at Gensler Gensler, 500 S. Figueroa St. or business.livetalksla.org.

7:45 p.m.: Habit and happiness are the topics du jour as Gretchen Rubin teaches you how to be a better you at this Live Talks Business Forum event. Breakfast will be served.

I

t’s easy to forget that taxis exist in the age of Uber. A reminder comes in Global Taxi Driver, a short-run play written and directed by Leilani Chan. The show chronicles the lives and work of fine temporary chauffeurs from across the globe.

The precisely staged narrative takes audiences on a journey of perspective across the boundaries of this most maligned service industry. This week you can catch Global Taxi Driver on Saturday, March 21, at 8 p.m., and on Sunday at 2 p.m. at the David Henry Hwang Theater in Little Tokyo. Global Taxi continues through March 29. At 120 N. Judge John Aiso St., (310) 998-8765 or teada.org.

photo by Sean Smuda

3 E

ROCK, POP & JAZZ

FoUR

photo by Gary Leonard

Ace Hotel 929 S. Broadway, (213) 623-3233 or acehotel.com.

March 21, 8 p.m.: Tweedy is Wilco frontman Jeff Tweedy and his son Spencer.

Blue Whale 123 Astronaut E. S. Onizuka St., (213) 620-0908 or bluewhalemusic.com.

March 16: 18th Street Art Center presents Marquis Hill.

March 17: Thelonious Monk Institute Ensemble jam session.

March 18: Daniel Szabo Quartet.

March 19: The Kandinsky Effect.

March 20: Sarah Reich’s Tap Music Project.

March 21: Jamire Williams Group.

March 22: Carl Stone with Tom Recchion and Joseph Hammer.

Bootleg Bar 2220 Beverly Blvd., (213) 389-3856 or bootlegtheater.org.

March 16, 8:30 p.m.: Not to disparage March residents Dugas, but most will probably be attending tonight to hear producer Mike Posner.

March 17, 8 p.m.: Goth aesthetic meets hip-hop electronica with Bad Lands.

March 18, 8 p.m.: Tonight’s band Kingdoms claim that they remind people of “their favorite bowl of cereal.” Congrats on be-

one

photo courtesy Jedd Tweedy

F

ast of City Hall is Parker Center. The building was named after former LAPD Chief William H. Parker and served as the department’s headquarters from 1954-2009. Today it’s empty and the site of a fight — some people want to tear it and down and build an office tower in its place, while others want to preserve and renovate it. On Sunday, March 22, at 3:30 p.m., the Los Angeles Conservancy hosts a panel discussion about the building, looking at its past, present and future. Admission is free but guests are encouraged to RSVP to the event amusingly titled “The Stories You Are About to Hear Are True: Preserving Parker Center.” It takes place in the LAPD’s Ronald F. Deaton Auditorium.

At 100 W. First St. or laconservancy.org/parkercenterpanel.

M

ikel Jollett’s life gives hope to hipsters everywhere.

Before he founded orchestral pop rock outfit The Airborne Toxic Event, Jollett was just another Los Feliz ne’er-do-well writing essays and coping with a spat of bad luck. After a fortuitous run-in with a fellow musician at a burrito spot in Silver Lake, Airborne Toxic Event formed and went on to big-time radio fame. Though they famously released a live album from their show at Disney Hall, the band is headed to more modest digs on Sunday, March 22, at Broadway’s Tower Theatre. Tickets were available at press time. At 802 S. Broadway, (213) 6292939 or livenation.com.

FIVe

photo courtesy Airborne Toxic Event

18 Downtown News

Send information and possible Don’t Miss List submissions to calendar@downtownnews.com.

March 16, 2015

DOWNTOWNNEWS.COM

Follow Us on ISSUU

Flip through the DT News print edition on your mobile device, with 6 plus years of past issues available!

FILM Ace Hotel 929 S. Broadway, (213) 623-3233 or acehotel.com.

March 18, 8:30 p.m.: The logline for the zombie beaver film Zombeavers is “They’ll dam you to hell.” Now it’s definitely time to go live in a cabin in rural Idaho.

Downtown Independent 251 S. Main St., (213) 617-1033 or downtownindependent.com.

See website for schedule.

IMAX California Science Center, 700 State Drive, (213) 744-2019 Continued on next page

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March 20, 8 p.m.: British beatboxer Beardyman comes to Downtown Los Angeles to drop his rhymes.

March 21, 8 p.m.: Comedy power duo Tenacious D won a Grammy for Best Metal Performance this year. Are they that good or are the Grammys a farce? Both!

March 22, 8 p.m.: Here’s hoping Of Montreal’s Kevin Barnes wears that kimono he loves so much.

Seven Grand 515 W. Seventh St., (213) 614-0737 or sevengrand.la.

March 17, 10 p.m.: If you’ve still got an ounce of dignity left over after the day-long binge drinking fest over at Casey’s, pop on in to see The Makers.

The Smell 247 S. Main St. in the alley between Spring and Main or thesmell.org.

March 16: RedRumsey, Rearranged Face and David Scott Stone.

March 20: TraPsPs, Prettiest Eyes, Hex Horizontal and Palm Realer.

March 21: Abdu Ali, Comp, Meganut’s and INutsTAND. March 22, 11 a.m.: Tashaki Miyaki, So Many Wizards, Slow Hollows, Michael Vidal and Celebrity Crush.

Walt Disney Concert Hall 111 S. Grand Ave., (323) 850-2040 or laphil.com.

March 21, 8 p.m.: Two of the finest jazz pianists around, Herbie Hancock and Chick Corea, are back together on one stage to duplicate the musical magic of their dual 1978 tour.

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ing the Oat Bran of pop rock.

March 19-20, 9 p.m.: Danish electro-vocal duo Quadron.

March 19, 9 p.m.: “Any attempts at modern comparisons don’t quite get to the heart of David Ford.” OK. How about a threadbare windowpane coverlet smothering Freddie Mercury and John Denver?

March 20, 11 p.m.: We’re thinking Fuzzy Eye really liked that last Beck album. Or did he feel a tinge of jealousy?

Club Nokia 800 W. Olympic Blvd., (213) 765-7000 or clubnokia.com.

March 20, 8 p.m.: Lavell Crawford isn’t just a rotund stand-up comedian, he’s a rotund stand-up comedian in a nice blue suit!

Escondite 410 Boyd St., (213) 626-1800 or theescondite.com.

March 17, 12 p.m.: The annual St. Pat’s blowout features Jeremiah & the Red Eyes, RT N the 44s, The Get Down Boys, Kat Myers & the Buzzards, The Sheriffs of Schroedingham, Wicklow Atwater & the Fallen Flame, Boom Boom Boom, For the Kings and Blackwater Jukebox.

Exchange LA 618 S. Spring St., (213) 627-8070 or exchangela.com.

March 20: Bass Jackers.

Nokia Theatre 777 Chick Hearn Court, (213) 763-6030 or nokiatheatrelalive.com.

March 21, 8 p.m.: Lupillo Rivera’s press picture makes him look a little like Montel Williams.

Redwood Bar and Grill 316 W. Second St., (213) 652-4444 or theredwoodbar.com.

March 16: Merit, Divided Heaven and Their Wedding.

March 17: JQ & The Revue, Veneer, Cutty Flam and DJ Killed by Beth.

March 18: Torches To Triggers and DC Fallout.

March 20: Pu$$ycow, Fartbarf, The Cardielles and Danger Junkies.

March 21, 3 p.m.: Oddball.

March 21: The Conditionz, Crazy Squeeze, Telephone Lovers and Flaggs.

March 22: Guitars A Go Go. The Regent 448 S. Main St. or theregenttheatre.com.

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Downtown News 19

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The Barber of Seville Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, 135 N. Grand Ave., (213) 972-7219 or laopera.org.

March 19, 7:30 p.m. and March 22, 2 p.m.: This week is your final opportunity to see the second installment of the Figaro Trilogy as it hits the stage up on Bunker Hill.

Bob Baker’s Something to Crow About Bob Baker Marionette Theater, 1345 W. First St., (213) 250-9995 or bobbakermarionettes.com.

March 21-22, 2:30 p.m.: The puppets are getting down right agrarian as Bob Baker’s marionettes sojourn into the American heartland in Something to Crow About.

The Day Shall Declare It Imperial Art Studios, 2051 E. Seventh St. or thisisthewilderness.com.

March 18-21, 8:30 p.m. or March 21-22, 7 p.m.: An experimental collage of theater, dance and sound addresses the balance of work and personal life in a piece that references the likes of Tennessee Williams and Studs Terkel.

Global Taxi Driver Union Center for the Arts, 120 Judge John Aiso St., (213) 625-7000 or eastwestplayers.org.

March 21, 8 p.m. and March 22, 2 p.m.: The stories of countless taxi drivers from across this wide world come to theatrical focus with Leilani Chan’s latest work.

The Marriage of Figaro Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, 135 N. Grand Ave., (213) 972-7219 or laopera.org.

March 21, 7:30 p.m.: Figaro hits the scene in the Rossini classic that, inevitably, you have hummed some part of during your life.

The Price Mark Taper Forum, 135 N. Grand Ave., (213) 628-2772 or centertheatregroup.org.

March 18-21, 8 p.m. and March 22, 1 and 6:30 p.m.: Tony-winning director Gavin Hynes directs this restaging of an Arthur Miller classic. It’s a bang-up cast with Kate Burton, John Bedford Lloyd, Alan Mandell and Sam Robards.

REDCAT Studio REDCAT, 631 W. Second St., (213) 237-2800 or redcat.org.

per month for 42 mos

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per month for 36 mos

Continued from previous page or californiasciencecenter.org.

Galapagos 3D. If it was good enough to blow Charles Darwin’s mind, it’s probably good enough for you!

Forces of Nature promises a panoply of nature’s worst destruction.

Experience the gripping story full of hope, crushing disappointment and triumph in Hubble 3D. Regal Cinemas LA Live 1000 W. Olympic Blvd., (213) 763-6070 or lalive.com/movies.

Through March 19: The Divergent Series: Insurgent 3D (8:30, 9, 11:30 p.m. and 12 a.m.); The Divergent Series: Insurgent (8 and 11 p.m.). See website for rest of schedule.

per month for 36 mos

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20 Downtown News

P

eople love the piano, but Susan Svrcek takes it to another level. Svrcek, who has held solo engagements at the Walt Disney Concert Hall and the Boston Museum of Fine Art, will come to the Colburn School’s Zipper Hall on Tuesday, March 17 (St. Patrick’s Day!), for a program dubbed “Oh, For the Love of…” The performance, part of the Piano Spheres series, will feature Svrcek pounding the 88 keys to deliver three sonatas by Italian composer Domenico Scarlatti, as well as a batch of contemporary works. Showtime is 8 p.m.

At 200 S. Grand Ave. or pianospheres.org.

March 16, 2015 March 22-23, 8:30 p.m.: Dance, theater and multimedia all have their moment as this experimental and developing works showcase takes over.

Sleepaway Camp Downtown Independent, 251 S. Main St., (213) 617-1033 or downtownindependent.com.

March 17, 9 p.m.: Every Tuesday this irreverent stand-up comedy cavalcade takes up residence at the Downtown Independent.

CLASSICAL MUSIC Tuesday, March 17 Piano Spheres Presents Susan Svrcek

LAST WEEKS ANSWERS

DOWNTOWNNEWS.COM Zipper Hall, 200 S. Grand Ave., (213) 621-2200 or colburnschool.edu.

8 p.m.: Works from Domenico Scarlatti, Lou Harrison, Chen Yi, Frederick Lesemann, Grazyna Bacewicz and Julia Gomelskaya are all fodder for the immensely talented fingers of this pianist.

Thursday, March 19 Camerata Pacifica Zipper Hall, 200 S. Grand Ave., (213) 621-2200 or colburnschool.edu.

8 p.m.: A talented crew of chamber musicians offer up pieces from Foote, Field, Beethoven, Debussy and Schoenberg.

Sunday, March 22 Lang Lang in Recital Walt Disney Concert Hall, 111 S. Grand Ave., (213) 9727211 or musiccenter.org.

8 p.m.: A world-class pianist takes on a world-class body of work in the Los Angeles return of the much-cherished guy with the redundant name.

L.A. Choral Lab Presents Missa Urbis Angelorum Zipper Hall, 200 S. Grand Ave., (213) 621-2200 or colburnschool.edu.

7:30 p.m.: The “Mass of the City of Angels” features movements from six of the finest contemporary composers Southern California has to offer.

MUSEUMS African American Firefighter Museum 1401 S. Central Ave., (213) 744-1730 or aaffmuseum.org.

CROSSWORD

Ongoing: An array of firefighting relics dating to 1924, including a 1940 Pirsch ladder truck, an 1890 hose wagon, uniforms from New York, L.A. County and City of L.A. firefighters, badges, helmets, photographs and other artifacts.

FIDM Museum FIDM, second floor, 919 S. Grand Ave., (213) 624-1200 or fidmmuseum.org.

Ongoing: The FIDM Museum presents Artfully Adorned, an exceptional collection of fragrance, cosmetics, and ephemera from the house of Lucien Lelong. This group of objects was graciously donated by Monique Fink, wife of artist Peter Fink, who worked for Monsieur Lelong as package designer and interior decorator.

Ongoing: Accessories from The Helen Larson Historic Fashion Collection surveys footwear, fans, gloves, purses and hats.

California African American Museum 600 State Drive, (213) 744-7432 or caamuseum.org.

Through July 5: Formerly of Watts Tower Arts Center fame, Mark Steven Greenfield’s lengthy career in the arts receives its due in Lookin’ Back in Front of Me: Selected Works.

Through May 3: From Women’s Hands features work from five African-American women housed within the CAAM Courtyard.

Ongoing: The multi-functional Gallery of Discovery offers visitors the opportunity to connect with the lineage of their own family, engage in artistic workshops, educational tours and other programs of historical discoveries. Hear recordings of actual living slaves from the Library of Congress archives and discover stories from the past.

California Science Center 700 State Drive, (323) 724-3623 or californiasciencecenter.org.

Ongoing: Mission 26: The Big Endeavour presents Los Angeles’ very own space shuttle/tree destroyer in all its splendor.

Ongoing: Science in Toyland presents physics through favorite

Downtown News 21 kids toys. This hands-on exhibit engages museum visitors with Dominos, Sails and Roller Coasters in a fun, but informational primer on friction, momentum and chain reactions.

Ongoing: The Science Center’s permanent exhibits are usually interactive and focus on human innovations and inventions as well as the life processes of living things. The lobby Science Court stays busy with the High Wire Bicycle, a Motion-Based Simulator, the Ecology Cliff Climb and Forty Years of Space Photography. The human body is another big focus: The Life Tunnel aims to show the connections between all life forms, from the single-celled amoeba to the 100-trillion-celled human being. The new Ecosystems exhibit explores how life on our planet is shaped by geophysical and biological processes.

MORE LISTINGS Hundreds of listings of fun and interesting things to do in Downtown Los Angeles can also be found online at ladowntownnews. com/calendar: Rock, Pop & Jazz; Bars & Clubs; Farmers Markets; Events; Film; Sports; Art Spaces; Theater, Dance and Opera; Classical Music; Museums; and Tours.

2 YOUR EVENT INFO

EASY WAYS TO SUBMIT

4 WEB: LADowntownNews.com/calendar 4 EMAIL: Calendar@DowntownNews.com

Email: Send a brief description, street address and public phone number. Submissions must be received 10 days prior to publication date to be considered for print.

TWITTER: @ DOWNTOWNNEWS

22 Downtown News

March 16, 2015

Map © 2014 Cartifact

DWP

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DT

CLASSIFIEDS REAL ESTATE RESIDENTIAL

To place a classified ad in the Downtown News please call 213-481-1448, or go to DowntownNews.com Deadline classified display and line ads are Thursday at 12pm.

FORfor RENT All submissions are subject to federal and California fair housing laws, which make it illegal to indicate in any advertisement any preference, limitation, or discrimination because of race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, marital status, national origin, ancestry, familial status, source of income or physical or mental disability. We will not knowingly accept any advertising for real estate which is in violation of the law. All persons are hereby informed that all dwellings advertised are available on an equal opportunity basis.

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Draft Environmental Impact Report/Environmental Impact Statement (EIR/EIS) And Draft Section 4(f) De Minimis Finding Available for the State Route 710 North Study

Bill Cooper 213.598.7555

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DOWNTOWNNEWS.COM

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(213) 627-1151

Monthly from $795+ utilities paid.

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5B#268274

Art dirEctor: Brian Allison AssistANt Art dirEctor: Yumi Kanegawa ProductioN ANd GrAPhics: Alexis Rawlins PhotoGrAPhEr: Gary Leonard AccouNtiNG: Ashley Schmidt clAssiFiEd AdvErtisiNG MANAGEr: Catherine Holloway AccouNt ExEcutivEs: Yoji Cole, Steve Epstein, Catherine Holloway sAlEs AssistANt: Claudia Hernandez circulAtioN: Danielle Salmon distributioN MANAGEr: Salvador Ingles distributioN AssistANts: Lorenzo Castillo, Gustavo Bonilla

WHY THIS Caltrans has studied the effects this project may have on the AD environment. Our studies show it may significantly affect the quality of the environment. The report that explains why it may have a significant effect on the environment is called an Environmental Impact Report/Statement (EIR/EIS). This notice is to tell you of the preparation of the Draft Environmental Impact Report/Statement and of its availability for public review and comment and to offer the opportunity for a public hearing.

Two public hearings will be held to give you an opportunity to talk about certain design features of the project with members of the study team.

WHAT’S There are copies of the Draft EIR/EIS available at the following AVAILABLE libraries: Alhambra Civic Center Library101 S 1st St, Alhambra Bruggemeyer Library318 S. Ramona Ave. Monterey Park

El Sereno Library5226 Huntington Dr. South Los Angeles Malabar Library2801 Wabash Ave. Los Angeles

Glendale Central Anthony Quinn LibraryLibrary222 E. Harvard St. 3965 E. Cesar E Glendale Chavez Ave. Los Angeles

City Terrace Library4025 E. City Terrace Dr. Los Angeles East LA Library 4837 E. 3rd St. Los Angeles

Pasadena Central Library285 E. Walnut St. Pasadena San Rafael Library1240 Nithsdale Road Pasadena La Canada Flintridge South Pasadena LibraryLibrary4545 N. Oakwood Ave. 1100 Oxley St. La Canada Flintridge South Pasadena

The Draft EIR/EIS can also be viewed online at http://www. dot.ca.gov/dist07/resources/envdocs/docs/710study/draft_eireis. There is also a copy of the Draft EIR/EIS at the Caltrans District 7 Office (100 South Main St., Los Angeles, CA 90012) available on weekdays from 9:00 am to 3:00 pm.

Visit the Metro website at http://www.metro.net/sr710studyfor a listing of additional libraries that will have access to the Draft EIR/EIS. WHERE Have the potential impacts been addressed? Do you have YOU COME information that should be included? Your comments will be IN part of the public record. If you wish to make a comment on the Draft EIR/EIS you may submit your written comments until July 6th to Caltrans at the address below.

Garrett Damrath Caltrans District 7 Division of Environmental Planning 100 S. Main St., MS-16 Los Angeles, CA 90012

Editor & PublishEr: Sue Laris GENErAl MANAGEr: Dawn Eastin ExEcutivE Editor: Jon Regardie stAFF writErs: Donna Evans, Eddie Kim coNtributiNG Editor: Kathryn Maese coNtributiNG writErs: Jeff Favre, Greg Fischer, Kristin Friedrich, Kylie Jane Wakefield

WHAT’S California Department of Transportation (Caltrans), in BEING cooperation with the Los Angeles County Metropolitan PLANNED Transportation Authority (Metro), is proposing to find solutions to long standing traffic congestion and mobility constraints on State Route 710 (SR 710) in Los Angeles County, between State Route 2 (SR 2) and Interstates 5, 10, 210, and 605 (I5, I-10, I-210, and I-605, respectively) in east/northeast Los Angeles and the western San Gabriel Valley. The study area for the SR 710 North Study is approximately 100 square miles and generally bounded by I-210 on the north, I-605 on the east, I-10 on the south, and I-5 and SR 2 on the west. The proposed alternatives for the project include: the Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) Alternative, the Freeway Tunnel Alternative, the Light Rail Transit (LRT) Alternative, the No Build Alternative, and the Transportation System Management/Transportation Demand Management (TSM/TDM) Alternative.

Comments can also be submitted electronically at the above referenced Caltrans website.

WHEN AND The hearings will be held at the following locations: WHERE

S I N C E 19 7 2 Los Angeles Downtown News 1264 W. First Street, Los Angeles, CA 90026 phone: 213-481-1448 • fax: 213-250-4617 web: DowntownNews.com email: realpeople@downtownnews.com facebook: L.A. Downtown News twitter: DowntownNews ©2014 Civic Center News, Inc. Los Angeles Downtown News is a trademark of Civic Center News Inc. All rights reserved.

The Los Angeles Downtown News is the must-read newspaper for Downtown Los Angeles and is distributed every Monday throughout the offices and residences of Downtown Los Angeles.

One copy per person.

• Saturday, April 11, 2015 at 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

10 a.m. - 11 a.m. – Map Viewing 11 a.m. - 4 p.m. – Public Hearing East Los Angeles College Rosco C. Ingalls Auditorium 1301 Avenida Cesar Chavez, Monterey Park

• Tuesday, April 14, 2015 at 5 p.m. to 9 p.m.

5 p.m. - 6 p.m. – Map Viewing 6 p.m. - 9 p.m. – Public Hearing Pasadena Convention Center Ballroom 300 East Green Street, Pasadena

Third Public Hearing Date, Time and Location To be Determined.

Individuals who require special accommodation (American Sign Language interpreter, accessible seating, documentation in alternate formats, etc.) are requested to contact Jason Roach at (213) 897-0357 at least 21 days prior to the scheduled hearing date. TDD users may contact the California Relay Service TDD line at 1-800-735-2929 or Voice Line at 1-800-735-2922.

CONTACT For more information about this project, call Jason Roach at (213) 897-0357 or visit the Metro website at http://www.metro. net/sr710study.

CNS#2726609

downtownnews.com

TWITTER: @ DOWNTOWNNEWS

24 Downtown News

March 16, 2015

FARmeRs FielD, 5

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same way.

In subsequent months enthusiasm cooled. Last October, with AEG’s deal with the city set to expire, the company effected a six-month extension. The expiration date became April 17, 2015.

AEG’s March 10 announcement that it is no longer discussing the project with the NFL, and that it will not seek another extension, came five weeks before the deadline.

Survivors includes AEG, which has still gone on to make gazillions with L.A. Live and its Downtown hotel and other worldwide projects; Leiweke, who like a cat always lands on his feet, even if he moved to Toronto; and Farmers Insurance, which received incredible press for four years despite never having to write a check to put its name on a finished stadium.

The project will be buried in an invisible Los Angeles football graveyard with previous stadium proposals at the Coliseum, South Park, the Dodger Stadium parking lot, Anaheim and the Rose Bowl. Space in the invisible graveyard is also being left for football stadium plans in the City of Industry, the city of Carson and Inglewood. regardie@downtownnews.com

AROUND TOWN, 2 nearly 3,000 square feet of commercial and retail space. The development would also create 433 parking spaces. No timeline or budget has been announced. Equity Residential is a major player in the Downtown rental scene, with a portfolio of apartment complexes including Chinatown’s Jia, Little Tokyo’s Hikari and the Financial District’s Pegasus, among others. This month, it purchased the recently opened 8th+Hope apartments from Wood Partners for $200 million. The Fourth and Hill project, however, would be Equity’s first new-construction high-rise in Downtown. The project was first reported on by the website Urbanize.la.

‘Free Market’ Retail Gallery To Open at The Bloc

T

he $180 million renovation of the former Macy’s Plaza at 700 S. Flower St., now dubbed The Bloc, will wrap up this fall and infuse the Financial District with an array of new shopping and entertainment options. In addition to highlights such as an Alamo Drafthouse, the project from the Ratkovich Company will feature a 10,000-square-foot retail gallery. Named Free Market, it will host a number of brands featuring clothing, home goods, sportswear, cultural/arts products and more.

The aim of Free Market is to provide flexible, “turnkey” spaces to help support burgeoning brands that want to avoid the overhead and build-out costs of opening an independent shop, according to Douglas Geller, spokesman for CNTRLGroup, which is organizing the market. The company anticipates that brands will cycle in and out on a semi-permanent basis. Free Market will also have a food and drink component and will host community and cultural events. The gallery is a collaboration between CNTRLGroup and Otto Design Group, which are both based in the Arts District.

‘Bonnie and Clyde’ Screening at Million Dollar Theatre

W

hen it comes to infamy and star power, few bank robbers can hold a candle to Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow, who were immortalized in director Arthur Penn’s 1967 film Bonnie and Clyde. The duo, played in the film by Warren Beatty and Faye Dunaway, hits the silver screen again on Saturday, March 21, at the Million Dollar Theater (307 S. Broadway). The film follows Parker and Barrow’s transformation from small-time thieves in 1930s Texas into violent, unrelenting criminals. Bonnie and Clyde was a landmark movie for Hollywood, and its graphic violence and sexual innuendo ushered in an era of flashy, provocative filmmaking. The 8 p.m. screening will be hosted by Grand Central Market and Vintage Los Angeles. The jazz/ragtime band California Feet Warmers will get audiences in the mood with a performance at Grand Central Market from 6:30-7:30 p.m. More information and tickets are at grandcentralmarket.com/events.