LOS ANGELES
DOWNTOWN
NEWS
New Downtown Leaders
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A condo auction, park efforts, and other happenings Around Town. In 2010, Downtown will see more comfort food, cupcakes and mac-and cheese.
W W W. D O W N T O W N N E W S . C O M
January 4, 2010
Volume 39, Number 1
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The Downtown 100
INSIDE
The Projects, People and Places That Will Dominate Downtown in 2010
More housing is coming.
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or Downtown Los Angeles, the next 12 months are going to be huge. That may strike some as odd, given the recession. Yet after massive growth in the past decade, Downtown is poised for even more activity this year. Projects long under construction are scheduled to debut in 2010, while other developers
are beginning to lay the groundwork for the next stage of building. Numerous smaller community features, including restaurants and retail efforts, are also in the works. In anticipation of the next 12 months, Los Angeles Downtown News has detailed 20 key categories and identified five things in each to come up with
100 projects, people and places every Downtowner needs to know. They range from new housing developments (page 3) to transportation issues (page 4) to what the local museums are planning (11). There may be debate about where the Central City is, but one thing is for sure: With The Downtown 100, the community will not be dull in 2010.
Mega Projects and Mega Questions THE DOWNTOWN
Key players on the sports scene.
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The politicians to watch in 2010.
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Still waiting for stalled projects.
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Downtown Gets Ready for Five Huge Developments in 2010 by AnnA Scott StAff writer
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or Downtown Los Angeles, 2009 was a pretty exciting year. Sure, the recession put a damper on a lot of things, but on the development front the community was actually quite active, as numerous large projects that began before the bubble burst came online. From housing efforts like Sakura Crossing to entertainment attractions such as the multiplex at L.A. Live to civic projects including the Gold Line, the area saw plenty of openings. In 2010, the trend will continue, as other major developments planned in sunnier times finish construction. The activity will take place all across Downtown, with hotels, housing complexes and more debuting everywhere from the Historic Core to the Figueroa Corridor. Here are five megaprojects Downtown is eagerly anticipating. Unconventional: The $900 million, 54-story Convention Center hotel at L.A. Live is scheduled to open Feb. 15. The tower, with 878 JW Marriott rooms and 123 Ritz-Carlton rooms (along with
224 Ritz-Carlton condos on the building’s upper levels), is expected to have impacts that reach well beyond the 27-acre L.A. Live campus. Tourism officials have seen an uptick in bookings at the adjacent Convention Center since the project broke ground, and other Downtown hotel owners are hoping that the spillover will boost the entire area’s sluggish occupancy rates. All those visitors will also mean a lot of customers for area restaurants and businesses. School’s in Session: USC has lacked adequate student housing for years. The school even purchased the Radisson Hotel across the street from campus in 2001 to help house students. Developer Urban Partners’ $168 million University Gateway should make a serious dent in the problem when it opens in time for classes in the fall. Reservations are already being taken for the eight-story, 421unit complex at Figueroa Street and Jefferson Boulevard, which can hold about 1,699 students. A key is that the project includes 81,500 square feet of ground floor retail space. see Projects, page 9
photo by Gary Leonard
The $900 Million Convention Center hotel at L.A. Live is scheduled to open Feb. 15. It holds 1,001 hotel rooms and 224 condominiums.
Play Time The year’s museum highlights.
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Big Festivals, Cult Classics and More Will Fill Downtown Stages in 2010 THE DOWNTOWN
by Jon regArdie executive editor
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Five great entertainment options.
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14 CALENDAR LISTINGS 16 MAP 17 CLASSIFIEDS
hen it comes to happenings on stage in 2010, Downtown is the envy of every other community in Los Angeles. The next 12 months will bring an array of shows and events that will draw international attention. From world premieres to cult classic revivals to pieces that push the envelope, the Central City will be host to numerous sold-out performances. Here are five of the stage highlights for the year. Ring Around the City: Los Angeles Opera last year earned enthusiastic reviews for the first three installments of Richard Wagner’s Ring cycle. This year, not only does the final piece, Götterdämmerung, arrive (April 3-25 at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion), but so does a huge celebration. Ring Festival L.A. takes
places April 15 to June 30. In addition to complete presentations of the four operas directed and designed by Achim Freyer, more than 75 local arts and cultural organizations will explore various aspects of the works (including Wagner’s reviled anti-Semitism). Downtown participants include MOCA, the Colburn School and Grand Performances. Gotta Pee Wee: If you are of a certain age, then you fondly recall the cable bonanza that was “Pee-wee’s Playhouse,” complete with a talking chair, a genie, a pterodactyl, and of course, the kooky man-child embodied by comedian Paul Reubens. If you are of that certain age, then you will be heading to Club Nokia for The Pee-wee Herman Show. From Jan. 12-Feb. 7, Pee-wee will take over the venue at L.A. Live, delivering a stage show that is certainly not for little kids. Expect Reubens, who has mostly see Stage, page 13
The Voice of Downtown Los Angeles
photo by Gary Leonard
Comedian Paul Reubens brings his famous creation back to life with a Jan. 12-Feb. 7 production of The Peewee Herman Show. It takes over Club Nokia.