LOS ANGELES
DOWNTOWN
NEWS April 13, 2009
Volume 38, Number 15
INSIDE
Urban Scrawl on the arts high school.
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Thank You Gatekeepers 11
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More new buildings, two suicides, and other happenings Around Town.
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Guest Opinion: Laura Chick on the LAPD’s rape kit backlog.
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Office Tower Is Wild Card in $1 Billion Plan Proposed Commercial High Rise Seen As Risky Move by Anna Scott staff writer
Downtown jumps on the Twitter bandwagon.
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he partnership of well-heeled Korean Air and experienced Downtown developer Jim Thomas is still enjoying the glow of their recently announced mega-venture, a $1 billion plan to build two soaring structures where the Wilshire Grand hotel now stands. Yet the plan to break ground on the high rises at Wilshire Boulevard and Figueroa Street within two years is rife with hurdles, especially for the taller of the two edifices: a 60-story office tower. see Office Tower, page 10
photo by Gary Leonard
Developer Jim Thomas and Korean Air have proposed a 60-story office tower that would change the Downtown skyline. The project, slated for the site of the Wilshire Grand hotel (white building with awnings), would be Downtown’s first new office high rise since 1992.
Road to History Celebrating the Treasures of L.A.
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What It Takes to Make a Building, or Even a Tree, a Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument
Downtown to Get A Double Dose of Walgreens Pharmacy Giant to Open Stores in Financial District, Historic Core
It’s time to ride a bike.
by Richard Guzmán city editor
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photo by Gary Leonard
Reviewing L.A. Opera’s ‘Die Walkure.’
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Members of the Cultural Heritage Commission were treated to a puppet show as part of their tour of the Bob Baker Marionette Theater, which sought designation for its cultural contributions to the city. About 900 Los Angeles properties have been designated Historic-Cultural Monuments. by Richard Guzmán city editor
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Architecture students rock Coachella.
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18 CALENDAR LISTINGS 20 MAP 21 CLASSIFIEDS
ith construction work underway around them, Jacob Jalil leads a group of eight people into a small elevator and presses the button for the top floor of the recently restored Great Republic Lofts building. It is a big day for Jalil, who hopes to convince the members of the city’s Cultural Heritage Commission that his restoration of the 1923 building merits Historic-Cultural Monument status. Like a proud father boasting about his kid’s trophies, Jalil had just showed off the 13-story building’s ornate metal entry gate, the Italian marble in the lobby, the brass mailbox and marble floors.
Then suddenly, pride turns to disbelief. The elevator abruptly stops, trapping Jalil, four commissioners, two city staffers, a historical architect and a reporter between floors. It turns out to be just a small, though rather tense, bump in the long road to reaching historic monument status, something Jalil wants because it would both protect the building against further changes and, for the prestige of owning a historical landmark, it could also provide him significant tax breaks. “We would love to have a historic building in our portfolio,” he said. “Keeping this building as is and as it was built is a good thing for the city, for us and for future residents.” see Monuments, page 9
fter putting plans for an expansion into Downtown Los Angeles on hold in January, the Walgreens drugstore chain is now working on opening two new locations in the area, possibly less than a mile apart. Officials with the Deerfield, Ill.-based chain last week announced that they have signed a 25-year lease for a long-vacant, 16,100-square-foot ground-floor space at 617 W. Seventh St. Plans for a second location, to be located
at a not-yet-announced spot in the Historic Core, are still in the works, said Derrick Moore, director of urban retail for CB Richard Ellis, who brokered the deal. The Seventh Street Walgreens would be directly across the street from an existing Rite Aid. The street also holds a new upscale market and two convenience stores. Still, company officials are bullish about the move into the Central City. “We’ve been looking to expand in the Southern California area and [Downtown] in particular is one see Walgreens, page 7
photo by Gary Leonard
The Walgreens chain has signed a deal to open a store in a currently vacant space at Seventh and Hope streets. It will be across the street from an existing Rite Aid.
Since 1972, an independent, locally owned and edited newspaper, go figure.