LOS ANGELES
DOWNTOWN
40
C
NEWS Volume 42, Number 15
EBRATING EL
YEARS
Since 1972
April 15, 2013
A Timeline to the State of the City
Green Dreams in the Arts District
5
8
W W W. D O W N T O W N N E W S . C O M
Movie Theater, a Market and More Planned for Historic Core Alamo Drafthouse, Stores and Permanent Farmers Market Envisioned at Fourth and Main Streets
photo by Gary Leonard
Saeed Farkhondehpour opened the Medallion on the northeast corner of Fourth and Main streets in 2010. He is now working on plans to bring an eight-screen movie house, a permanent farmers market and 10 new restaurants to the site. by RichaRd Guzmán city editoR
L
ast Tuesday, developer Saeed Farkhondehpour stood on the second floor balcony near the leasing office of his $125 million Medallion project, which opened at Fourth and Main streets three years ago. He pulled off his sunglasses, leaned on the glass rail and looked down at the approximately 180 empty storefronts and the quiet shopping area that he had envisioned as a bustling commercial hub.
“It is frustrating, but I’m very hopeful that this is going to change for the better,” he said. As a landlord who owns about 800 retail spaces in the Toy District, Farkhondehpour had planned on marketing much of the 85,000 square feet of retail space below the 96 Medallion apartments to discount and wholesale businesses. But with only about 20 spaces leased in almost three years, he is changing course. Farkhondehpour last week revealed details of an ambitious new path: He said he will spend $4.5 million on immediate
improvements and alter previous plans so he can bring in an eight-screen Alamo Drafthouse movie theater, 10 more restaurants, trendy shops and a permanent farmers market. Referring to the wholesale business, he said, “It’s not how we expected it to be. That’s why we came up with the idea of repositioning the property for the urban market.” Farkhondehpour opened the Medallion in August 2010 after buying the property for $32 million in 2002. He originally planned a much bigger mainly commercial project that see Medallion, page 7
Figueroa Plan Pits Bikes Against Cars Key $20 Million Project Would Connect Expo Park With Downtown, Though Some Worry About Traffic Snarls by Ryan VaillancouRt staff wRiteR
D
riving may be deeply embedded in Los Angeles culture, but bike friendly and pedestrian-minded policy makers are slowly chipping away at the city’s car centricity. No plan may be more emblematic of this gradual shift than a fast-moving $20 million initiative to vastly remake Figueroa Street between Downtown and Exposition Park into a haven for cyclists and transit riders. The plan is particularly bold because it would swipe car lanes from a street that is home to a cluster of auto dealerships, the headquarters of the Southern California Automobile Club and a matrix of major venues and museums that rely on surrounding streets to deliver huge crowds. Representatives of all three constituencies are wary that the plan adored by bikers would spell doom for drivers. “The whole problem of access and mobility for automotive
vehicles needs to be seriously considered before we experiment with something that hasn’t been done anywhere else in L.A.,” said Darryl Holter, CEO of the Shammas Group, which owns eight car dealerships on Figueroa. Backers of the MyFigueroa plan, which originated in 2010 as a project of the now defunct Community Redevelopment Agency, believe that new bike lanes, upgraded transit stops and safer sidewalks will improve mobility for non-drivers. The latest version of the plan was outlined at a community meeting on Tuesday, April 9, that drew a mix of supporters, like those who made use of a bike valet outside the event, and critics concerned about traffic impacts. For Melani Smith, a principal at Melendrez, the design firm contracted to lead the project, the goal is to “rebalance” the street. “People say we’re shutting down Figueroa. I feel like we’re see Figueroa, page 10
rendering courtesy Melendrez
The MyFigueroa plan promises to be great for bikes, but some fear it will snarl traffic on a key transit route.