LOS ANGELES
DOWNTOWN
NEWS Volume 39, Number 34
INSIDE
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To Protect and Restore The Los Angeles Historic Theatre Foundation Dreams Big With Broadway and the United Artists Theatre
University Gateway Offers Housing for 1,600 Students
A Dodger is a hit on Skid Row.
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by RichaRd Guzmán city editoR
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Controversy at the Pershing Square garage.
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Imagining Los Angeles without cars.
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Next up for the Sixth Street Bridge.
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Feeling crafty in Chinatown.
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18 CALENDAR LISTINGS 20 MAP 21 CLASSIFIEDS
hen Chicago native Alex Sheft was ready to move out of his dorm, he looked at several apartments near USC. Able to pay about $1,000 in rent, and willing to share a room, Sheft had several options. But not many would come with an Internet-ready laundry room, roof decks, a gym, study rooms and a 24-hour concierge, along with furniture and a flat screen TV. Those amenities were what brought Sheft to University Gateway, a $200 million student housing project by Downtown based developer Urban Partners. He is one of about 1,250 students who have already moved in to the complex, where he shares a suite with three roommates. Located at 3335 S. Figueroa St., on the southeast corner of Jefferson Boulevard, the long-delayed and longer-awaited development was designed and built by Clark Construction. It includes 421 apartments for approximately 1,600 students. It also features 81,500 square feet of ground-floor retail space, half of which is being taken up by USC for office space. Within 45 days, all of the retail space should be filled, with restaurants, a bank and a CVS pharmacy, said John Hrovat, a principal at Urban Partners and a USC alumnus. Rents range from $899 for a single bed in a two-bedroom apartment that houses four people, to about $3,000 for a sole occupancy one bedroom. “It’s expensive,” Sheft admits. “But that’s living in L.A., and with all the furniture, with the TV already included, it costs about the same as it would have cost me to rent furniture for another place, so you get what you pay for.” Easy Living The eight-story structure blends in with the USC aesthetic, utilizing the Italian Romanesque architectural style seen throughout the campus. Inside, however, it’s a modern, high-tech mix of contemporary style and computerassisted living. University Gateway began leasing see Gateway, page 8
photo by Gary Leonard
Hillsman Wright, executive director of the Los Angeles Historic Theatre Foundation, has his eye on Broadway’s United Artists Theatre. He hopes to convince a buyer to acquire the 1927 structure and let his organization run the venue. by RichaRd Guzmán city editoR
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his is a case where you should pay attention to the man behind the curtain. Hillsman Wright stands behind the massive, faded red drapes on the stage at the United Artists Theatre. Although the 1927 landmark at 933 S. Broadway currently operates as a church, the Spanish
cathedral-styled venue looks a lot like it did in its heyday. The biggest difference is the antique bibles displayed throughout. Well, that and the large television on the stage that preaches 24 hours a day, whether anyone is in the auditorium or not. Wright, the executive director of a preservation organization called the Los Angeles Historic Theatre see Theater, page 15
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