area newsletter SEPTEMBER 2019 • LOS ANGELES
20 19
Community News L.A. Housing construction surging - for now
space currently serves low-income tenants and operates as a 155-unit single-room occupancy hotel. As part of a 2006 settlement, Barclay units must be replaced, and relocation fees must be paid to the residents that are still occupied. The replacement units will be under affordable covenants for 55 years and available to those who make an average of 46 percent of the area median income.
L.A. considers lifting parking minimums in downtown Before the year’s over, nearly 10,000 new homes will be created in Los Angeles County. That’s the highest number of units constructed in all of 2018-or 2017. During the first half of the year, permits to build an estimated 13,015 homes were received by developers in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. Rising construction costs are linked to the local dip in new permits - a statewide decline in new housing development. According to the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation, “the gap between wages and rents in Los Angeles is the third-widest of any metropolitan area in the country.” These new homes will be created in areas suffering from the effects of a profound shortage of affordable housing.
Downtown's low-income Barclay Hotel to become '4.5-star, luxury' boutique hotel After selling for $21 million, Barclay Hotel owners have teamed up with the Relevant Group to renovate the 122-year-old structure located downtown. The
The demand to live in the trendy downtown area of Los Angeles has risen placing downtown into a constant state of redevelopment flux with new condos cropping up. Recently, the city of Los Angeles released a draft set of development guidelines for residential buildings, seeking the elimination of the parking requirement in new apartment and condo buildings. When developers build residential buildings, they
are required to put in between 1 & 2 parking spaces per apartment /condo, depending on the number of bedrooms in each unit. But parking minimums get expensive and are blamed for driving up the cost of housing. It is also a detriment to combat climate change, an opinion shared by the city of Santa Monica, which eliminated parking minimums two years ago.
Community News “By eliminating parking minimums, we are making it easier to provide housing for all and meet our goals on climate change,” said Clare Kelley, planning associate with department of city planning. Because “when you require parking, you really do encourage driving.” The draft version of the development plan has a way to go before it’s put into action. But if approved, it would be the first community plan in L.A. to do so.
construction.
City planners exploring options to ensure affordable housing in Los Angeles
Downtown flower market approved for redevelopment
The city planning commission has approved the redevelopment of the Southern California Flower Market but with two conditions: the developer must have more displays of public art and provide parking spaces in above/underground parking lots. Leading the redevelopment is Brooks + Scarpa with plans to make room for a new 15-story building with 323 residential units, plus office space, wholesale space, & event space. The flower market redevelopment would take up most of the block bounded by Seventh Street, Wall Street, Eighth Street, and Maple Avenue. The flower market will still be in operation throughout
Industrious is expanding its way through LA with a new development planned for Pasadena. With ShopCore Properties also signed on, a 27,000 square foot co-working office space is underway at the One Colorado mixed-use development. Expected to open in 2020, the Old Pasadena site will include private offices and an event space. This project from the New York-based Industrious follows other planned co-working spaces throughout the city with another 22,275 square foot location set for Flower Street in DTLA and a newly opened one in Glendale. The firm already has locations open in Century City, West Hollywood, another in Downtown along with 100,000 square feet at the Howard Hughes Center in Playa Vista. This all comes as co-working office spaces are on the rise in Los Angeles, with Industrious joining other co-working companies like Spaces and WeWork.
Restaurant
Spotlight
Norah and Le Fete
Jimpachi
Luv2eat Thai Bistro
8279 Santa Monica Blvd. West Hollywood
8711 Santa Monica Blvd. West Hollywood
6660 Sunset Blvd. Hollywood
This space which is both industrial and warm, is just right for the perfect date night! New American food has been done to death, but owner Norah still manages to impress with its eclectic take on the category with beets beautifully roasted with earthy flavors from south Africa and a market salad flavorful enough to shine without dressing. The castiron cornbread is another praise worthy dish at Norah and La Fete, served piping hot with a dense crumb and moist cake like texture that will want you to order more. With the new cocktail lounge, you can continue your scintillating conversation over the matcha coconut crème-infused absinthe without missing a beat.
This high-end sushi joint is serving high-quality sushi at half the coast of its famous neighbor on sunset. If you aren’t looking to go all in on the $100 omakase, they have excellent lunch specials, sashimi bowls, and a spicy crispy rice you need to order immediately. And if you are looking to mix and match a bit, their premium sushi combo gets you eight cuts of whatever the chef chooses and a roll for $22. Considering how good this sushi is you are not going to find a better value than that.
Luv2eat Thai Bistro is a new hip & contemporary Thai restaurant in Hollywood that serves authentic Thai cuisine. Chef Fern and Pla are originally from a province in Thailand called "Phuket". The two have been involved in running a Thai restaurant for years as business partners. With the support of family, friends and beloved ones, the two decided to open a new revolutionary Thai restaurant in the heart of Hollywood. It's guaranteed to be the new spot where most Thai food lovers meet! If you want to explore Thai cooking and the secrets of Thai cuisine from traditionally and classically trained experts, Luv2eat is your place to go!
SIGHTS & SOUNDS in LOS ANGELES
LACMA
Petersen Automotive Museum
5905 WIlshire Blvd. Los Angeles, CA 90036
6060 Wilshire Boulevard Los Angeles, CA 90036
J. Paul Getty Museum 1200 Getty Center Drive Los Angeles, CA 90049
CURRENT EXHIBITION:
CURRENT EXHIBITION:
CURRENT EXHIBITION:
Mary Corse: A Survey in Light July 28 - November 11, 2019
Hollywood Dream Machines: vehicles of Science Fiction and Fantasy Open Now - May 2020
Eighteenth-Century Pastel Portraits August 28, 2018 – October 13, 2019
Mary Corse’s first solo museum survey is a long overdue examination of this singular artist’s career. Initially trained as an abstract painter, Corse emerged in the mid-1960s as one of the few women associated with the West Coast Light and Space movement. She shared with her contemporaries a deep fascination with perception and with the possibility that light itself could serve as both subject and material of art.
Hollywood Dream Machines: Vehicles of Science Fiction and Fantasy explores cult classic films and stories that have envisioned fantastic futuristic worlds, technologies, characters and cars. Through props, design drawings and physical vehicle models, this exhibit brings pop culture’s visions of dystopian, utopian, and science fiction worlds to life.
Celebrating a medium that is often overlooked in other time periods, this exhibit delves into the favored form of portraiture in late 18th century Europe. Pastels allowed the artist to create classically beautiful works without the arduous process that oil painting often requires. This flexibility coincided with the growing class of people who patronized portrait artists, creating a unique body of work that represented both an evolving craft and an evolving society.
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