area newsletter FEBRUARY 2019 • WESTSIDE
20 19
Community News Affordable housing project New details of LAX planned for Santa Monica plan revealed
An affordable housing project is being planned for 1342 Berkeley Street, just north of Santa Monica Blvd. Named “Little Berkeley,” the four buildings will contain eight two story residential units, a kitchen, a community room, and a laundry facility. The design features a corrugated metal façade with polycarbonated roofs and was created by Kevin Daly Architects, whose principal also serves on the Santa Monica Architectural Review Board. The board, with Daly recusing himself, recently approved the project with a few conditions related to landscaping and zoning requirements. Little Berkeley is the second residential project to take form in the area in recent months, with a 26-unit mixed use project being completed at 3008 Santa Monica Blvd.
With LAX ranking low among polls focused towards accessibility and timeliness, the timing couldn’t be better for the airports multi-billion-dollar transit revamp. The Landside Access Modernization Program took a decade to come to fruition having passed the LA City Council vote early this year. The program will focus on improving transit in and out of the airport as part of a larger $14B capital improvement project for LAX. Aptly titled the Automated People Mover, a train that can ferry up to 200 passengers with their luggage will depart every couple minute to and from the airport. LINXS along with the city are developing the transit system that will travel approximately 47 miles per hour on a 2.25-mile guideway carrying upwards of 10,000 passengers per hour. The new transportation system will also connect to Crenshaw/LAX Line, the Green Line and regional buses in a new Airport Metro Station that is underway. The People Mover is slated for construction to begin in the second quarter of 2019, with completion scheduled for 2023.
Community News Two projects planned near Expo Line
of Supervisors. Spanning La Cienega Blvd. south of Rodeo Rd., the bridge will connect the Kenneth Hahn State Recreation Area to the east with the Baldwin Hills Scenic Overlook to the west, finalizing a thirteen mile trail that leads from the heart of Baldwin Hills to the Pacific Ocean. The Park to Playa Trails is expected to be completed by 2020, though much of the project involves connecting pre-existing trails that are already popular among residents.
L.A. ranks #3 for fastest rising rent LA Metro’s Expo Line continues to transform the westside as developers have announced two projects located near the light rail system. The first project, at 11801 W. Olympic Blvd., would replace a vacant lowrise building, previously occupied by Sports Chalet, with a 9-story commercial building that would offer about 128,000 square feet of space. The site is located about 1,000 feet from the Expo/Bundy Station. The second project will be built at 11434 Pico Blvd., at the intersection of Pico, Exposition Blvd., and Gateway Blvd. Plans call for the construction of a 6-story apartment building where a strip club currently stands. The development will contain 102 residential units and 2 levels of subterranean parking and be located about 2,000 feet from the Expo/Sepulveda Station.
Pedestrian bridge approved for Baldwin Hills A pedestrian bridge linking two segments of the planned Park to Playa Trail has been approved by the Los Angeles County Board
According to a national apartment search website, Los Angeles is #3 among large cities for the fastest growing rent for apartments. The report from RENTCafe.com indicates that the average rent in L.A. increased by 6.6% last year, rising from $2308 to $2461. The top two cities, Las Vegas and Phoenix, rose by 8% and 7.7% respectively, but at significantly lower dollar amounts, $1044 and $1011. Nationwide, the average apartment rent rose 3.1% year-over-year, from $1377 to $1419. In general, experts attribute the increase in rent to delays in home-buying caused by rising interest rates; which leads to fewer apartment vacancies and therefore greater demand.
Restaurant
Spotlight
Dialogue
Tavern
Flake
1315 3rd Street Promenade Santa Monica
11648 San Vicente Boulevard Brentwood
513 Rose Avenue Venice
Offering a fine dining experience that far exceeds it diminutive setting, Dialogue represents a west coast outpost of the avant garde food of renowned Chicago chef Grant Achatz. Created by Dave Beran, Achatz’s former executive chef and a James Beard award winner in his own right, Dialogue is a tiny restaurant that serves a 20- dish tasting menu made up of seasonal Japanese-inspired dishes that often look more like sculptures than food. Menu items have included spaghetti squash with apricot pureé, seared skin-on kanpachi, and mushroom consummé with thyme foam. The meal will cost you about $200, depending on the date and time of your reservation, which can only be made from their website.
Despite its humble name, Tavern is a sophisticated restaurant that offers a deep menu of refined dishes. While breakfast means eggs and pancakes and lunch options are represented by sandwiches and salads, their dinner entrees include swordfish skewers, smoked honey nut squash, and braised short rib. Tavern has a full bar and adaily happy hour that includes drink specials and a range of snacks.
Flake is a laid back neighborhood sandwich shop that is also an excellent brunch option, offering a wide selection of breakfast sandwiches and burritos. The menu ranges from the traditional comforts like grilled cheese and tuna melts, to healthier fare such as acai bowls and veggie wraps with hummus and avocado. Flake is open daily from 7:00 am to 3:30 pm.
SIGHTS & SOUNDS in LOS ANGELES
MOCA Grand Avenue
Petersen Automotive Museum
LACMA
221South Grand Avenue Los Angeles, CA 90012
6060 Wilshire Boulevard Los Angeles, CA 90036
5905 Wilshire Boulevard Los Angeles, CA 90036
CURRENT EXHIBITION:
CURRENT EXHIBITION:
CURRENT EXHIBITION:
One Day at a Time: Manny Farber and Termite Art October 14, 2018 - March 11, 2019
Auto-Didactic: The Juxtapoz School September 29, 2018 - June 2019
3D: Double Vision July 15, 2018 - March 31, 2019
Juxtapoz Magazine, known for featuring “lowbrow” and pop surrealist artists that would otherwise be considered as outside of the mainstream art world, has teamed with the Petersen Auto Museum to create a group show of artists whose work is often inspired by hot rod culture. The exhibit features many car-centric paintings and sculptures, as well as a number of vehicles that converted into moving works of work. The exhibit includes work by Robert Crumb, Ed “Big Daddy” Roth and Robert Williams.
This exhibition explores the art of stereoscopy, the technique that allows a two-dimensional image to create the illusion that it occupies three dimensions of space. Following the history of the technology from the experimental photographs of the 1830’s to the sophisticated digital films of modern day, the exhibit creates a hands-on experience, allowing viewers to use various devices to view 3-D art from artists such as Marcel Duchamp and Ed Ruscha, and features over 60 photographs, videos, and holographic sculptures.
Manny Farber was an artist and writer who penned a famous essay “White Elephant Art vs. Termite Art,” which celebrated artists who were influenced by their day-to-day lives rather than an ambition to create a singular masterpiece. This exhibition features 23 paintings by Farber as well as pieces by other artists who had similar approaches to their work. Featured artists include blown-glass artist Josiah McElheny, sculptor/florist Maurice Harris, and painter Patricia Patterson, who is Farber’s widow.
RodeoRE.com