LA Live: Go For It

LA Live: Go for It

Los Angeles is one of the most unique cities in the world, in that it really has no borders and includes such a wide expanse of area. Because of this Downtown Los Angeles has never had the same draw and feel as many other cities downtowns. There is no distinct center or exact place that can be identified as downtown in Los Angeles. Some say downtown is where the Disney Concert Hall is on Hill Street, others identify downtown as the big buildings they see passing on the 110 Freeway, some even see downtown as being Exposition Park near the USC campus. All these places present one or two attractions but not places that offer a wide array of options for people to spend their time. The LA Live Projects goal is to create a downtown feel that people can identify with, and a place that will attract people to come spend their time by adding to the existing Staples Center, and Convention Center a new 7,100 seat theater, 8 premier restaurants, night clubs, and a Ritz Carlton and Marriott combined use hotel and condominium building. A complete list of attraction can be seen here. There have been numerous obstacles that have arisen as this project has progressed and much opposition to this project, the fact of the matter remains that the LA Live project is a necessary improvement Downtown Los Angeles needs to make if they are going to compete with the other major cities of the world.

For anyone that is unfamiliar with the LA Live Project, it is a $2.5 billion project that is being constructed on Figueroa St. south of Olympic Blvd. A map can be seen here. The project is set to be completed in three phases with staggered completion dates, ultimately finishing in late 2009. The first phase contains the Nokia Theatre which is a 7,100 seat venue that plans to hold Espy Awards show, Miss USA competitions, the Grammy’s, in addition to numerous other events and the Nokia Plaza which is an open area that will serve as a pedestrian walkway from the Staples Center to the Nokia Theatre. Construction began on September 15, 2005 and the first phase is set to be completed by October 18, 2007. The second phase includes the ESPN West Coast Studios, eight premier restaurants including P.F. Chang’s, ESPN Zone, two nightclubs; The Conga Room and Club Nokia, and a bowling alley. This phase of the project is set to be completed a year later by October of 2008. The final and biggest phase of the project is the 55 story Ritz Carlton and Marriott hotel and condominium building, as well as a 14 screen Regal movie theater. Over half the condominiums have already sold, with their price tag being between $1.5 and $6 million dollars. This final phase of the project will be completed by late 2009, with residence being able to move in before 2010.

Critics of the LA Live project have described the project as trying to make Los Angeles into a replica of Manhattan, New York, in which the city becomes so concentrated in a small area that the sun and the outdoors becomes overlooked in favor of human activities. Joel Kotkin is one of the most notable critics of making downtown Los Angeles have a central location; his blog can be read here. He argues in one of his articles seen here, that there is a trend in Los Angeles to make downtown much more dense, with residential, commercial, and entertainment venues in favor of spreading to more of the wide open space that Los Angeles has. One of Kotkin’s main arguments as to not make the LA Live project is that Los Angeles has been expanding outward for over 100 years and should continue to do so because of the natural beauty and car crazed society that Los Angeles has become. I agree with Kotkin that Los Angeles is blessed with natural beauty and Los Angelinos are some of the most car dependent people in the US, but I cannot disagree more that because of this Los Angeles should not try and establish an identity in its downtown. The land that is being used for the LA Live project is land that before the project was being used as a parking lot which is not some of the most beautiful land in Los Angeles. The Los Angeles Live project is making that land exponentially more aesthetically pleasing and useful than what was there before. It is true that the LA Live project does resemble Times Square in some respects, but what is wrong with that. Nearly everyone that goes to New York makes Times Square one of their destinations because many associate New York with Times Square. This is a perfect opportunity for Los Angeles to follow in the footsteps of Times Square and make something in Downtown that people will identify Los Angeles with. Some may argue that Los Angeles has much more to offer than to be known for their Downtown, such as the beaches, Hollywood, or Sunset Blvd to name a few, but what is wrong with adding even more to one of the most diverse cities in the world.

Another argument against the LA Live project is that it seems to be catering to tourists, as opposed to making a project that people living in Los Angeles will use. Since there is a lot of Los Angeles tax dollars going into this project many feel that it should serve those that are paying those taxes. LA Live will be a big draw for out of town visitors, but it will also be a place that people from Los Angeles can use as well. An article discussing many of these topics can be read here. Being a student at the University of Southern California I have found that my options are somewhat limited in what I can find to do for entertainment in close proximity to USC’s campus. To see a movie the closest nice theater would be at The Grove which is a pain to get to at many times during the day thanks to Los Angeles traffic. The nightlife is also limited, as there is only one bar in close proximity to USC. LA Live will completely change this for the thousands of students living in and around downtown Los Angeles. The Nokia Theater would also cater to people from Los Angeles as it would serve as a venue for many musicians to stop at on their tours. LA Live will also bring in over 13.5 million visitors a year to Los Angeles and this will produce an estimated 25,000 jobs creating nearly $10 billion in revenue to the area.

A very recent development in this project took place less than a week ago. Legislation approved in a last minute bill to let AEG, who is the developer of LA Live to use state funds for street and sidewalk improvements near their development. LA Live is looking to get around $50 million from this fund to use. The state funds that they were approved to use comes from a fund that is designated to help with the construction of affordable housing. Many argue that the street improvements that are going to take place with this funding do not facilitate the growth of affordable housing but instead add to the aesthetics of the LA Live project. Governor Schwarzenegger has the opportunity to veto the bill but it is highly unlikely that he will exercise that authority. Although it is true to some extent that the money does not directly benefit affordable housing, according to AEG the money will be used to improve the street and sidewalks along the whole Figueroa corridor which stretches from the Staples Center and LA live, to Exposition Parkway. If the money does get spent on improving the Figueroa corridor I believe it will indirectly help with affordable housing in that the improvements on the street will help attract potential developers and residents to build and move into housing along this stretch of road. More on this topic can be found in this LA Times article. What AEG and LA Live are doing is creating a livable community, which is what the fund is holding money for and supporting.

The most challenging part of the LA Live project and the portion that has given rise to the most obstacles is the Ritz Carlton and Marriott hotels that are being constructed. In the beginning of the project Hilton hotels was planned to be the operating hotel company for this building. They withdrew their bid for the hotel because of rising construction costs in Southern California. This presented a problem in that LA Live had a huge hotel that was planning to be built but no one to finance it as Ted Tanner, AEG’s Senior Vice President of Real Estate explains in this interview. What ended up happening was that AEG decided to finance the hotel on their own until they found other investing hotel companies to come in and help. In addition to this the city has seen the need for this project to be completed, with the hotel as a cornerstone of the project and the city council has given many rebates to AEG on this project. The Los Angeles city council has called for AEG to get a rebate of at least $246 million in the hotel bed taxes and is also giving a $5 million grant from the city and a $4 million in building fees. What this shows is that many people in the Los Angeles area are in support and want this project to be complete, since they are allowing their city council members to use their vote to agree to help with much of the taxes and fees associated with the construction of this project. Hopefully this will attract other prospective designers and contractors to find creative ways to build projects similar to the LA Live project, in helping to make downtown Los Angeles a place that people will want to travel to.

All large scale construction projects will have their fair share of dissenters. Those that are against the building of LA Live have very valid and thoughtful arguments which need to be addressed in order to come up with a solution that the majority of the people in Los Angeles will be happy with. The fact of the matter remains that the people of Los Angeles need to have some location that they can distinguish as being downtown. A place where Los Angelinos can be proud of and a place they will want to spend time. This is an essential part of all great cities, the characteristic of having place that can serve as the heart of the city, a place that is vital to the growth and recognition of a city. LA Live will be that heart to the Los Angeles area, it will serve as a center for people from not only Los Angeles but all over the world to be drawn to, to experience what Los Angeles has to offer. LA Live will work in harmony and compliment all the other aspects Los Angeles has to offer and add to one of the most interesting and diverse cities in the world.

Works Cited

DiMassa, Cara Mia. “2 Projects, 2 Visions of Downtown’s Future.” Los Angeles Times. 15 September 2005. http://www.latimes.com/news/local/los_angeles_metro/la-me-downtown15sep15,1,6257379.story?coll=la-commun-los_angeles_metro&ctrack=2&cset=true

Hymon, Steve and McGreevy, Patrick. “Last-Minute Bill boosts Anschutz’s L.A. Project.” Los Angeles Times. 13 September 2007. http://www.latimes.com/sports/basketball/nba/lakers/la-me-anschutz13sep13,1,3209318.story?track=rss&ctrack=3&cset=true

Kotkin, Joel. “Joel Kotkin Blog.” http://www.joelkotkin.com/

Kotkin, Joel. “Why the Rush to Manhattanize L.A.?” Los Angeles Times. 12 August 2007. http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/la-op-kotkin12aug12,1,3406838.story?ctrack=1&cset=true

Nokia Theatre LA Live. 2007. http://www.nokiatheatrelalive.com/lalive.php

Tanner, Ted. LA Live’s Nokia Theatre Opening in the Fall; Downtown Becomes a Destination.” The Planning Report. July 2007. http://www.planningreport.com/tpr/?module=displaystory&story_id=1256&edition_id=92&format=html