Downtown No Longer Looking Up
Eric Richardson
[Flickr]
A painter begins to white out the defaced sign for Park Fifth that has stood at 5th and Olive since 2007. The development would have contained a 76-story tower.
DOWNTOWN LOS ANGELES — Downtown is no longer "Looking Up."
A paint-splotched sign advertising Park Fifth was finally put out of its misery this morning, long after the mega-project ceased to be a viable development. The site at 5th and Olive was intended to house a pair of towers, one 76 stories. Inside would be condos and an upscale hotel.
A fancy sales center was built out across the street in the Gas Company Tower, but the development never got to a groundbreaking. In June of 2008, the project announced that it had received a construction loan commitment, but six months later one of its key investors was accused of running a Ponzi scheme.
In June of 2009 the property was put up for sale. It does not appear to have sold.
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George M. on December 08, 2009, at 10:06AM – #1
I have live at the Metro 417 Apartments for the last 10 months. This parking lot would make a great location for a Trader Joe's.
JDRCRASH on December 08, 2009, at 10:24AM – #2
Man thats a shame... :(
e. on December 08, 2009, at 12:10PM – #3
I agree. Trader Joe's!!!!
seb on December 08, 2009, at 12:31PM – #4
It's so dumb how they get everyone so excited with renderings, and at the end nothing happens. L.A. will become the city of what if...
® on December 08, 2009, at 01:22PM – #5
I hated that sign with a passion.
cj on December 08, 2009, at 03:12PM – #6
a third for a Trader Joe's! I'd totally make the walk, though it would be farther than going to Ralphs
Tim on December 08, 2009, at 05:35PM – #7
I am glad this one is dead. Park Fifth was ugly. Too bad some Quimby funds can't be used to buy the site and add more green space in the center of downtown. (I read that people are trying to do that with the lot next to the Eastern Columbia Building.)
Eric on December 08, 2009, at 06:49PM – #8
Did somebody already mention Trader Joe's? Please TJ - come to downtown! You'll win lots of fans!
Oh Baby on December 08, 2009, at 09:48PM – #9
I hate how these developers come in and propose some ridiculous mega project that they know will never get built in hopes that they can flip the land for twice the price. I If this idiot who bought that parking lot was serious about developing it he would have proposed a 10 to 15 story mid rise condo or apartment building. That would have made him a little fortune and he could have had some nice floor level retail facing pershing square. But instead he just wasted 2 to 3 years doing jack.
Mike S on December 09, 2009, at 06:14AM – #10
Trader Joes! Good call George.
Jasmijn on December 09, 2009, at 11:07AM – #11
And to think that this is what that empty parking lot used to look like, 100 years ago: http://digitallibrary.usc.edu/assetserver/controller/view/search/CHS-5379
Vero Queero on December 09, 2009, at 01:25PM – #12
When asked about a Trader Joe's for Downtown, they have consistently responded that we're not in their 2-year plan (or was it 5-year?), so screw 'em! We should start courting Fresh & Easy or Whole Foods or other specialty grocery. @Jasmijn: thanks for posting the old picture; I love seeing old photos of Downtown!
bill on December 09, 2009, at 02:37PM – #13
A New Fresh N' Easy will be Opening shortly a bit south of Downtown at the intersection of Adams and Central
1025 E Adams Blvd Los Angeles, CA
http://freshneasybuzz.blogspot.com/2008/07/food-desert-neighborhoods-and-southern.html
JM on December 10, 2009, at 09:06AM – #14
Happy to see the sign disappear at least. Ever since someone threw paint balloons at it a year ago, it hasn't looked very impressive. I'd love to see a park there, but it just won't happen. It will probably sit vacant for a while. As for Trader Joe's, that's just not going to happen either, people. Try emailing them (info on their website) asking whether they plan to open a store Downtown. Either they respond that it's not in their short-term plans, or they'll just ignore you. They know that you'll drive out of Downtown to visit other stores, do the only way you can change their mind is by not driving out to their peripheral stores. I've pretty much given up on TJ's and would like to see a Whole Foods Downtown instead. It's more expensive, but they put more thought into their layouts (parking).
John on December 10, 2009, at 05:34PM – #15
This truly saddens me. I worked on the design team for this project as the cost estimator for the developer.
I worked painstakingly for many months during 2005 to 2007 to develop the construction costs, working closely with the architects, engineers, and contractors. Following that, I reconciled the $600 Million construction budget with a contractor for 3 weeks.
This would have been the most prominant new building in the downtown skyline since the US Bank tower. This building would have been the first high class residential tower in the West Coast that would have received world-wide attention from top cities and would have put us on the map for high-rise residential living.
The project was over 20 years in the making. I knew the owner of the property who had his goals set high. UNfortunately, I guess this project was never meant to be.
Well, one thing I can say is that the structure of the building was reinforced concrete beams & girders, which I thought was pretty insane for a 74 story building. In an seismic area, I thought it was pretty foolish to go with anything other than structural steel. But, I guess we will never find out. hehe.
BTW, does everyone know that this parking lot was once the site of the LA Philharmonic Auditorium? This is where the Bethoven statue that currently is sitting in Pershing Square came from !
-John
Dave Freeman on December 11, 2009, at 01:20PM – #16
DOG PARK!
Lucinda Michele on December 15, 2009, at 05:49PM – #17
A Fresh 'n' Easy at Adams & Central? That's freaking fantastic. You don't see those kind of upscale, large stores going into the lower-income, working-class neighborhoods. Good on Fresh 'n' Easy.
burtgreen on December 23, 2009, at 09:09AM – #18
It was the Park Fifth developer David Houk who demolished the historic Philharmonic building back in the 80's. Such a shame to have lost such a beautiful building. I'm just happy he doesn't get to build his hideous Park Fifth monstrosity. Park Fifth was doomed from the start, Houk has never been successful in anything he has attempted. Just look at the Variety Arts Center, also for sale.