What's Your Vision for El Pueblo?
Eric Richardson
[Flickr]
Pico House is one of four structures currently up for bid at the El Pueblo Historical Monument.
DOWNTOWN LOS ANGELES — If you had the chance to reactivate the north end of Olvera Street, what would you do with it?
The 1869 Pico House headlines a group of four buildings at the El Pueblo de Los Angeles Historical Monument that is currently up for bid, ready to go to the person who comes up with the best plan to bring the structures back to life.
Also included are the 1870 Merced Theater, the 1858 Masonic Hall and the 1900 Hellman-Quon building. Combined, the buildings contain approximately 35,000 square feet of space. All but the Hellman-Quon building can be connected, creating the potential for an operator to join more than 90 percent of that space.
The Request for Proposals issued last month awards two-thirds of its points points for rent payments and capital improvements to the structures, which have stood empty for decades. It gives flexibility in what uses can be proposed to go inside, noting that bidders can “present an adaptive approach that will allow for efficient contemporary uses while preserving and restoring certain historical features of the properties.”
That’s not to say that each structure doesn’t have quite the laundry list of previous uses. The Pico House was built as a hotel, but the document notes that building has also been a “restaurant, bar, saloon, rooming house, store, billiards, apartment, café, barber shop and jeweler.”
When new, the Merced Theater was a saloon on the ground floor, a theater on the second floor and a residence on the third floor. It’s also been a “wholesale fruit and liquor business, dry goods store, lodging house, dance hall, club and hotel,” according to the city.
Along with Masonic meetings, the other uses of the lodge included “retail and clothing, lodging, restaurant, shoe repair, barber shop, pawn office, saloon and athletic hall.” The physical state of the buildings varies. The Masonic Hall has first floor fire damage, but the buildings are structurally sound.
Still, costs to bring the historic structures back to life are sure to be high even before factoring in rent payments. The El Pueblo monument has been under increased pressure to be fiscally self-sustained recently after years of unchanged rents, and the document cites recently signed leases in the complex of roughly $3.50 per square foot in asking proposers what they would offer to pay.
One source of revenue for El Pueblo has been filming, and the department is interested in seeing that continue even once the buildings are occupied. It says that approximately 45 days of filming generate it $300,000 and asks proposers how often they would let the activity take place.
And what do you get for your bid? The city is offering a ten year lease for the winning proposal, with two five-year options. Potential bidders will need to post a $30,000 proposal guarantee for each building that they are interested in, or a $100,000 guarantee for a bid on all four buildings. Bids are due November 24.
Guest on November 01, 2010, at 07:50PM – #1
i suggest a higher-end foodstuffs/cooking/utencils store that sells fancy Mexican stuff---really handpicked and special things. DT is already becomeing a foodies paradise but there are no places like Sur La Table that sell utencils, pots and pans.
tourists from the East Coast are mezmerized by the Mexican food and want to "take some home"....maybe some cooking demos too?
Guest on November 01, 2010, at 10:21PM – #2
Echo #1. I'd also like to see some restaurants take a few of the ground floor spaces. The little alleyway between the Pico House and the Firehouse Museum is charming.
David Markland on November 02, 2010, at 02:00AM – #3
Reactivate that theatre, and add a coffee shop with wi-fi. A classy restaurant with outdoor seating that stays open beyond the hours of Olvera Street would also be welcome.
Guest on November 02, 2010, at 08:39AM – #4
Does Rec and Parks own this too? Oh no another 10 year wait for a hot dog stand.
Eric Richardson (@blogdowntown) on November 02, 2010, at 09:23AM – #5
Guest: No, El Pueblo Historical Monument is its own city department.
Brady Westwater (@bradywestwater) on November 02, 2010, at 09:30AM – #6
While I would love to see the Merced used as a full-time legitimate theater, the cost of rebuilding the inside and the limited size of the space make that financially impossible.
BUT - it could make a great entertainment venue - with a few theatrical presentations being mandated in the lease - while mainly being used for music with an attached bar and the ability to use the entire venue for events.
Whatever it is, though - it has to be open to the public and not just those who are over 21 in the daytime, possibly as a restaurant - and the interior general layout should replicate the original space as much as is possible.
As for the Pico House - it also needs to have parts of it open to the public - and a becoming a hotel again would be the perfect solution. Some of the original floor plan also needs to be restored - even if it is just a few hotel rooms - to show what is used to be - and it should have some restaurants and shops which are open 7 days and nights a week.
The Masonic Temple is the oldest commercial building in the city and it's historic character needs to be preserved as much as possible. But the historic layout of the interior has considerable limitations. Some type of retail would be the best public use to allow the maximum amount of people to easily see its interior - though some kind of food use may be more viable.
The Hellman-Quon Building could easily be a combination of food and retail to - again - allow for maximum public accessibility.
One major caveat to this whole process is the 10 year lease. That along will make it impossible for the winning bidder to finance anything as major as a restoration of the Pico House as a hotel. In fact, even amortizing the cost of work necessary to bring the buildings up to being white shells will be hard to do over a ten year period when you add the expected rent payments - plus the cost of building out the new uses.
DavidAC on November 02, 2010, at 01:29PM – #7
I think that some of the space in these buildings should be made available as meeting rooms for small clubs and groups. This is an important but under-served need in many communities - i.e. a simple room with a blackboard, or projector screen, some table and chairs, etc that any small group can easily book and use on a regular, scheduled basis.
The idea is that small communities of hobby folks, enthusiasts, artists, organizers, teachers/students, etc have a place to meet - similar to how a university community makes classrooms available for club use.
The only place I've seen this done outside a university is in Balboa Park in San Diego - they have several historic building and the list of activities and meetings and clubs that you can attend there on any night of the week is very rich and colorful.
Guest on November 02, 2010, at 04:20PM – #8
DavidAC - what a great idea! This would allow people communiting to Union Station to meet at a central location no matter how you get there. Excellent TOD/community use!
Friskie Buffet on November 02, 2010, at 05:01PM – #9
Fill the empty space(s) with 24/7 human activity--including all upper floors. And waive ALL parking requirements for said activity/habitation.
Guest on November 02, 2010, at 07:34PM – #10
Downtown needs a community arts and social sciences college: Where all ages/cultures/socioeconomics can participate. Either for enrichment or for the seriously minded artist. Those great historic buildings could house multicultural/all ages: 1. community meeting rooms 2. acting/singing/arts and crafts schools from around the world 3. dance schools 4. cooking schools with public restaurants=all themes= where the public,not the teacher, provides the passing grade 5. history of Los Angeles Museum 6. a grand ballroom for community dances: salsa, tango, swing dancing, etc 7. language classes 8. history classes 9. life and practical skills courses 10. Courses in Philosophy/religions of the world/social sciences 11. Job training certification programs 12. Creative community instructors 13. and a food court 14. Gift shops 15. everything in keeping with the Olvera Street themes... to keep the tourists coming... to be profitable
Guest on November 02, 2010, at 07:40PM – #11
Put a ceiling on the number of dumb trinket stands that sell the same crap.
Reinstate the outdoor Cine D'Or film series.
Keep things open at night.
Activate gallery spaces to show work beyond the skull and Frida-face genre.
Cross pollinate with institutions in Mexico to make La Placita less of a souvenir wasteland and an appealing cultural hub.
Free parking would also instigate business.
John Apodaca on November 03, 2010, at 07:08AM – #12
The Pico house should be restored to it's original look and be used as a bar / restaurant serving period drinks since there's an ongoing renaissance of vintage cocktails.
David Klappholz on November 03, 2010, at 07:58AM – #13
@Guest 5: Great examples of the types of activity suggested by DavidAC!!!
Thomas K Nagano on November 03, 2010, at 08:41AM – #14
The story of Velarde's Fruit is a metaphor for what's wrong with El Pueblo / Olvera Street.
Google Velarde's Fruit. A real favorite for European and Asian Tourists.
Guest on November 03, 2010, at 10:23PM – #15
Aw, just go ahead and lease everything, Olvera Street included, to the Mexican Drug Cartel, for their world headquarters complex. Six month later, every place would be packed 24/7. And the city would have tax windfall.
For an incentive, throw in a guillotine, gratis.
Scott Mercer on November 05, 2010, at 09:35AM – #16
Get the Merced Theater going as a 99 seat waiver theater/music performance space.
Minimal stage gear/aduio/lighting/scenery. Something on a much smaller scale than the Orpheum or REDCAT.
Stage plays on certain nights, or weekend matinees, mostly music at night.
Have non-profit theater companies and/or local college/university (USC/UCLA/Occidental/Cal State LA) drama groups perform the plays.
Guest on November 06, 2010, at 11:28AM – #17
If you put a 2 story Gap anywhere in that area, the rest will follow
Guest on November 07, 2010, at 11:22AM – #18
Given the history of this site and political corruption, the bidding process should be monitored VERY closely.
I'm betting somebody who has given money to the Mayor and Councilman will get a really nice contract. Look for connections to TELACU and Cordoba Construction.
Michael Hudson-Medina on November 08, 2010, at 09:28AM – #19
All the above comments are great; however everyone failed to mention the $20 million-dollar cultural facility opening directly across the street -- LA Plaza de Cultura y Artes. As a former employee I know the project well. It is too bad that the current administration is keeping such a tight lid on the project until they open on April 15, 2011. This Gloria Molina project has been in the works since 2004 and will connect the history of El Pueblo to the greater story of Mexican American Los Angeles (which is pretty much the story of the Pico House and Merced Theater!). It would make total sense for County Leadership(Gloria Molina) and City Leadership(Antonio Villaraigosa and Jose Huizar) to join forces to make historical El Pueblo come to life once again. We all know the City is broke and the County is more prudent with budgeting and has funds. However, knowing the dysfunction that exists between County and City leadership this idea may be an extreme long-shot. But hey, it's worth trying...!