Curbed Says Gansevoort No Longer Gansevoort

By Eric Richardson
Published: Tuesday, May 15, 2007, at 09:56AM

Eric Richardson

DOWNTOWN LOS ANGELES — Curbed today says that Gansevoort has dropped out of the project to turn the Embassy Hotel into a boutique hotel, leaving the property with the Chetrit Group.

There's no real sign that this means anything for Downtown. Gansevoort hadn't been doing any work on the site, leaving the adjoining lot to grow into a small forest (pictured, from January).

Chetrit seems to be a mixed bag when it comes to Downtown. They haven't done anything, but they own several properties and have announced a couple of plans. The former AT&T Center at 6th & Grand will be transformed into condos, as will the former Bank of Italy building at 7th & Olive -- though that one has been stuck in the interior demolition phase for over a year.

More related to the Embassy, they continue to show no signs of restoring the historic Hotel Clark at 4th and Hill. That building perpetually has one or two people in there, but nothing real going on.

So what's the bottom line out of this? Focus on the projects that are actually doing work. Worrying about these sort of changes with prospective projects is an exercise in futility.

Comments

Whitman Lam writes:

Downtown critics will claim this is a sign of a softening real estate market. That the wheels have fallen off the Lofty bandwagon.

But I feel it is just one of the many growing pains, that any community must feel. Alot of residential and hotel projects can't really thrive until LA Live is completed. New projects rely on a 24/7 pedestrian environment to attract business, add a sense of security, create some night life for residents.

Thus far, this has not been the case. Although streets are a bit busier than last decade. Most new residents will rarely come out for a walk. Downtown needs more walkers, joggers, bicyclists, etc. to patronize the sidewalks, bring life to every streetcorner.

Apartments and condos advertise a dynamic neighborhood filled with wonder. But it just hasn't happened yet.

# on May.15.2007 AT 12:09 PM