Transportation: Downtown Streetcar Campaign, Downtown Park at Ninth and Hill?
Take the streetcar through downtown. The ad campaign
DOWNTOWN: Stare upon the marketing campaign launched by Los Angeles Streetcar Inc, the non-profit looking to raise money for the proposed streetcar line that would run through downtown. “These new ads (like the one shown) will be posted around downtown on the sides of various bus stops as part of a larger marketing campaign,” LASI’s executive director Dennis Allen writes in an email. Exciting! But we’re just not sure what venue in the Historic Core would require high heels. [Curbed Staff]
DOWNTOWN: City Councilman José Huizar sent out a press release today noting he’s submitted a $6. 6 million grant proposal for a pocket park on 9th and Hill streets. The .7-acre park would be paid for by the grant and Quimby fees. Exciting! Award notifications for the grant will likely come by September 2010. [Curbed InBox]
Councilmember José Huizar worked with the Downtown community to submit a $6. 6 million grant proposal for a pocket park on 9th and Hill streets, with the hope of acquiring and converting a parking lot into a mini-green oasis in the dense downtown neighborhood.
The grant proposal submitted on March 1, 2010, is requesting $5 million in voter-approved Proposition 84 funds that would support a .7-acre park featuring California native and drought tolerant plants and trees, a children’s play area, a performance stage, a walking path with outdoor fitness stations, grass areas for sitting and open play, a plaza area for gatherings and events, as well as solar security lighting for safety. The rest of the approximately $1.6 million for the proposed park at 850 S. Hill St. would come from Quimby and other funds.
“I am proud of the collaboration that went into this proposal, with my staff working hand-in-hand with the downtown community, along with support and help from the Department of Recreation and Parks,” said Councilmember José Huizar. “This pocket-park will offer a neighborhood in fantastic need of parks the opportunity to engage in many activities in a relatively small but significant space in an environmentally friendly atmosphere. Now it is up to our friends in Sacramento to place their support behind this worthy project. “
In September 2009, the State released a Request for Proposals (RFP) for the first round of competitive grants for the State Proposition 84 Statewide Park Grant Program. For the last two years, Councilmember Huizar and his staff have engaged the community on conceptual possibilities, designs and approval.
“The Ninth and Hill Street Park Task Force has been working for two years with lots of community support, trying to green downtown,” said Rick Morris. “This is our home and the parks are our community’s living room. Downtown owes a lot to Councilman Huizar. We never would have gone this far without him.”
The $5.4 billion Proposition 84 was passed by California voters in November 2006 to fund a number of programs, one of which is the Statewide Park Grant Program. A total of $368 million has been dedicated to this program and will be awarded on a competitive basis in two rounds. More than 1,000 applications are expected statewide.
“Two years ago a group of committed downtown stakeholders who live and/or work downtown envisioned a dream of making their community better by building a public park where there are no parks,” said Geralynn Krajeck. “With the help of Councilman Huizar and his incredible staff and the encouragement and participation of area residents, business owners, employees, visitors and students, the park is now a dream in the making. This park will be at the crossroads of the new streetcar, Bringing Back Broadway and the revitalization of downtown. It is an exciting time to be downtown as the transformation continues!”
Community members are optimistic that their hard work will pay off.
“This two year endeavor is a fantastic example of how well the private and public sectors can work together to make dreams come right,” said Bill Cooper. “Jose Huizar’s staff, most notably Paul Habib, has been on board from the beginning and has been invaluable to our progress. Let’s hope that two years from now we will be sitting in a perfectly designed, well-deserved park!”
Award notifications for Prop. 84 grants are expected to be announced by September 2010.
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Three of Our Favorite Things: With offerings that include veggies, booze,…
With offerings that include veggies, booze, and gelato, there’s a new upscale farmer’s market coming to the restaurant above Yamashiro. Meet the Yamashiro Garden Market. Racked LA reports the market is held from 5pm to 9pm each Thursday, and the addresses is 1999 N. Sycamore Ave. [Racked LA]
Judge Ruling on Expo Also Ruled on Orange Line: Judge David Jaffey will be…
Judge David Jaffey will be the one looking at the lawsuit against Expo Phase II to Santa Monica, reports Streetsblog. Who knows what the outcome will be here, but Streetsblog points out that Jaffey was also involved in the 2004 case involving Valley homeowners who wanted to stop the Orange Line busway, and ultimately ruled against the homeowners. [Streetsblog]
Lawsuits: Pacific Legal Foundation Joins Venice RV Legal Battle
Images via Pacific Legal Foundation
And another party to the legal battle between Venice homeowners, the city of Los Angeles, and the Coastal Commission over those Venice RVs: The Pacific Legal Foundation, a conservative Sacramento-based legal organization that has a history with the Commission, has chose to jump in the pool, too. The Foundation has announced its intention to file “friend of the court” briefs in support of the Venice Stakeholders Association, the residents who wanted overnight parking districts to regulate the RVs. As the Times reported last year, VSA sued the California Coastal Commission last year after the Commission opted out of getting involved, so hence, didn’t restrict the overnight parking districts. And as the Times questioned: “Does the state coastal panel have the legal authority to determine where people can and cannot park in coastal areas?” The Pacific Legal Foundation weighs in on their web site.
· Coastal Commission Can’t Stop Localities from Protecting Residents from Nuisances [Pacific Legal Foundation]
Oil Rigs of Beverly Hills: A Closer Look at Those Oil Fields You Live Above
In November we got a brief introduction to the oil rigs hiding out throughout the county. Culver City’s Center for Land Use Interpretation led a bus tour in December to accompany their Urban Crude: The Oil Fields of the Los Angeles Basin exhibit, and they’ve posted two ten minute videos that show a small more of what goes into drinking up that milkshake underneath our feet. The tour went all over–to the Hillcrest Country Club in Cheviot Hills, Mount St. Mary’s College’s Doheny campus, downtown–and participants heard from CLUI experts, a petroleum geologist, a developer, and an operations supervisor for Venoco, which owns the controversial derrick at Beverly Hills High School. This video is part two, part one is here. There’s also a lengthy description of the tour in CLUI’s spring newsletter.
· CLUI TAKES GROUP ON CRUDE ODYSSEY: A CLUI BUS TOUR OF THE URBAN OILSCAPE [CLUI]
Buy Full Bottles With Your Empties: The city starts a pilot of…
The city starts a pilot of the RecycleBank program on April 5. 15,000 single family homes in the West Valley and North Central areas will be able to trade their recycling for points (the heavier the bin, the more points) that can be redeemed at retailers. A larger rollout could happen in April 2011. [Inhabitat]
Rental Reveals: Wilshire Corridor’s Ashton Westwood All Ready for You
Without the blue trash bin, Ashton would look just perfect
The rental madness continues, and now we head from Hollywood over to developer Hanover Co’s Ashton Westwood, that new rental building on Wilshire Boulevard. The 58-unit building finished about a month ago, according to the leasing rep, and 9 people have went in. One-bedrooms start at $3,850 and two-bedrooms start at $6,350, and those prices are reduced to reflect the current deal going on (three months free). There’s a web site with photos of what looks to be a floor unit, but the images don’t really do the place justice. On a recent visit, we found the lobby itself nicer than most hotels we’ve stayed at. Houston-based company Hanover Co , which did the 717 Olympic building, the Viridian along Wilshire, and the on-hold Santa Monica project, also owns various other Wilshire Boulevard development spots, too.
· Ashton Wilshire [Official Site]
· $3850 / 1br – Groundbreaking New Luxury Leasing (Westwood) [Craigslist]
Latest on Hollywood Sign Land Deal: How much money has the…
How much money has the Trust for Public Land raised so far in their attempt to buy that land near the Hollywood sign? A press release today says a group including the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, CBS, Lucasfilm Foundation, NBC Universal, Sony, Steven Spielberg, Fox, Warner Bros., Time Warner Inc., Disney, Tom Hanks and Rita Wilson, and Norman Lear gave a combined $3.1 million. There’s a deadline of April 14th to come up with the remaining $3 million. [The Trust for Public Land]
PriceChopper: Bank-Owned Courtyard Condo in Ladera Heights
There might be a method to the wine-colored carpet madness–no wine stains, right? That aside, the listing for this two bedroom, two bathroom condo in Ladera Heights touts its “spacious living room with fireplace, balcony and fantastic sized bedrooms.” And do we spy a wetbar? Gussied up a small, could this place be really swingin’? There’s also that pool, but there’s just one garage space. The building is 18 units on two floors, and this unit looks to be up top. The condo was listed in January at $369,900, and has been chopped thrice, down to $355,000. HOAs are $243.
· 6601 SPRINGPARK Ave #16 [Redfin]
Parks: Council Fears Calabasas Water Park Concept is Too Vegas-y
A fight could be a-brewin’ in Calabasas, where the city is moving on plans to build a $7 million water park at De Anza Park. An early conceptual design, which the Calabasas director of community services stressed in an editorial this week is “a representation of what a generic aquatic complex could look like, not what it would look like,” includes water slides, a splash pool, and a river loop. The Acorn says there are also plans for an eight-lane swimming pool, locker rooms, an office complex, and concessions. The City Council has already adopted a master plot that includes a water park, but residents and councilmembers are getting nervous about the actual design. At a meeting last week, one councilmember said, “It looks like a Las Vegas hotel,” and another agreed. An editorial in last week’s Acorn was ambivalent, calling the designs “stunning” and noting that Calabasas “has the financial wherewithal to build the huge facility without going into debt,” but questions if it’s really what the conservationist-minded residents want. A new design and an operational analysis of the water park are scheduled to come out next month.
· New Calabasas water park conjures up ‘Vegas’ [The Acorn]
· New water park a work in progress [The Acorn]
· Calabasas at the crossroads [The Acorn]