Union Bank Plaza undergoes $20 million renovation

Renovated Union Bank Plaza in DTLA

The first phase in the historic preservation-minded rehabbing of Union Bank Plaza (UBP) in Downtown Los Angeles has wrapped up. Completed in 1967, the 40-story office tower, designed by Harrison & Abramovitz and Albert C. Martin & Associates in the International style, became the first L.A. skyscraper to be named as a Historic-Cultural Monument (HCM) earlier this year by the city’s Cultural Heritage Commission following a unanimous 5–0 vote. The nominating application for HMU designation was put forth by the Los Angeles Conservancy in July 2019.

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Rising Construction Costs

Building construction site

Labor and materials are arguably the two most critical ingredients of any construction project. No buildings transform skylines, no bridges span rivers and no homes rise from foundations without them. That’s why pricing of these two production components can mean cost-cutting is in store for other areas of the job budget or, given steep-enough increases, the scuttling of the project altogether.

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Arts District High Rise Starts Work

SF Arts District Building Construction

San Francisco-based developer Carmel Part­ners has broken ground on its first Arts District project. The planned 35-story project designed by Works Progress Architecture will rise at 520 S. Mateo St., near the Fourth Street Bridge. The main tower will include 475 live/work apartments, including 50 affordable units.

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Hewitt Street Getting a Hotel

New Hotel on Hewitt Street

Yet another hotel has been announced for the Arts District. Hospitality firm the Radisson Hotel Group announced plans to construct a 140-room Radisson RED hotel at 440 S. Hewitt St. A groundbreaking date has not been set, but the company expects it to open in early 2024.

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Anaheim Stadium turned into a mega mixed-use district

Anaheim Stadium

Last Wednesday, the owners of the Anaheim Ducks hopped on the “professional sports team turning the area around their stadium into a mixed-use district” bandwagon with the announcement of “ocV!BE,” a 115-acre neighborhood that will set up shop around the team’s Honda Center in Anaheim, California.

The hockey team’s owners will realize that vision by developing the (currently unused) landscape of surface parking lots around the Honda Center. In return, the Southern California city will receive 2,800 new apartments with 15 percent set aside for affordable housing, 825,000-square-feet of office space, and 30 acres of public green spaces, including a “wellness park.” Read more →

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510 foot, 45-story tower in San Francisco

Hero Sunrise building

This 510 foot, 45-story tower with a rising profile near SFMOMA will repurpose the 10-story Aronson Building, which survived the 1906 earthquake and fire, and add a residential skyscraper next to it, care of Handel Architects. The older building will play home to residential lofts on levels five through ten, as well as the upcoming Mexican Museum on levels two through four.

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5M development broke ground in June

5M on Mission St San Francisco

The long-delayed 5M development broke ground in June. The four-acre project, located at the border of MidMarket and SoMa, will include a 288-unit residential building on Mission, which includes 57 below market rate units (all at 50 percent of average median income); a 400-unit residential building on Natoma; and a 630,000-square foot office building on Howard. Read more →

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Hotel Coming to Hewitt Street

Hewitt Street Hotel

Yet another hotel has been announced for the Arts District. Hospitality firm the Radisson Hotel Group announced plans to construct a 140-room Radisson RED hotel at 440 S. Hewitt St. A groundbreaking date has not been set, but the company expects it to open in early 2024. Read more →

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Arts District project breaks ground

Arts District in San Francisco

San Francisco-based developer Carmel Part­ners has broken ground on its first Arts District project. The planned 35-story project designed by Works Progress Architecture will rise at 520 S. Mateo St., near the Fourth Street Bridge. The main tower will include 475 live/work apartments, including 50 affordable units. Read more →

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Chinese American Museum – A New Look

Chinese American Museum

In 2016, the Friends of the Chinese American Museum, the nonprofit responsible for supporting the Chinese American Museum, settled on a path to expand the footprint of the museum at the 44-acre El Pueblo de Los Angeles Historical Monument. Last week, that plan took an important step forward after the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors approved $730,000 toward the expansion of the Chinese American Museum, closing a fundraising gap needed to commence the renovation plan. Read more →

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