LA Times Asks, What Happens Now?

DOWNTOWN LOS ANGELES — The LA Times today runs a piece asking what happens when Downtown runs out of easy conversions?

But the boom in residential development – which has been at the heart of downtown Los Angeles’ recent revival – is reaching a critical crossroads. Of the 50 historic buildings preservationists and developers identified five years ago as candidates for housing, 44 either have been converted or are near completion.

This has city officials and developers mapping out the next phase of downtown’s renewal. They are considering more modern office towers, from the 1960s, ’70s and even ’80s, as potential condos and lofts. At the same time, they are looking at downtown’s wealth of parking lots as potential spots for new construction while eyeing prewar buildings south and east of the traditional downtown historic core for renovations.

Those parking lots are great targets. If I remember correctly something like 40% of the land Downtown is devoted to parking (either that or it was 40% parking + streets… not sure about that). Being someone who doesn’t own a car, I sure wouldn’t mind seeing a lot of them go.