CurbedWire: 9577 Sunset’s Mystery Boxes, Sprouts Takes Another Circuit City
September 3, 2010 by Dakota · Leave a Comment
We're cutting out early for the long weekend. See you back on Tuesday.
BEVERLY HILLS: One of the Curbed family moles spotted boxes outside of 9577 Sunset, winner of the Great Sunset Boulevard Mansion-Off. The home is still listed at $68.5 million, so maybe those boxes are full of staging? Marble lamps from IKEA, perhaps. [Curbed Staff]
PASADENA: Who isn't impressed with how Sprouts has continued its tidy takeover of all those old empty Circuit City stores? Nice work. Following a move into an old Culver City Circuit City, Sprouts also opened in Pasadena last month, taking the space of a former Circuit City on Rosemead Boulevard. We can recommend the $2.99 sandwich deal from the deli. Sunset Boulevard Circuit City, how about it? [Curbed Staff]
Parks or Parking: Vote: Which Downtown Streets Should LA Turn Into Pedestrian Plazas?
September 3, 2010 by Adrian Glick Kudler · Leave a Comment
[Lounging in Times Square via Curbed NY]
New York has its pedestrian plaza in Times Square, San Diego might get one in Balboa Park, Santa Monica has one. It's time for LA to get hers. First, since we got so many suggestions for Downtown, we're having an all-Downtown qualifying round. This winner will face off against everywhere else in town, and once we've figured out your favorite place for a no-car zone, we can all start bugging the City Council to make it happen.
PriceChopper: PriceChopper: Four-Bedroom with Pool in Laurel Canyon
September 3, 2010 by Pauline · Leave a Comment
At the risk of sounding like one of those hand-lettered signs tacked to a pole near a freeway off-ramp, here's an "investment opportunity" for the aspiring flippers among you. Built in 1969, this home features four bedrooms, two baths, a fireplace, a sunroom, and pool. The listing also mentions a laundry room and "converted garage with kitchen and bathroom under front of home" that "may not be permitted." While the unpermitted additions and lack of interior photos would certainly indicate the place is a hot mess, the listing also says it's currently being rented for $3,000 a month. The 2,333-square-foot home first hit the market July 30 at $639,000, got chopped to $590,000 a month later, and is scheduled for probate auction September 12.
· 2530 Thames St, Los Angeles CA 90046 [Redfin]
Purple Line Extension: Zippy! Draft Study for Subway Released, Westwood to Union Station In 25 Minutes
September 3, 2010 by Neal Broverman · Leave a Comment
So, the draft environmental impact report for the Purple Line extension was released today, but unlike the Regional Connector EIR, the subway report doesn't make formal recommendations, according to Metro community relations manager Jody Litvak. Public hearings will take place later this month and public comment is open until October 18; Metro will go to the board on October 28 to make formal recommendations for the line. The Source's Steve Hymon points out the subway ride from Union Station to Westwood will take 25 minutes. Sweet.
Among other things, the draft EIR summary drops the following info:
- The optional Crenshaw station: While the report mentions that keeping the station would allow Hancock Park resident easy transit access and get more people on the subway, deleting the station "would also respond to community concerns about development pressures that could change the character of this residential area. Also, the costs to construct this station would only provide modest ridership and travel time benefits that would not be sufficient to improve the cost-effectiveness of the overall project."
- The La Cienega station would benefit from being on the west side of La Cienega, because it could connect to a subway spur to West Hollywood. But a station on the east side offers closer access to more high-density businesses and residences.
- Seismic issues would be better mitigated if the Century City station was located on Constellation, rather than Santa Monica Boulevard. Also, walkability would improve on Constellation, but it would cost more because it extends the line.
- The Westwood station would cause much less disruption of traffic during construction if built below a UCLA parking lot rather than directly at the intersection of Wilshire and Westwood.
- A VA hospital station gets a lot of ink in the report, including where exactly to place it--placing the station closer to the hospital has obvious benefits, according to the report.
The Los Angeles Times points out the subway report indicates the line wouldn't make that much of a dent in traffic (maybe because the city's population continues to grow).
· Westside Subway Extension [Official Site]
· Draft EIR Released for Westside Subway Extenstion [The Source]
· Westside Subway Won't Relieve Much Traffic [LA Times]
· Know Your Boarding Numbers [Curbed LA]
Now You Can Make Love There: The Wigwam Motel in San Bernardino…
September 3, 2010 by Adrian Glick Kudler · Leave a Comment
The Wigwam Motel in San Bernardino (where rooms are shaped like tipis) is one of the last three Wigwam Village motels in the US, and the OC Register finds it's gotten fixed up over the last few years by new owners. The motel opened in 1949, but by the end of the twentieth century the place had become a dive and even "The 'Sleep in a Wigwam' sign had been replaced by one that beckoned, 'Do It in a Tee-Pee.'" [OC Register, image via]
On the Market: Candy Spelling’s $150 Million Manor Hits the MLS
September 3, 2010 by Dakota · Leave a Comment
Does this mean that Candy is already packing and getting ready to move to Century City? Or, err, ordering her minions to pack for her? Candy Spelling's $150 million Holmby Hills home has been on the market since at least early 2009, but now the 14-bedroom, 27-bath home has hit the multiple listing service (MLS), notes Real Estalker. And no, there's still been price no reduction, and why should there be? Stephen Goldberg, her attorney, famously told the Wall Street Journal that $150 million "is not a lot" for the home.
· Candy Spelling's Candyland Hits Market [Real Estalker]
· 594 South MAPLETON Drive [Redfin]
Dodger Divorce: Safer Bet: the McCourts’ Mansions or the Debt-Ridden Dodgers?
September 3, 2010 by Adrian Glick Kudler · Leave a Comment
At his divorce trial yesterday, Frank McCourt testified that splitting up assets--Dodgers for him, residential properties for her--was his wife Jamie's idea, reports ABC7. Under questioning from his own legal team, he said that's "because they were moving to California, which is a community-property jurisdiction. If Frank's gamble on the Dodgers soured, Jamie wanted to be sure her $60 million-plus in real estate was protected...She wanted her nest egg and she wanted it debt-free." That's sounding pretty reasonable, in light of the LA Times' big report this week that the Dodgers are massively leveraged and have been turned down for loans by Citibank, Chinese investors, and an infomercial magnate. The article also reports that the McCourts personally took $108 million out of the team between 2004 and 2009, using tools like Blue Land, a McCourt company that rented Chavez Ravine land to the Dodgers. Blue Land "took out a $60-million loan against the parking lots, according to [Dodgers Chief Financial Officer Peter] Wilhelm's declaration. The McCourts invested $10 million in the Dodgers and used about $50 million for personal mortgages and purchases of residential real estate, Wilhelm said."
· Frank McCourt: Jamie more concerned w/ homes [ABC7]
· Frank McCourt has taken Dodgers deep in debt [LAT]
Regional Connector: Get Out the Shovel: Metro Wants Regional Connector Underground
September 3, 2010 by Neal Broverman · Leave a Comment
Metro kept to their deadlines and released both environmental impact reports for the Regional Connector project and the Westside subway extension by putting them out before the end of summer (just under the wire). More on the subway soon. The Regional Connector is a two-mile link which "would include several new stations downtown and would allow continuous train operations between Long Beach and Azusa and from East Los Angeles and the San Gabriel Valley to Santa Monica without the need to transfer," according to the EIR. Metro looked at four options--building nothing, connecting trains with at-grade stations downtown, connecting trains with a mostly underground route downtown, and finally, doing the whole darn thing underground (image is of a typical underground station). They chose the last option, supported by downtown locals, as their recommendation. Metro is planning to use a mix of local, state, and federal funds to pay for the $1.24 billion project, with the bulk of the funding from Measure R.
Here's how the EIR describes their recommended fully-underground alternative:
"The alignment would extend underground from the 7th Street/Metro Center Station Under Flower Street and 2nd Street to Central Avenue in the same manner as the Underground Emphasis LRT Alternative. At 2nd Street and Central Avenue, the tracks would continue underground heading northeast under 1st and Alameda Streets.
An underground junction would be constructed beneath the intersection of 1st Street and Alameda Street. To the north and east of the junction, trains would rise to the surface through two new portals to connect to the Metro Gold Line heading north to Azusa and east towards 1-605."
Four new stations would be constructed--at Flower/5th, 2nd/Hope, 2nd/Broadway, and it looks like the current Gold Line station in Little Tokyo would be placed underground at 2nd and Central so trains wouldn't need to cross 1st and Alameda at-grade.
Next up is a 45-day comment period, followed by the Metro board likely adopting the EIR's plan. Then there's a final EIR, released next summer. A formal decision from Metro will come about a year from now and federal approval in fall 2011--then engineering and construction in 2012, or likely 2013. Opening is scheduled for 2019, but could speed up with 30/10.
· Regional Connector [Official Site]
· RC EIR Released [The Source]
· Underground Option Added to Regional Connector [Curbed LA]
Rent Check: Two-Bedroom in Historic Los Altos Apartments
September 3, 2010 by Pauline · Leave a Comment
The last time Curbed featured the Los Altos apartment building in Mid-Wilshire, two-bedroom units were going for a steep $3,400 a month. Who knows what's going on here, but per this posting on Craigslist, one-bedroom apartments in the historic Mission Revival complex now start at $1,900, and two-bedroom units start at $2,400. Something that hasn't changed, however, are the pictures used in the ad, which includes this fine print disclaimer: "Actual photos may vary, please inquire for specifics."
· $2400/2br - Los Altos - Return to glamour days of 1926 [Craigslist]
LAPD Lawn Green Again: Blogdowntown reports that the LAPD’s public…
September 3, 2010 by Adrian Glick Kudler · Leave a Comment
Blogdowntown reports that the LAPD's public lawn is green and open again after ten months of being brown and/or closed off. A Police Foundation gala destroyed the then-two months old park last November, and it took the insurance companies a while to hash out who'd pay for a new one. [Pictured: the before] [blogdowntown]
