Los Angeles and New York City are about as different as two cities can get. New York is vertical while is L.A. horizontal. NYC is about the subway; L.A., the car. New York has its nightlife concentrated in Manhattan, while downtown L.A. has traditionally been the laughing stock of the city's nightlife. Now that is changing. Downtown, which used to be dead after working hours, is working hard to become a hub for entertainment, sports, dining and housing, in addition to continuing as a day-time financial center. Some are even calling it the "Manhattanization" of downtown.
On a recent Saturday night, there were scenes typical of a happening city center. Hummer limos cruised the streets. Partiers sauntered down the area's sidewalks and joined lines of people waiting outside nightclubs for admission. Some apparently inebriated club-goers climbed atop a large yellow Denny's restaurant sign and waved their arms as a friend snapped an off-balance picture. People exited the Regal cinemas after showings had finished. The nearby Nokia Theatre prepared to host ESPN's Espy awards show and an American Idol performance that week. Club Nokia, its smaller neighbor, was due to host Boyz II Men and Jamie Foxx in a few days. Looking down on it all was the new 54-story Ritz Carlton tower, which is attached to a J.W. Marriott. (Read about prep for a two-day closure of the 405 freeway)
Downtown development took a hit in the recession, but is now coming back. Over the past decade, $15 billion in private investment has helped create $40 million in net new tax revenue and 90,000 new jobs, says Jan Perry, city Councilwoman for the district. It's the result of a concerted effort by city officials to use tax revenues to make downtown "an area that can be considered alive 24-7 and be a major center for arts, entertainment and culture," Perry says. Residential developers are also looking to downtown because the far-reaching suburbs of L.A. county have pushed out almost as far as they can go. "Who wants to sit in a car for three hours everyday getting to their place of employment from the Inland Empire?" says Dan Fasulo, managing director at Real Capital Analytics, a research firm specializing in the commercial real estate market. "Employers are finding that to attract the best people they need to locate in places where there's access to multiple forms of transportation. One of those places is city centers."
Nothing reflects the disparity between the new and old downtown like the stimulating L.A. Live district and its aging neighbor, the convention center. The former is a new entertainment nucleus spanning four million square feet, or six city blocks, which houses bars, restaurants, movie theaters, hotels, live music venues, and Staples Center, the 20,000-seat arena that houses four professional sports teams including the Lakers. Before Staples, "nobody came downtown," says Michael Roth, spokeman for Anschutz Entertainment Group, which owns the arena and L.A. Live. "It created a destination downtown." The adjacent convention center, however, is a vestige of the past. It's 40 years old years old and looks it. Its West Hall needs about $50 million in investment to bring it up to date. "Forget about functionality; aesthetics-wise it's just very odd. It stands out," says Pouria Abbassi, general manager and CEO of the convention center. Its 1971 design is antique "juxtaposed to L.A. Live and Staples Center." (Video: Tackling traffic in L.A.)
Enter AEG, which owns sports franchises and other large venues including Miami's American Airlines Arena. It is proposing to build a $1 billion football stadium next to Staples called Farmers Field that would bring a National Football League team back to Los Angeles for the first time since the Rams and Raiders skipped town in the 1990s. The plan calls for AEG to build the 68,000-seat stadium where West Hall stands today, and for the city to sell bonds to afford a new convention center wing. The field itself could also be used for large conventions. This week, the company and the city signed a memorandum of understanding to build the stadium, which AEG hopes can open by the 2016 season. AEG says the field would bring even more development and jobs to downtown, and allow the city to host mega-events like the Super Bowl and Final Four. "The greatest economic benefit for the city is through the convention, tourism and hospitality markets," Roth says. The field "will give it the biggest shot in the arm."
It's not just heavyweight AEG investing downtown. Philanthropist Eli Broad is building a $130 million art museum that is scheduled to open in 2013. The historic Belasco Theater, which lay dormant for 20 years, just reopened after being restored. Developers new to downtown are investing in housing, such as the Affirmed Housing Group, which chose the area for its first project in the L.A. market. Officials are even studying a project to build a street car system. Portland-based developer Williams & Dame bought a parking lot across from the Ritz Cartlon to build a tower that will house a Courtyard by Marriott and Residence Inn. "The dynamics for downtown Los Angeles are terrific for the future," says Homer Williams of Williams & Dame. "You're getting that 24-hour feel that cities need."
Even with the changes, L.A. is unlikely to become another New York. It still loves its cars, and it still has its multiple urban centers stretched out across Southern California, which are unlikely to have their thunder stolen by downtown. And some of them, such as Hollywood, have gotten their own big boost of investment in recent years. "We're Los Angeles," Councilwoman Perry says. "There are a lot of unique aspects to what we're doing that are reflective of Los Angeles desires and tastes and interests."
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