I grew up more to the east in Azusa. I normally went closer to downtown if we were going to the Griffith Park Observatory, Travel Town, or Dodger Stadium. There are some aspects of LA that I sure do miss. To say the least, it has far better diversity then Utah, the beach, and better mexican food. So what areas are they improving right now ?
Right now, central-city and downtown proper are undergoing a huge revitalization from South Park to the Arts District and every area in between. The boundaries are roughly east of the 110 freeway, between the 101 and 10 freeways, to the LA River.
I remember visiting downtown Los Angeles when I first moved out here back in 2000/2001 and just being amazed at how neglected the area was. Bobak actually lived down here back then, and he had an absolute pimp apartment in the Figueroa towers.
There was nothing really down here back then, but it was still a cool place to be and that was in the heart of the Financial District, so you at least had some great buildings to look at out your windows.
In 2006 I moved into the Historic Core, into the old Subway Terminal building. I was in love. The 1925 building still stands as one of my absolute favorite places I've lived, and the Historic Core in general is one of the few areas in the city where there's some history left, that hasn't been bulldozed away, something LA, in general, is notorious for.
Even in 2006 there wasn't much here. There were small mom and pop shops, bodegas, and bars, but almost everything catered to the business workers in downtown and finding something open passed 6 P.M. was a struggle. It was either a short walk up to Little Tokyo to hit up the late night ramen places, or walk to South Park and go to the chains at 7th and Fig.
This seems like an odd place to put a history lesson of the last decade or so in the area, but hey
What the hell. 2007 saw a huge construction boom in South Park, with LA Live, high end rental towers such as the WaterMarke tower, and Apex/Concerto (both of which were originally intended to be condos), as well as several other condo projects down near 12th and Hope.
A 7 story mid-rise named Market Lofts opened on 9th between Hope and Flower in 2007 and did the unthinkable... They convinced Ralphs supermarket, absent from downtown for about fifty years, to move in. It was a gamble. The area had a growing population, but it was far from desirable. That Ralphs not only did well... It quickly became one of the most profitable Ralph locations in the area. As small as it may seem, that single new tenant caused a tipping point like chain reaction, and South Park started a huge development push.
Likewise, the Historic Core saw the conversion of many historic buildings, such as the Rowan, the Douglas Building and the Eastern Columbia into high end lofts.
The Arts District saw a huge boom in the National Biscuit Company and Toy Factory Lofts conversions, as well as Barker Block which brought out some of the areas most sophisticated and interesting eateries and shops. The Arts District is also known for its street art and very industrial feel. Many of the TV shows and movies you see are filmed down there, from Always Sunny to CSI, heh.
The Arts District today is on the verge of being the hottest real estate in LA, with units literally crushing it in price year over year the last few years. No joke, a 1,100 sqft place was around $300,000 in 2013, $600,000 in 2014 and is now well into the $800,000 price range in early 2015.
But that's today, in 2008 the housing market crash happened and we got hit hard. Most of these loft owners were underwater, and saw their units just tank. It nearly put the brakes on what seemed to be an unstoppable movement.
So, from 2008 to about 2013 we were holding or breaths wondering if it was time to abandon ship. I left the area for a while and went down to Pasadena, which is probably my favorite area in all of LA. I love-love Pas, and can see myself buying something there when it's time for a simpler life.
Regardless, by 2013 things were just starting to perk back up in downtown. I moved back to South Park, and later bought in the neighborhood. The area is back in a fever-like state (I actually tried to buy something in the Arts District, but... but... I was going in $100K over list and still getting blown out of the water. I'm not Mr. Moneybags enough to compete).
I'm here for two reasons. Most importantly, I believe in this area. The transformation I'm seeing is incredible. There is construction literally on every block. In a three block radius from my house there are 17 new projects underway, three of which are conversions of older buildings, and fourteen new buildings on what were once surface level parking lots. And that's in three blocks from my place!
Similar construction projects are happening all over this city, like I said. I haven't seen money pouring into an area like this in a long time.
That's my second big reason for living and owning here: If I didn't do it now, I probably never could have afforded it. In a few years when these projects finish, when Fig Central and Metropolis open, when the entire area blooms with more residents building to the already thriving community, the price per sqft is going to be daunting.
At that point I can sit back and enjoy the ride as it goes, or sell and take a nice profit. I've been actively trying to convince my friends to get in on this boom. There are still some steals to be had in good locations... and just buying and renting these things out is a pretty safe bet, as a one bedroom starts around $2,500-2,800 around here on the low end. What's it going to be in five years?
Anyway, yeah... I don't know if anyone will find the above even remotely interesting, but if LA folks are curious check out Brigham Yen's
DTLA Rising blog, which has been covering the developments in the area for a while now, or the very excellent
Building Los Angeles blog, which covers all of LA.
And, yeah, if you're ever looking for a less by the book touristy trip through LA, hit me up and I'd be happy to give recommendations.
Hopefully you returned to Utah with a piece of your soul, and not all of it was sucked out by the vampires of vanity.
