First off. Related Companies, that NY conglomerate in charge of the Grand Avenue Plan, is intent on converting my favorite Little Tokyo parking lot and the location of the Tofu Festival into 750 market rate apartments and condos. Read more about it here. This could be very good for the area as there's lots of dining and shopping to be had within walking distance. Also. St. Vibiana's and the Little Tokyo Branch Library is directly across the street and the Higging Building (with intended restaurant on the ground floor) is 2 blocks away.
Second. The KOR Group, most recently known for helping relight the neon clock atop the Eastern Columbia Building, has their sights on 2 new properties...one of which is in Chinatown (yes!) the other is in the Arts District near the Molino Street Lofts (another KOR property). Yay, for exploring areas other than South Park. And Double yay for the Chinatown location. I'll be keeping my eye on these developments especially since good friends of mine have recently purchased a Molino Street Loft. Guess who's their new house sitter when they go on vacations???
And finally, something fishy is going on in the Central Business District as a local Seafood Company is converting a few of their buildings into a mixed-use residential project. One can only hope that there will be no pesky "fish odor" in those structures...or the surrounds. Yay, for Central Business District. Yay, for warehouse conversions. Those are the nifty-est.
All in all, an exciting time for Downtown just as people were saying "we've done converted all the buildings available, what are we gonna do now?" Um, keep looking...I'm sure you'll find something.
All photo credits go to Gary "take my picture" Leonard. The man.
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