What a weekend. I'm pooped.
It all started Saturday morning with a tour of the Historic Core with CSUN students. Directly after ending the tour I made a beeline to the Title Guarantee & Trust Building to sneak a peek at the newly converted structure. Plus it's been a little over a year since I've seen the Hugo Ballin murals that grace the lobby and had to make sure they were still there. I signed the waiver, stepped into the elevator, turned around and there was Ed from View From A Loft! We've never met but know each other peripherally from the Blog-LA-Sphere. Small world. And it was about to get a lot smaller as the weekend went on. I ended up running into an absurd amount of people I know from all aspects of my life: theatre, swing dancing, blogging and touring.
At Title Guarantee we talked for a long time with the owner Dan Swartz. I was impressed with him as an individual but not so much with the pricing of the rental units. OK, let's play a game here...how much do you think a 1410 square foot unit would rent for in this building? I asked a few people familiar with the Downtown landscape and most came back with a range that was well under the actual asking price of $3950. Yes, a couple could live there comfortably and pay near about $2000 EACH. For rent. Riiiight.
Sunday was the day I had planned to do the actual full day tour. The time change and events from the previous night gave me a late start on the day but we made full use of the time we had. I met Chris at his beautiful K-Town pad and we set off from there around 12:30ish.
Our first stop was 1100 Wilshire. Not officially on "the tour" but open regardless and we couldn't resist checking the place out. I had seen it a few years ago at the first Downtown Living weekend when it wasn't built out and Chris had never been. We started with a stop at the 17th floor pool deck and were greeted with stunning views of the city. Then it was up to the 36th floor which is all viewing units. We agreed that unit 3602 was one of our favorites. The interiors didn't do it for Chris who was very underwhelmed at the kitchen cabinetry. The thing about this building, you're definitely paying for the views and pool deck amenities.
1010 Wilshire was right next door and I had heard about it being "cocktail hour" so we had to go check it out, even though it was just a sales gallery. Which by the way, the sales galleries at all the buildings we viewed were this weird, hip party type of atmosphere. Not like the stuffy trailer sales galleries of the past, that's for sure. I downed the Cosmo, took a picture of the bathroom and the stove (gas!) and we were off to the next joint.
The Roosevelt was another sales gallery. There will be 222 units total. Let's throw some numbers out there for those who are curious: Unit 519, 1532 square feet split level unit 2 bd/2ba, $880k. Unit 812, 944 square feet, $625k. Penthouses are 1.2M and up and range in size from 1600 - 2700 square feet. The physical highlight here was the elevator lobby. Chris liked the convenience of the building being located directly over a Metro stop but we wondered how many potential buyers would actually utilize it for commuting to work.
Next up was
The Chapman. I've seen adverts in the Downtown News and I often travel on Broadway but for the life of me couldn't place the building. It's located on the corner of 8th and Broadway in the bustling Historic Core, directly across from the Tower Theatre. This by far was one of our favorites of the day. I actually hesitate to write so highly of it for fear of potentially losing out on the unit I'm interested in. Yes, I'd consider buying in this building even though I've got one hell of a great rental in Los Feliz....that's how much I liked it. What they are doing right here is what should happen more often Downtown. Reasonably priced units in older office buildings that strive to keep as much of the interior charm as possible with out blowing out the interior and starting from scratch. You actually felt the history in this building and could definitely see it from the views of the Tower directly outside your bedroom window. One hopes that they will be installing double paned windows, something I failed to inquire about, due to the very urban aspect of the surrounding neighborhood.
Before getting to the El Dorado we took a slight detour to do some urban exploring and made our way to the roof of an un-named building and scored some amazing views. Chris loves open doors almost as much as I and has the same adventurous spirit.
Back to the El Dorado. I've long had a fascination with this building and have often said that if and when I buy Downtown it will be in the El Dorado. And that statement still stands. In it's original state, the lobby is one of the most spectacular ones I've seen in Downtown. All units will be equipped with a private balcony. Enough said. Gas ranges and the proximity to 4th and Main all make it equally as intriguing. The pros and cons of the El Dorado and Chapman were the main topic of conversation henceforth on the day. Average price here was mid $400's for a 4th floor 870 square foot 1 bd unit.
Next up was
The Rowan. Be forewarned, we asked what was going to happen with the large empty dirt lot that sits to the front of the building (currently construction equipment and port-a-pottys utilize the space) and were told "not sure, possibly a building." No thanks. There goes that view from your balcony.
The last stop on the day was the highly anticipated 2121 Lofts. On the way we swung by and picked up E&P who wanted to tag along and see the place too. The exterior of the complex was fabulous and pretty much the most exciting thing about it. None of us were especially taken with the models that were available for viewing, save for one that had a crazy beautiful arched glass doorway. The spaces seemed cramped and overpriced and some interior units received practically no light, just cavernous dark spaces. Fun.
At the end of the day we grabbed a quick bite to eat at Pitfire and discussed the days events. Overall I'm extremely happy to see gas ranges in nearly every project we viewed and would like to personally thank each and every developer who went with that decision. There's definitely people who prefer one type of project over another such as the Roosevelt over the Chapman, or say the 1010 over 2121. That's what makes us all unique individuals. So for me to say that the Chapman is great is simply my opinion, which I'm entitled too. Take my comments above as you will, check them out on your own and decide for yourself. I can't wait to see how these projects and the associated ground floor retail that's slated to open with each begin to transform the area into an urban residential core.
The full set of pictures can be found here.
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