herald examiner project on hold pending market turnaround
Despite some recent progress on the legal and planning fronts, Hearst Corporation has decided to place the 600-unit Herald Examiner project on hold until the shaky residential real estate market turns around.
With short- and mid-term outlooks generally poor, it may be several years before we see the dual residential tower project rise. In what has become the new buzzword of 2008, Marty Cepkauskas, Hearst’s director of real estate, says the company is taking a “wait-and-see approach.”
If and when the market does recover, a new development partner and architectural team will be selected for construction and final designs. Original renderings by Morphosis Architects presented two towers that would rise at 11th and Hill, and 12th and Broadway. Those preliminary images were created for the entitlements phase only and are expected to change dramatically when the project moves forward with construction.
A smaller phase of the project includes an adaptive reuse of the historic Herald Examiner Building stretching along Broadway. The building will be refurbished and turned into office space with retail. Those plans could easily take a leap forward if a potential anchor tenant is identified for the 40,000 square-foot space, a strong possibility in Downtown’s improving office environment.
Regarding the residential portion, Hearst Corporation is taking the long view.
“We’ve owned the property for 100 years,” explains Cepkauskas. “We’re just waiting for the market and the right partners.”
-Herald Examiner Project Site Plan
-city council approves herald examiner redevelopment
-ripple effect: eastern south park receiving a wave of investment
3 comments
Meanwhile, the building is still being rented out for film shoots. They built some minimal sets in there years ago, and they are still there and available to shoot in. Bullpen, office, police, station, jail, courtroom. Stuff like that. You can see pictures at hollywoodlocations.com
I was in a music video at the location, fun time running around the halls
I remember my Social Studies teacher telling the class waaayyy back in 1998 that recession came in a time pattern…that by the time we were in our late 20s/early 30′s and ready to look into buying a place and starting a family we would be stuck in a major housing and economy slump. Looks like he was correct.
One man’s housing slump is another’s good real estate deal. Give it time…