macarthur park gentrification efforts gain traction
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Sandwiched between the booming bookends of Downtown and Koreatown, it was only a matter of time before major redevelopment efforts swept across MacArthur Park.
Today the Los Angeles Business Journal contains a brief mention of a plan by the Community Redevelopment Agency to sell the historic Westlake Theatre and four adjacent parcels to a developer who will restore the landmark to its former glory as a movie and performing arts space as part of “a 97,000-square-foot, mixed-use development replete with affordable housing, retail and parking.”
The site covers approximately half of the block on the northeast corner of Wilshire and Alvarado (overlooking the infamous park) and was acquired by the CRA earlier this month. The agency continues to garner the involvement of other nearby property owners and will soon begin seeking investors to realize the plan.
Anchoring the west side of the park is the 13-story American Cement Lofts (the “Playstation” building), the pioneering adaptive reuse project completed in 2001. Across the street and around the corner are two new higher-end Mexican restaurants — La Fonda and Chichen Izta — aiming to lure in patrons outside of the immediate working-class population.
Architecture firm DeStefano Partners tells angelenic of preliminary plans for a new ground-up highrise on the blocks just west of Park View Street. No details are available at this time.
Another project worth mentioning is the restoration of the historic Hotel Barbizon (located at 1927 - 1931 West Sixth Street) into 55 affordable-housing units for seniors and large families. After years of sluggish progress, the new residences may finally open later this year.
It’s obvious that MacArthur Park may never become an upscale locale like its more popular neighbors, but the snowballing movement of investment will help patch the last leg of Wilshire Boulevard needed to confirm its status as the city’s grand concourse.
-renovated la fonda on wilshire opens february 14
-dining institutions west of the 110 freeway
-downtowners should discover chichen itza
13 comments
Great news.
Great news!!!!! The Westlake Theatre’s neon sign is my favorite and I hope this means that I can look forward to it being lit more in the future.
This is great to hear. I knew it was just a matter of time until developers jumped on this locale. MacArthur park has come a long ways from its seedy reputation of the late eighties and nineties, and in my opinion is destined to becoming one of the great urban park destinations for all residents of LA.
When the subway was completed, they were going to clean up Mac Arthur Park. When the school south west of the Park was finished they were going to clean up the Park. By 2001 when they added cameras in the park, then they cleaned out the drug trade. The Park is clean and the boat house is there temporarily but progress is hard to define.
Low income housing, food stamp distribution, small malls will continue to attract the less fortunate people. Some folks are hoping for more students and more middle class folks, dream on….
There is progress to be noted. This is quantifiable and objective. It’s not nearly as remarkable as the progress made in downtown since 2000, but it is there. It all started with the subway opening in 1993, bringing some Downtown workers over to get lunch at Langer’s, at least once in a while. You gave a good rundown of the area. Slow but steady changes. Too bad it’s not changing like Downtown, but there are concrete reasons for optimism.
What’s wrong with a mix of upper and lower income people? It makes for a more real city.
Nothing at all wrong, in fact I think it’s a great it will probably stay working- to middle-class.
I was just thinking its the only stretch of Wilshire that’s not high-end. It was a passing thought (maybe not the best choice) that seemed fitting to wrap up this post, which I was rushing to write in about 20 mins.
Stephen, why are you apologizing? What did you say that was wrong? Wilshire is a beautiful street and there is nothing wrong with wanting to see it to return to its glory days as the city’s “grand concourse”.
Not apologizing at all, just clarifying my stance on this issue, because it’s a very important one. I believe in a diverse social makeup for Downtown (and adjacent areas) - it’s the only way the area will survive in the long run.
I hope it isn’t impolite to add a note of caution. I’ve lived at the Park Wilshire (2424 Wilshire, next to the American cement Lofts) for 20 years and have witnessed the remarkable (but still in progress) improvement of the area. When I first moved here you would hear gunshots every night echo from the park.
But I remember circa 1989 or so attending a meeting for a plan to building a shopping complex above the subway station. And as a transportation community activist have watched 2-3 subsequent similar plans hatched by Metro fizzle. The gentrification westward wave stops at the park and then picks up again around Union or Wittmer. I question whether this proposal is a tad premature.
Though you do see some action on the other side of the park, Dana, like Chichen Itza and Royale… though Royale is now dead. One step forward…
There is a concerted effort by some of the locals, i.e. street gangs, and illegal immigrants who strongly oppose ANY gentrification. As one woman stated at a community meeting “The whites moving here will raise our rents, and then we won’t be able to afford to live here anymore.” This woman was in her 60’s and needed a translator to communicate her disdain for whites moving to ‘her neighborhood’. There is a new aprtment complex on Lake Street, and MS13 has made it clear through their grafitti that this is ‘their’ property. MacArthur Park is filthy, and I have witnessed both male and female immigrants urinating and defacating in public. I totally welcome WORKING people to this area, but the illegal slackers have got to go. There are men of working age just standing around 6th/Alvarado all day long doing nothing but offering fake identification. I recently had friends visiting from Salt Lake City, and I was so embarrassed to have them witness vomit at the Redline station, along with an immigrant letting his child defacate on a sidewalk right in front of my residence in broad daylight!
And speaking of the Royale, it is their own arrogance that caused its downfall. They were only catering to the business crowd, but would stay closed on the week-ends for those of us who work during the week, and don’t have time for ‘happy hour’ except for the week-ends. If we local gentrifiers are not good enough for their business, we’ll gladly take our business elsewhere, i.e. Chichen Izta makes a great martini without the attitude of the Royale.
Hey Stephan, you’re an idiot and i hope that you move out of the neighborhood and go back to Salt Lake City. Xenophobic hate mongering people like you should leave LA go back to their fantasy islands and feed off their own bullshit.
Seems like the only public defecation is you walking around our neighborhood.
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