“High-end retail”? Doubtful. Not alongside the proposed “retail paseo” filled with 22 more “swapmeet kiosks”.

IMHO, this neighborhood already has a very cluttered aesthetic, with seemingly random signage, noise and retail spilling out into the streets. What the area needs is more form, not more chaos.

Trust me, I’m not saying the Yoshinoya should stay, or the theater should remain in its current state of decay. I’m all for them redeveloping the lot in this area that could really use some help. I’m just saying, the design should be focused on improving the aesthetics of the community, rather than making an architectural statement.

And to the Mr. Keans, I understand you’d like to cleanse the area, but this ain’t gonna do it:

Writing over and over and over again that there’s going to be “high-end retail” does not, magically, equal high-end retail. It’s just, you know, writing borne of magical thinking. If the taxpayers subsidize a Bed Bath & Beyond, fine, there’s your high-end retail. Otherwise it’s going to be the same retail you have there now. Heck, they’re even including kiosks in the plan. More cheap electronics and acrylic athletic socks in bulk.

The only thing the taxpayers are going to subsidize is the construction, since there’s 88 units of “affordable,” which is all property-tax-funded County Sec. 8. (There’s something I’ve always thought curious about Los Angeles. It’s the only place in America where it’s taboo to say “projects.” Seriously, why is that? I’ve been in projects all over LA that in no way differ from those I’ve traveled to in Gary or Algiers or Camden, but you can’t say the WORD. Weird.)

Oh, and about eco-friendly? Building anything is not eco-friendly. Try that one on for size.

As many and realtor Mr. Kean certainly well understand, the rehab of historic structures (and there are a lot of positive things to say about this project in that regard, which I fully realize and celebrate) is key.

But as an architectural historian (who get almost as much vitriol tossed at them as do the poor preservations) let me say this (in conjoint with fellow poster Tim): this project will without a doubt win every future award for being the most ungainly, overscaled, clumsy, ridiculous and just plain ugly thing in town. I mean, honestly, even if it does somehow incorporate Alabama-style fire hoses that blast those dreaded megaphony preachers off the sidewalk, it will still desperately need to be torn down, its only saving grace being that it perfectly exemplified that sad period of LA architecture “when they built all those godawful schools.”

We are going to look awfully silly to generations hence.