Las Urbanistas

By Sara B. Miller | Staff writer of The Christian Science Monitor

LOS ANGELES - It is the hub of the world’s movie industry. It boasts Bel Air and Beverly Hills, Santa Monica and the Sunset Strip.

But for all the decades it has beckoned and seduced, Los Angeles has never had one place to call “downtown” in a traditional sense.

Now, in a city whose skyline was long dominated by the 28-story city hall, where “downtown” has conjured images of skid row and drugs while the beat of the city has thumped farther away, many say L.A. is finally finding its heart. The latest evidence: An influx of people moving downtown.

The transformation is visible in the area’s historic core - the upper floors of vacant, century-old banks and Art Deco headquarters morphing into luxury lofts and condominiums. Experts say the arrival of what could be called SoHo West may bring per- manent change, and plenty of challenges, to a place that has never had the community feel of the quaint promenade at Santa Monica or the lush enclaves of Pasadena.

According to the Los Angeles Downtown Center Business Improvement District (BID), 12,000 units of housing in downtown existed prior to 1999; that number has since risen to 16,000. The BID expects the downtown population of an estimated 24,000 to double by 2008 if current housing trends continue.

“Downtown LA has finally reached critical mass,” says Ken Bernstein, the director of preservation issues at the Los Angeles Conservancy. “This is not an isolated project here, a mega project there. It’s the real creation of a true downtown community.”

The transformation of a downtown once ridiculed for having “no there there” has been long and episodic. Urban planners set out to try to focus on a multicentered urban core after the widespread urban flight of the 1950s.

During his 20-year tenure as mayor starting in 1973, Tom Bradley envisioned a cluster of glassy skyscrapers that would serve as the center of the Pacific Rim and bring back some of the vitality of old downtown. In one sense, he was fighting the rise of what many considered America’s first postindustrial city: A metropolitan area, defined by the automobile, that had no dominant core but instead was made up of a series of commercial and community “nodes” spread across the landscape.

The Bradley experiment certainly had an effect. Suddenly L.A. had a vertical skyline, anchored by the US Bank Tower - the tallest building west of the Mississippi.

More recently, hundreds of millions of dollars have poured into cultural icons that have become part of the downtown landscape. This includes Frank Gehry’s winged Walt Disney Concert Hall and the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels - the Catholic diocese’s signature church - as well as other nearby amenities like the Staples Center.

Now the arrival of more urban dwellers may bring the final - and most significant - change. Large parts of downtown L.A. remain a work-in-progress, of course, as the area undergoes a demographic shift that has brought luxury living right up to what is known as “skid row.”

After work one recent evening, a cavernous cafe buzzed with local residents - artists, musicians, students. Blocks away hundreds of homeless men and women set up cardboard boxes on the sidewalks.

It is this gritty reality of city living that George Panagopoulos was seeking when he moved to L.A. 10 years ago. A musician, he says he felt stifled in what he calls the sterile suburbs that sprawl west from downtown. “[Living downtown] reminds me about the world. That not everything is all right,” says Mr. Panagopoulos.

Where artists like Panagopoulos see authenticity, developers see opportunity. When the companies headquartered downtown moved to new high rises, only the ground floors in the old core remained vibrant. Many of the upper floors have been abandoned for years. As David Gray, who renovates new lofts and condominiums and manages tenants, puts it: “What’s the last big city in America without lofts? L.A. Ding, and off to the races!” he says.

While artists had been living and working in lofts for years, developer Tom Gilmore, who took a cluster of buildings in the mid-1990s in the area known as the Old Bank District and turned them into homes, is seen as the catalyst of the current population boom. Of 50 historic buildings identified as housing candidates five years ago, 44 have already been converted or will be soon, according to the L.A. Conservancy’s latest tally. The residential development has spurred interest in more services. Downtown’s first supermarket chain in 50 years is being built. Another $1.8-billion project will feature a park, gourmet store, entertainment, and 2,000 units of housing.

For many, the development is bringing back the old charm of the early 20th century, when a dozen movie palaces and old department stores like The Broadway and May Company thrived, patronized by residents who lived in nearby Victorian homes.

Even as waiting lists form long before buildings are even completed, no one expects downtown to surpass the clout of Beverly Hills or Santa Monica. And many, like Panagopoulos, don’t want it to.

But change is happening rapidly. Just five years ago, says the artist Gronk, who only goes by one name and has lived downtown for 16 years, the community felt so small that if someone moved downtown, residents recognized the newcomer.

The urban realities of downtown, like heroin needles on the sidewalk, have concerned some newcomers. Mr. Gray, who moved to downtown six years ago and now manages properties, says his tenants complain about homeless people at their front entrances. “They call me and say, ‘I pay a lot of money and I have to deal with this?’” He replies, “Yes you do. It’s downtown.”

It may be tough in areas, but the demand has caused prices to spike. Gray says a unit he paid $700 a month for six years ago now rents for $3,000. According to DataQuick Information Systems, which tracks real estate measures, the median price of a home downtown is $625,000, up from $280,000 in 1999.

When buildings were first converted to housing downtown, the majority were rentals. But developers say they can only afford to sell units now. Mark Weinstein, the president of MJW Investments, bought 10 historic buildings in the past seven years. The first projects he was able to rent, but the rest will be condominiums. “The apartments don’t make sense, the rents, they don’t pay off,” he says.

Amid rising prices and wealthier buyers, there is still an element of the surreal downtown, says Gronk. “It’s like living in a Fellini movie,” he says of the Italian movie director. “I constantly feel like I’m in ‘Satyricon.’ “

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By Sara B. Miller | Staff writer of The Christian Science Monitor

LOS ANGELES - Since the 1992 riots left more than 50 dead and more than 1,000 buildings destroyed, “South Central” Los Angeles has conjured such violent imagery of racial strife that in 2003 the city council deemed its very name pejorative.

Now, to the surprise of many, developers are turning the lots of South Los Angeles into the city’s latest housing boom - erecting new apartment complexes and condos where abandoned factories and homes once stood.

In many ways, the changes taking place here differ little from what is happening in New York’s South Bronx or in the neighborhood surrounding the Cabrini Green project in Chicago. A heated housing market, federal tax credits that have turned blighted buildings into good investments, and the changing lifestyles of residents who opt to give up gated communities for more square feet and a shorter commute have spawned interest in some of America’s toughest neighborhoods.

Yet this is not a typical gentrification tale - at least not yet.

Even though more for-profit developers are seeking opportunities in South L.A., the majority of what they are building now is affordable housing. They have conformed to the realities of the community in other ways, too, in some cases negotiating peace with disparate gangs employed at their sites and holding meetings with community members leery of projects on the rise. All this is fueling hope that tides are turning in parts of South Los Angeles that have long been neglected and left as among the nation’s worst.

“People are driving by every day asking, ‘What’s going up here?’ They want an application right then,” says Ebony Steppes, working a shift as a security guard on a construction site where a 66-unit apartment complex called Las Brisas is on the rise. “This is the first big building in our neighborhood. It was a blessing to get this.”

Since 2001, some 1,500 units of housing - 1,000 of which are in redevelopment areas - are under construction, approved, or in the pipeline in South L.A., according to the city’s Community Redevelopment Agency. While that is far less than development in other parts of the city, such as downtown Los Angeles, the CRA says that is only because of its later start.

“While other areas [of Los Angeles] are becoming pretty well saturated … and are reaching their peak now, South Los Angeles becomes the new land of opportunity,” says Kiara Harris, a CRA spokeswoman.

AMCAL, the company that is developing Las Brisas and will soon break ground on market-rate, for-sale homes nearby, has been one of the groups pioneering revitalization in South Los Angeles. President Percival Vaz says that many developers thought they were “crazy” when they first began seeking land in the area eight years ago. “A lot of the market-rate developers still think we are crazy,” he says.

Indeed, though “South Central” has officially been renamed South Los Angeles, some of its tougher qualities still plague pockets of this community, which was once an industrial center and has long been home to immigrant minorities. By day now, streets that are lined with single-family homes and tidy yards are quiet. But many in the community say gangs run the nighttime.

That’s one reason Dawond Rowles, a former Crips member, was hired at Las Brisas - to mitigate tensions between the gangs that demand to be employed when sites go up on their turf. “Around here they get along,” he says. “I tell them to leave all their problems at the gate.”

Despite obstacles such as crime - supervisors often hire 24-hour security to keep their equipment safe - development projects continue: Federal tax credits gave many developers the incentive to build. Awarded twice a year - in what Mr. Vaz says is an increasingly competitive process - they are then sold to banks and other corporations as investments.

At first, says Kerman Maddox, a longtime political analyst, the interest in South L.A. land “struck a lot of people as odd,” he says. But “[developers] found out, lo and behold, ‘I can make some money down here.’ ” Ever since, the rate has not seemed to slow.

As demand rises, prices do too. Peggy Hill, president of FAME Housing Corp., which concentrates on housing for the working poor and on relief for rampant overcrowding in parts of the city, says that as it has gotten more acceptable to build in South L.A., it has gotten harder to build affordable units.

“You can barely afford to do it anymore,” says Ms. Hill. “The deal just doesn’t pencil like it did five years ago.”

Indeed, according to DataQuick Information Systems, home appreciation for 14 zip codes of South L.A. grew by 38 percent from 2003 to 2004. While the downtown area and the city overall outpaced the appreciation in South L.A. from 1999 to 2002, South L.A. caught up in 2003 and surpassed both last year. The median price in 2005 was $318,000.

For some residents, the appreciation could not come soon enough. Mr. Maddox says the investment he made on his home is finally on par with that of his peers who live elsewhere in L.A. “For years, it barely went up,” he says. “You’d think, ‘Wow, I have property, but I can’t take out loans on my property like you guys can.’ “

Many are hoping that the uptick in affordable housing is just the beginning of a story of renaissance in South L.A. In fact, experts say, housing stock often plays a pivotal role in the comeback of a community.

“If you don’t have housing that communicates a message that this community is OK or a good place to be, there is no way to attract supermarkets,” says Anne Habiby, senior vice president of Initiative for a Competitive Inner City in Boston. “Housing is an overriding and overpowering message.”

A better housing stock could mean that more people from outside the community opt to move in. Developer Jeff Lee says that demand for market-rate housing is growing in South L.A. - both from within the community and beyond. This is especially true as residents are priced out of their current neighborhoods and commutes get longer.

“People don’t want to spend two hours a day on the freeway,” Mr. Lee says. “It’s a lifestyle choice.”

Already the building frenzy in South L.A. is providing shorter commutes than some thought imaginable just a few years ago. Booker Turner, a contractor, has been in construction for 35 years. During that time he has traveled as far as Bakersfield and San Diego for work. “Now,” he says, on a break at a construction site about five minutes from his home, “I can work right here in the neighborhood.”

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Santa Ana, the center of Orange County government and 340,000 residents strong, is known more for its struggles with crime, blight and poverty than for its quaint housing. But Floral Park, along with its sibling neighborhoods of West Floral Park, Fisher Park and Morrison Park, defies that reputation with homes that include stark and stately 1920s-era mansions, smaller vintage Tudor-style abodes and sprawling ranch houses on beefy, oversize lots.

Floral Park is known for its tree-lined streets, strong neighborhood associations, home tours and outdoor concerts. Residents strive to keep up their homes and maintain the old-school charm of this throwback community.

In some cases, generations of families live on the same street, said Nichole Doughty. Doughty lives in the neighborhood with her husband, Steve, and their son, just a few blocks from her mother-in-law, Molly Doughty. All three adults are real estate agents, and Molly owns Santa Ana Realty, established in 1926.

“The biggest asset, in addition to the great homes, is the people,” Nichole Doughty said. “There is such a strong sense of community here. Each neighborhood has its own voluntary neighborhood association, monthly meetings and social get-togethers.”

On the market

The community is bounded by Memory Lane to the north, 17th Street to the south, Broadway on the east and Bristol Street on the west. A check of the Multiple Listing Service for the 92706 ZIP Code showed close to 50 homes for sale, with about half of those in the Floral Park area, Doughty said. Some homes are up to the million-dollar price range.

Insider’s view

Jack Fisher Park, named after a decorated World War I veteran, is a central gathering spot for many residents of Floral Park. It is where outdoor concerts are held and where school-age children bounce around on the playground equipment. The neighborhood associations organize home and garden tours to raise money for charities, community parades and holiday concerts. The Mothers of Floral Park also organizes events for children.

“The thing I like is [that] it is so diverse. People are willing to accept other people,” said Joel Miller, who moved to Floral Park nine years ago after going on a home tour and falling in love with the community. “Everyone looks out for the interests of each other.”

Stock report

Fisher Park, West Floral Park and Morrison Park consist of ranch-style homes built from the 1950s to the 1970s, Doughty said. The older section of Floral Park has mostly vintage homes built from the 1920s to the 1950s. Homes range from about 1,200 to 4,000 square feet, with lots from 6,000 to 20,000 square feet.

Good news, bad news

Floral Park’s charm proved to be award-winning in June, when it was named neighborhood of the year by Neighborhood USA, a national nonprofit group dedicated to building residential areas. But the community does have its drawbacks. Traffic is the biggest one, according to both Doughty and Miller, who noted that many motorists take shortcuts through the residential area to avoid bigger, more congested streets nearby such as Bristol Street and Broadway. “We do have a lot of cross traffic,” Miller said.

Report card

Children from the Floral Park community attend Santiago Elementary, Willard Intermediate and Santa Ana High School in the Santa Ana Unified School District. On the 2004 Academic Performance Index, Santiago Elementary scored 741 out of 1,000. Willard had a score of 594; Santa Ana High, 629.

Historical values

Residential resales for the entire 92706 ZIP Code:

Year…Median Price

1990…$195,000

1995…$163,000

2000…$235,000

2004…$385,000

2005…$540,000*

*Year to date