How is it in a town renowned for malicious gossip and unfounded speculation, we can't find out the health of one measly marriage? Oh well, you tried your best. Let's hope both the Marks return to a cineplex near you soon.
[Image by Flickr user catch and release]
1) Brokers: No definitive answer on the state of toothsome power couple, Todd and Lori Marks' marriage. One enterprising reader looked up the Marks' home on Zillow and found the couple sold their Studio City pleasure palace for $3.6 million back in June. Is this a sign of a split? Did the couple upgrade? Or is this a case of prescient realtors selling before the housing bubble pops? No one knows for sure...
2) Hollywood: You asked if the white condom building on Sunset and Vine was being ripped to shreds by wind, or coyly unveiling a transparent exterior. We went to the source, CIM, and found an unequivocal answer: "Its just wind damage. Our guys have been busy trying to stop the damage." We implore you to think of the advertisers! Poor motorola. Goodbye moto!
3) Downtown: You asked about Phase II of LA Live and which retailers (f any) have signed leases. The LA City Nerd comes through with an answer: Not many. "Movie theaters. In Phase I, there are restaurants. Not too much "Retail" is going into this project: mostly just office, entertainment, and production uses in addition to the hotel and related amenties (ballrooms, etc.)." Commenter oneb offers a little more detail:
The block at Figueroa and Olympic will have the ESPN facility, and some kind of sports museum and a crap load of expensive chain restaurants at ground level. Above that will be a bunch of cheesy clubs ("Club Nokia"? Yikes.) It will of course also have the hotel tower and the Nokia Theatre. The block at Georgia and Olympic is partially reserved for a Convention Center expansion that will never happen, more hotel facilities, big ol' ball room that sort of thing, and a Cineplex. Fig & 12th (east of Staples) will have some actual retail (the developer is practically begging Apple to come in) and some more, ahem, accessible eateries. They are also courting a supermarket (rhymes with SmoleSmoods) to go in at basement level with a neato ground level entry. Then it will have condos, and as soon as they get their crap together some more hotel. South of that at Fig and 12th (my favorite design) will be more condos and ground floor retail/restauraunts.
And last but not least, there will be enough signage and blinky lights to give your four-year-old a siezure.
4) Mid-city: Holy cow did this inspire a lot of comments. We ask an innocent question about a vacant lot, you sound the trumpet on the need for more parks. We agree, but there's no indication the lot on Olympic and Cochran will be anything other than a pumpkin patch/Christmas tree lot. One of our favorite Petes found "it's been in the same hands since at least 1989 and probably earlier. (The last sale price is $9, which is the price you see when a property has been refinanced.)" You all seem to have fond memories of Christmas trees and pumpkins here going back to the 80s.
5) Hollywood, part deux: Another empty lot question. You asked "What's going on at the southeast corner of Western and Fountain? There's definite earth-moving action happening." The rest of you did not answer. You were too busy counting park acreage along Wilshire to care, apparently. More questions? Send them here, we'll post next Tuesday.