Those making a case for Downtown LA's Art District being ground zero for gentrification in Los Angeles certainly have a lot of evidence to back them up. A boom of adaptive reuse projects continue to transform the look and character of the historic neighborhood. Developers now have their sights set on a row of old warehouses between Seventh and Eighth streets off Alameda. Currently, Alameda Square is home to American Apparel offices and manufacturing and a handful of retailers, but by later this year, it's expected be born anew as ROW DTLA, a massive multi-use complex complete with shopping, restaurants, and creative office spaces. Renderings (via Urbanize LA) show that adaptively-reused ROW DTLA looks poised to be one of the biggest players in the ever-evolving Arts District.
Owner Atlas Capital Group plans to offer 1.3 million square feet of office space at ROW DTLA with hopes of housing up to 20,000 employees. The offices will maintain the factory feel of the historic buildings with high ceilings, sandblasted walls, and vintage factory windows.
ROW DTLA doesn't plan on simply being an enclosed office space campus, though. From the looks of things, they want to become a major shopping and nightlife destination with some 200,000 square feet of commercial space available for "the most progressive luxury brands." A brochure for the complex promises ROW DTLA will be home to 100 "unique merchants" and 15 restaurants with 30,000 square feet "dedicated to the arts and progressive cultural events." Shoppers, diners, and progressive artists alike will be able to stroll through five acres of open space, shaded by the 100 new trees being planted for the project. Developers predict over 20,000 people will visit the complex each day.
Parking should be a breeze. A ten-story parking garage with 5,000 spots was just completed on ROW DTLA's southern edge.
According to the brochure from Runyon Group (which is working with Atlas Capital on the project), summer of 2016 is the expected opening of ROW DTLA, so save your money. Something tells us that shopping's not going to be cheap over there.
· First Look at ROW DTLA [Urbanize LA]
· Mapping the Relentlessly Rising Coolness of LA's Arts District [Curbed LA]