EASTERN COLUMBIA

Today I was lucky enough to chat with Valerie Conway, a member of the Kor Group Residential Sales Team for the Eastern Columbia Lofts downtown. The turquoise, art deco Eastern Columbia building is one of the most easily recognizable landmarks in the Historic Core area and has emerged as a key player in the recent gentrification of downtown. The building's historic past and promising future make it one of downtown's hottest locations. If you're looking for a place to live, keep the Eastern Columbia on the radar.

KC: Thanks for being here, Valerie!
VC: My pleasure.

KC: For starters, tell me a little about the history of the building.
VC: Well, it was built in 1930 as a department store and stayed that way until the 1960's when it was turned into office space. Kor bought the building in 2004 when it was vacant and had been for years.

KC: So what's being done with the building now that the Kor Group owns it?
VC: The building is in the process of closing escrows now. We have 147 lofts and approximately 110 have closed escrow with buyers moving in. The majority of construction is done and now just finishing touches are happening.

KC: Sounds like the project is really taking off. As far as marketing and advertising goes, what steps has the Kor group taken to make the Eastern Columbia building known to people looking for a place to live downtown?
VC: We have not marketed the building in over a year and a half actually. We started pre-selling the building in July of 2005 and were sold out by our final phase in November of 2005. Since then we've just had occasional lofts fall out of escrow and have resold from that. Our biggest advertising is the building itself. We receive a lot of phone calls from people driving by the building or just hearing about it since it is just a predominate building in downtown. We mostly target young single people or couples and also empty nesters. The majority of our building is people who work in downtown or people who are using it as a second home and think downtown has great potential.

KC: That's impressive. What's the building like inside?
VC: The building has 147 lofts and has a roof top pool, spa, fireplace and fitness center. There is also a concierge during the week to help the homeowners. The Kor Group got started with hotels and really brought that feeling over to the building. It is very upscale and the lobby and roof decks are amazing. Buyers have said it is like living in a hotel then a condo several times.


KC: It seems like that kind of luxury was unknown in this part of downtown for a long time. How do you see the Eastern Columbia contributing the development of the surrounding area and the future of Downtown L.A. as a whole?
VC: I think the building has dramatically changed the surrounding area. I have noticed a significant change in the area since our barriers have come down and people have started to move it. Before I saw people just passing by the building and now people are making it more of a neighborhood. We have 147 lofts and on average there are 2 people per loft so there are 300 new residents to the area. I have great hopes for downtown and what it will bring. L.A. Live will start to come in towards the end of the year and downtown will become more of a destination for people. Also a lot of people other areas are not as scared of downtown as they once where and with new attractions coming they are more willing to come and take a look.

KC: Well things certainly do look promising...let's hope downtown really starts taking off again. Thanks again Valerie.
VC: Anytime.

MAKING IT PERSONAL

Following the lead of the Cartifact map, I created a map of downtown L.A. residential, nightlife, food, and other hotspots that I've been tracking for a while. The information on the map comes from a culmination of visits to the downtown area (mainly on weekends) over the past three weeks as well as my own research with publications like the Los Angeles Times, the Los Angeles Downtown News, and Los Angeles Magazine.

Also added is a calendar of downtown events. Using information from the Times, the Downtown News, and other internet sources I hope to put together a resource for concerts, art showings, and other downtown happenings.

Both the calendar and map should be the most active ongoing projects for the site, with updates occurring every time I explore a new place or hear about an interesting event. Feel free to suggest any downtown locations or events you think are noteworthy! The best way to create a user-friendly site is to let you, the user, play an active role in it. That having been said, comment away!

MAKING IT INTERACTIVE

The Downtown Los Angeles Interactive Improvement District and Cartifact.com have teamed up to create a great interactive map of downtown L.A., complete with information about current buildings, hotels, and restaurants as well as prospective housing or development projects.

This is an excellent tool for people looking for a place to live downtown as most of the listed housing projects provide links and emails to their respective real estate or management companies. Be sure to use the navigator tool to explore the entirety of the downtown area.

...AND IT CONTINUES

Unfortunately I'm slowly but surely learning the ins and outs of business bureaucracy with my attempts to get some serious interviews with the owners and managers of many of the businesses and residences I've been researching downtown. Don't get me wrong...I'm corresponding, but I might be taken down to the wire when it comes time for me to actually get some interview transcripts up. In the meantime I'll be posting some helpful maps and guides to places downtown that I think are of interest.

In the meantime I've discovered that the USC Department of Geography offers maps for walking tours of the downtown area. If you're looking to a little exploring by foot these maps are invaluable, with addresses and information about many downtown landmarks. I plan on using these maps to help with my own exploration of downtown but I encourage you to use them too...and let me know what you find out! I'm always thrilled to hear about new and exciting locales.

THE WAITING GAME

No major developments this week, but you can definitely expect some serious breakthroughs in the very near future.

I've been playing phone tag with Cedd Moses, the nightlife entrepreneur responsible for many of the newest, most happening downtown bars (i.e. the Golden Gopher, the Broadway Bar, 4100 Bar). I'm hoping he can shed some light on why he chose to pursue business downtown, an area that until recently has seen little growth or development. Expect some sort of interview soon.

Also on the interview list is the Kor Group, a real estate company that is behind several of the new loft projects going in downtown, including the Eastern Columbia Lofts, seen in last week's slideshow (they're the ones in the turquoise, art deco building). I'm hoping that they'll also be able to shed some insight on why they have chosen to pursue business downtown and also provide me with an idea about how successful they have been. I know it's a long shot, but I'm also trying to see if they can refer me to any residents of their buildings that I might be able to interview. Hopefully the Kor Group will prove to be one of my most valuable sources.

UPDATE: Success! Read the interview here.

My current goal is to lock down these interviews and use them as a springboard for other interviews/investigations into downtown life. I apologize for the lack of concrete information to update with this week, but as the old adage goes, sometimes the best things are those you have to wait for.

THE FIRST TRIP

I made a quick trip down to the Broadway theater district this afternoon to start getting a personal feel for the area. While I was down there I managed to snap some pictures...and here are the results. Be sure to look for downtown landmarks, including the Palace, Orpheum and Los Angeles theaters as well as the Eastern Columbia building.