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Post by transitfan on Sept 22, 2014 6:50:09 GMT -8
Interesting. I wonder if it will occupy the space where the old 32nd St Market was. |
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Post by thanks4goingmetro on Sept 22, 2014 7:47:55 GMT -8
Interesting. I wonder if it will occupy the space where the old 32nd St Market was. USC Village is a new ground-up development where the crappy old strip mall was off Hoover, not University Village which is off Figueroa. |
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Post by Gokhan on Sept 22, 2014 8:56:34 GMT -8
Interesting. I wonder if it will occupy the space where the old 32nd St Market was. USC Village is a new ground-up development where the crappy old strip mall was off Hoover, not University Village which is off Figueroa. The small residential/commercial complex on the northwestern corner of Figueroa and Jefferson is called University Gateway, not University Village. USC Village is what is replacing the large University Village complex, which was often referred to as UV, between McClintock, Hoover, Jefferson, and 30th. So, the name is changing from University Village or UV to the USC Village. People may refer to it as the Village -- we will see. Note that this area has always been owned by USC. Yes, the old 32nd Street Market, which was later replaced by Unified Grocers, which also has a milk factory at 11th Avenue Expo Line crossing, was in the northern section of the UV, south of 30th between McClintock and Hoover. Trader Joe's will replace Denny's on the northwest corner of Hoover and Jefferson. |
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Post by metrocenter on Sept 23, 2014 6:46:56 GMT -8
Note that this area has always been owned by USC. Pretty much "always": since 1999. Glad the university has finally flattened that monstrous "village", in anticipation of something much, much better. |
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Post by Gokhan on Sept 23, 2014 12:05:59 GMT -8
Note that this area has always been owned by USC. Pretty much "always": since 1999. Glad the university has finally flattened that monstrous "village", in anticipation of something much, much better. The land was donated to USC in 1880, the year the university opened. So, University Village and whatever was there before that has always stood on the USC land ever since 1880.  |
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Post by metrocenter on Sept 23, 2014 12:43:22 GMT -8
From the map above, it looks like USC was given about half the lots (the shaded ones) in the area of the current campus. Clearly the new university sold many of those, probably to fund its endowment. And at some point it bought many of the unshaded ones, resulting in the current contiguous campus.
As for University Village (Assessor's ID 5039-020-034), that was purchased by USC on 8/25/1999.
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Post by bzcat on Sept 23, 2014 16:10:17 GMT -8
UV definitely was not owned by USC until 1999.
When I was a senior there in 1997, there was much debate on whether USC should purchase the land for future expansion. I was on the editorial staff of Daily Trojan and it was a controversial topic for many months. It was considered a controversial transaction because USC had pledged to not expand its campus footprint after it got the City of LA to give up the right of way easement on public streets in the 1960s - in effect locking in the boundary of the campus to the area bounded by Figueroa, Jefferson, Vermont, and Exposition.
Most people in the neighborhood were against the purchase while anyone connected to USC was usually in favor. USC finally reached an agreement with the neighbors to not redevelop UV or otherwise change the land use for 15 years... which expired in 2014.
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Post by Gokhan on Sept 24, 2014 11:52:30 GMT -8
Shaded areas in the 1880 map were sold for USC's endowment fund. The rest remained as part of the campus. They probably sold more areas later. Obviously, now, most of the areas were bought back -- all areas within the Vermont - Jefferson - Figueroa - Exposition borders and some areas outside these borders now belong to USC. For example, until 1960s, the area west of McClintock Ave wasn't part of the campus. A Los Angeles Railway narrow-gauge trolley ran along McClintock Avenue from Downtown. See the dramatic change from 1954 to 1972, There were single-family houses west of McClintock. Trolley line was still operational. There was a small Air Line rail yard on the northeastern corner of Exposition Boulevard and Vermont Avenue. Then it became mostly parking lots. Now, it's home to many university departments and more. Interestingly, the area of the University Village was bulldozed in 1972. I wonder whether USC temporarily rebought it and then resold it to the University Village developer, who completed it in 1976.   Los Angeles Railway McClintock Avenue narrow-gauge rail tracks were unearthed during some utility construction in June 2013 -- looking down from the Seeley G. Mudd Building:  |
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Post by transitfan on Sept 25, 2014 6:15:52 GMT -8
That LARy line that traveled on McClintock was the U line. It started somewhere in east central Los Angeles, may have run on Central Av to downtown, then head west via 5th St (which was still a 2-way street), then did some meandering in the Pico-Union district. I don't remember all of the route, but eventually it was on Union Av to where it ended at Hoover St, then south on Hoover to 30th St, then west on 30th, which curved to the south and became McClintock (passed right by what is now USC's Cardinal Gardens student apartment complex), then down McClintock to Expostion (crossing the PE Santa Monica Air Line at grade, then onto Vermont Av, joining the V line. At Vernon Av, the V headed east, and the U continued down Vermont to Florence Av where it ended. At that point, the F line came over from Hoover St on a diagonal private ROW (there is still a street on that alignment today) and took over service on Vermont up to the PE El Segundo line (and PE until 1940 (I think) had a spur down Vermont to Gardena, where it joined the Redondo Beach via Gardena and San Pedro via Torrance lines coming from the Southern Division 4 track line (today's Blue Line ROW). Well, in 1947, LADOT (or the equivalent back then) decided to make 5th (and 6th) St one-way (5th westbound and 6th eastbound). Of course, that would not work having trolley tracks in both ways, so the U was abandoned. To cover the segment between Vernon and Florence, the F line was moved from Hoover to Vermont (turning off Santa Barbara). This arrangement continued into the bus days, with the 6 bus replacing the F car south of downtown L. A. When all streetcar service ended in March 1963, the V car was replaced by the 95 bus. So you had service on Vermont from Hollywood Blvd to Vernon on the 95, and from Santa Barabara Av (now Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd) to 120th St on the 6. In 1975, the 353 line was added from Wilshire to 120th to help the 95 and the 6. That continued until the fall of 1979 (following the strike), when the 353 was eliminated, and alternate trips of the 95 were sent to 120th St. In December 1980, the 95 was replaced by the current 204 (and on Vernon by the current 105). This made the 6 superfluous and it was cut back to Florence, until it was discontinued in June 1983 (the north end of the 6 was then replaced by the current 83 line). And that is your history lesson for today  |
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Post by metrocenter on Sept 25, 2014 7:00:03 GMT -8
And that is your history lesson for today Jeebus, thanks!  |
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Post by Gokhan on Sept 27, 2014 15:59:40 GMT -8
Here you go. The USC Village will mostly be dormitories:  USC Village is designed in the Collegiate Gothic style, inspired by architecture found in early English universities. Wrapped in USC’s signature brick and cast stone, the new buildings and grounds will blend and connect seamlessly with the existing University Park Campus. #1 Restaurants, a grocery store and shops will serve the community on the first level. #2 Underground customer parking will accommodate 460 cars. (A new 1,300-car structure will go up next to the Shrine Auditorium to serve increased USC parking needs.) #3 Students live on upper levels of the residence halls. #4 Residence halls will have a single entryway, card-key lobby access, 24-hour security guards and fingerprint scanning elevators. (Even the bikes will be secure, with covered spaces near building entrances.) #5 Nine private courtyards, three large multi-use classroom spaces, and more than 20 study-lounges will be accessible only to residents. #6 Peripheral fencing will funnel pedestrians and cyclists to three-way crosswalks, creating safe areas to cross Jefferson Boulevard. #7 A statue of the female counterpart to Tommy Trojan will stand in the grand plaza. She is Hecuba, “queen of the ancient city of Troy, mother of all Trojans, the beating heart of the Trojan Empire,” explains President C. L. Max Nikias. #8 A bridge will connect two residential colleges. #9 The Honors College features an iconic clock tower. #10 A 30,000-square-foot fitness center, basketball courts and green space will expand access to recreation and exercise for USC students.  Also see: The rise of Troy |
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Post by erict on Sept 28, 2014 9:54:36 GMT -8
I remember when USC said "We don't have any money" when they demanded that the 2 Expo stations match there look and style (and Metro asked them to pay for it, or contribute half of the cost). It still irritates me to see how much money USC spends on construction, while saying that they have "no money". Anyhow, it's a nice property of the students.
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Post by masonite on Sept 28, 2014 10:54:07 GMT -8
I remember when USC said "We don't have any money" when they demanded that the 2 Expo stations match there look and style (and Metro asked them to pay for it, or contribute half of the cost). It still irritates me to see how much money USC spends on construction, while saying that they have "no money". Anyhow, it's a nice property of the students. The previous President (Steven Sample) was anti-Expo. Realize that a University like USC gets donations for buildings. People like to put their names on them and contribute to the academic life of the University. People aren't going to donate to the University to allow them to spend money on a transit line that has nothing to do with research and education. |
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Post by Gokhan on Sept 28, 2014 13:30:21 GMT -8
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Post by bzcat on Sept 29, 2014 11:05:56 GMT -8
I remember when USC said "We don't have any money" when they demanded that the 2 Expo stations match there look and style (and Metro asked them to pay for it, or contribute half of the cost). It still irritates me to see how much money USC spends on construction, while saying that they have "no money". Anyhow, it's a nice property of the students. I believe it. As an accountant, I understand how non-profit organization have to account for the funds and USC's construction funds are all earmarked for specific purposes. Putting money towards a metro station will not be something you can do with capital funds that were earmarked for educational purpose. The donors set irrevocable covenants on how the money can be spend and I doubt anyone that gave money to USC the last 50 years gave permission for transit station construction. |
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Post by bzcat on Sept 30, 2014 16:29:01 GMT -8
The former Ken Cranes Big Screen TV store on Pico Blvd @ Military has been razed. I'm not sure what is happening with this Expo adjacent lot but it was not zoned for residential before... Street view before the building came down: |
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f ron
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Post by f ron on Sept 30, 2014 16:40:11 GMT -8
The former Ken Cranes Big Screen TV store on Pico Blvd @ Military has been razed. I'm not sure what is happening with this Expo adjacent lot but it was not zoned for residential before... Street view before the building came down: I don't think it's just the Ken Cranes --something seems to be up at the adjacent former matress store as well. There's been no mention of any kind of development on all the usual sites that talk about this kind of thing. It's a big parcel. Even if they can't do the obvious mixed use thing if the zoning hasn't been changed perhaphs they can do office/creative space over retail? I've had my eye on this for a few months. It's curious! |
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Post by bzcat on Sept 30, 2014 16:47:18 GMT -8
The former Ken Cranes Big Screen TV store on Pico Blvd @ Military has been razed. I'm not sure what is happening with this Expo adjacent lot but it was not zoned for residential before... Street view before the building came down: I don't think it's just the Ken Cranes --something seems to be up at the adjacent former matress store as well. There's been no mention of any kind of development on all the usual sites that talk about this kind of thing. It's a big parcel. Even if they can't do the obvious mixed use thing if the zoning hasn't been changed perhaphs they can do office/creative space over retail? I've had my eye on this for a few months. It's curious! . The Lazy Boy store next door is still there. Curious indeed because it's been so under the radar. It's very close to the Sepulveda Station. |
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Post by joshuanickel on Sept 30, 2014 17:04:19 GMT -8
I don't think it's just the Ken Cranes --something seems to be up at the adjacent former matress store as well. There's been no mention of any kind of development on all the usual sites that talk about this kind of thing. It's a big parcel. Even if they can't do the obvious mixed use thing if the zoning hasn't been changed perhaphs they can do office/creative space over retail? I've had my eye on this for a few months. It's curious! . The Lazy Boy store next door is still there. Curious indeed because it's been so under the radar. It's very close to the Sepulveda Station. The 99 cent store bought the lot last year for 14 million. The lazy boy will become the store with the area where Ken Cranes was becoming a parking lot: 99 cent store to replace Ken Crane and La-Z-Boy |
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Post by bobdavis on Sept 30, 2014 23:12:27 GMT -8
Back when my older daughter graduated from USC in 1983, I took a photo of McClintock Ave., which still had cracks in the pavement from the 42" gauge streetcar tracks. I think the U line was abandoned in 1948, after LATL took over.
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Post by bzcat on Oct 1, 2014 8:58:16 GMT -8
That is very appalling use of land right on Pico and adjacent to a Metro station  So we are going from a street fronting store to an empty parking lot on a stretch of Pico that is becoming more pedestrian oriented... That's just ass backwards. |
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f ron
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Post by f ron on Oct 1, 2014 9:41:46 GMT -8
That is very appalling use of land right on Pico and adjacent to a Metro station So we are going from a street fronting store to an empty parking lot on a stretch of Pico that is becoming more pedestrian oriented... That's just ass backwards. It is hugely disapointing. That portion of Pico is mighty run-down to begin with and a 99¢ Store (which I'm sure will be obscenely profitable) isn't going to give any life to the street. Bummer. |
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Post by metrocenter on Oct 2, 2014 7:06:23 GMT -8
Metro Board Agenda Item: New Subway Entrance to 7th/MetroMetro is now beginning negotiations with owners of "The Bloc" (formerly Macy's Plaza/Broadway Plaza) to create a new entrance to the 7th/Metro Center station. This has for quite awhile now been part of the renovation plans for The Bloc. This Metro decision will allow negotiation of funding, and then design and construction of the entrance. (Crossposted in Blue Line, Expo Line and Regional Connector threads.) |
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Post by Gokhan on Oct 2, 2014 10:11:54 GMT -8
I think this actually a very good thing. 99¢-Only stores have been trying to open a store on Rodeo Drive. You can actually save a lot of money shopping there. They even offer very cheap groceries. The main drawback of these stores is that they aren't everywhere and you end up spending gas money getting there. So, having one by mass transit is a great thing. |
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Post by culvercitylocke on Oct 2, 2014 10:33:51 GMT -8
I thought the seven blocks of Pico between Sepulveda and Westwood had already been upzoned?
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Post by bzcat on Oct 2, 2014 15:27:25 GMT -8
I think this actually a very good thing. 99¢-Only stores have been trying to open a store on Rodeo Drive. You can actually save a lot of money shopping there. They even offer very cheap groceries. The main drawback of these stores is that they aren't everywhere and you end up spending gas money getting there. So, having one by mass transit is a great thing. I think the 99c Store is great but my issue is with the fact that they removed a street fronting retail building and will replace it with a giant surface parking lot. It's not a very good land use in this part of town, especially next to a train station! All the developments in West LA lately have been replacing street fronting surface parking lots with street fronting retail or residential buildings. Parking belongs in the back of the building or underground. The site plan for this 99c Store seems like it belongs in the 1970s when we went on a surface parking lot construction orgy. |
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Post by bzcat on Oct 6, 2014 14:50:22 GMT -8
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Post by joshuanickel on Nov 25, 2014 7:56:03 GMT -8
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Post by fissure on Dec 1, 2014 0:13:38 GMT -8
This doesn't seem to jive well with the BBB <-> Expo connection plans that they published earlier in the year, which had nearly all the routes going to the civic center via 4th street. I think that plan makes more sense, though it would likely involve sending more traffic to 5th street (maybe all of the northbound traffic) to allow having bus-only lanes on 4th like the ones on Santa Monica and Broadway.
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Post by bzcat on Dec 1, 2014 12:44:41 GMT -8
This doesn't seem to jive well with the BBB <-> Expo connection plans that they published earlier in the year, which had nearly all the routes going to the civic center via 4th street. I think that plan makes more sense, though it would likely involve sending more traffic to 5th street (maybe all of the northbound traffic) to allow having bus-only lanes on 4th like the ones on Santa Monica and Broadway. I would imagine the transit center will only be used as a terminus for BBB lines, which is better from operational stand point because currently, most of the buses just circle around Downtown or Civic Center which adds to the traffic. The transit center is well located for Line 3, R3, 3M, 5, 7, R7, 8, and R10 that terminates in Downtown. Also good for Metro 704, 720 and 733 to layover. The buses that run through Downtown Santa Monica right now: Line 1, 2, and 4/9 interline will probably not be using the transit center. |
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