City officials are preparing to decide the fate of Angels Knoll – a small, hillside park along Olive Avenue in Bunker Hill that was made famous in the film “(500) Days of Summer.” The park was closed in 2013.
Various developers are expected to submit their visions for the site early this year as part of a request for proposals initiated by the city in conjunction with Jones Lang LaSalle, which will advertise the site to developers around the world. Officials are still working on the final guidelines for the proposals, which should be ready in about a month, said Josh Rohmer, a principal project coordinator at the City Administrative Office.
The 100,000-square-foot space is still owned by CRA/LA, a successor agency to L.A.’s Community Redevelopment Agency, which was dissolved in 2011 by Gov. Jerry Brown along with all other such agencies in the state. While CRA/LA is mandated to sell the site to the city, it has been in limbo as officials decide the best way to proceed.
Rohmer said Angels Knoll is one of about 10 former redevelopment agency sites citywide not immediately sold when the agency was shut down.
“Some we didn’t want to just get sold in a fire sale,” he said. “We wanted to have more of a role in terms of what development occurred.”
Rohmer said the park received an informal appraisal in 2014 that valued it between $20 million to $30 million. Because the city doesn’t have the money to buy the property, it will act as a pass-through for whichever developer is selected, said Rohmer.
While the property does include the defunct Angels Flight funicular railway, that portion is expected to be carved out before the sale, according to Rohmer. He expects the site will likely wind up being converted into a multi-use property, which could include some combination of residences, a hotel or possibly creative office space.
“We have a lot of interest,” he said. “It’s probably the premier developable parcel left in downtown Los Angeles.”
Busy Broad
When the Broad opened its doors in September on Grand Avenue, officials at the contemporary art museum expected to hang with more than 300,000 visitors a year.
But the number of guests in the following weeks exceeded all their expectations.
Almost 180,000 people visited the museum over the next three months. The Broad’s ticketing system even crashed after 135,000 prospective visitors reserved tickets within the first two weeks.
“The public reception to the Broad has been overwhelming,” said Eli Broad, who co-founded the museum with his wife, Edythe, in a statement. “Edye and I could not be more delighted that the public has responded so positively to L.A.’s newest contemporary art museum.”
Fortunately, the museum’s staff proved more capable of handling the crowds than its ticketing software. Alex Capriotti, director of marketing and communications at the Broad, said the museum did not need to bring in additional hires to cope with the demand.
“We’re booked up to March right now,” Capriotti said, adding that the on-site wait time can be up to 90 minutes. “We were able to get all the visitors who were interested in attending. Sometimes it just depends on how long visitors are willing to wait in line.”
The crowds have also tallied up big business for next-door restaurant Otium, which has been at or near capacity since its opening Nov. 17, according to a press release from the museum.
The Broad, designed by New York architecture firm Diller Scofidio + Renfro in collaboration with downtown’s Gensler, showcases the Broads’ private collection of 2,000 art pieces, including works by Ed Ruscha, Andy Warhol, Jasper Johns, Robert Rauschenberg and Barbara Kruger.
One of the most popular exhibits is the Infinity Mirrored Room, designed by artist Yayoi Kusama, which features a mirror-lined room and dozens of LED lights.
Sweet Tooth
Popular Taiwanese pastry shop 85°C Bakery Café will be taking over a roughly 2,000-square-foot space at 700 Wilshire Blvd. formerly occupied by Famima, according to Brigham Yen, who runs blog DTLA Rising.
The eatery, which sells a variety of cakes, breads, tarts and coffee, is expected to open in June. Two smaller locations could also be on the way elsewhere in downtown, said Yen. The chain, which is operated by parent company Gourmet Master Co. Ltd. of Tichuang City, Taiwan, has more than 800 locations around the world, including stores in Pasadena, Torrance, and several in the San Gabriel Valley and Orange County.
Staff reporter Olga Grigoryants contributed to this column. #DTLA is compiled by Managing Editor Omar Shamout. He can be reached at [email protected].
