Lacter/margin/oct.5/dt1st/LK2nd

It’s ironic that Tom Bradley died the same week we were preparing a special report on the future of downtown. The former Los Angeles mayor, after all, helped foster a business-friendly environment that led to a downtown renaissance and with it, the appearance of many of the same office buildings that are now struggling to find tenants.

It’s not that L.A. has gone down the tubes, of course. It’s just that the city has evolved so that downtown no longer holds the promise of being all things to all people. It’s clear, for example, that the entertainment and investment banking communities consider the Westside their base. The west San Fernando Valley is home to health-care companies. Tech firms are pretty much everywhere.

What’s left for downtown? Certainly government, as well as law and financial services. Sports and culture also will be important pillars, especially with the construction of Staples Arena and the Disney Concert Hall.

While that doesn’t add up to a full-service downtown, it can provide the nucleus in which to move forward. I hope our special package offers food for thought.

Mark Lacter

Editor