4 Downtown News
April 22, 2013
Celebrating 40 Years
EDITORIALS Big Vision At the Medallion
Urban Scrawl by Doug Davis
T
he new entertainment and dining concepts at the Medallion project are the most exciting proposed development for the Historic Core since Tom Gilmore kicked off the Downtown housing revival with his Old Bank District 13 years ago. The key word in all this is “proposed.” As Los Angeles Downtown News reported last week, Saeed Farkhondehpour is trying to turn a real estate stumble into a roaring success. He opened the first phase of the Medallion on the northeast corner of Fourth and Main streets three years ago, and although the 96 apartments filled up quickly, the retail space has been a problem. Only one restaurant has arrived and a large area pitched to wholesale businesses and discount retailers has floundered. A mere 10% of the 200 small spaces are occupied. Thus, Farkhondehpour has made the exciting turn, one that would have more appeal to the residents and workers of Downtown. He hopes to bring a movie theater to the site. He hopes to tweak some of the existing space to hold 10 new restaurants. He hopes to establish something that sounds like a cross between a permanent farmers market and Grand Central Market, with at least 50 vendors selling produce, wine, cheese, coffee and more seven days a week. Making all this happen won’t be easy, and Farkhondehpour may need aid from other members of the community as well as public officials as the plan moves forward. We hope that those who can help access money and get complicated developments approved will come to him proactively. A successful project would benefit all of Downtown. Among the most exciting elements of what might be called Medallion 2.0 is the Alamo Drafthouse. The Texas-based cinema chain is adored for its independent spirit, as well as the food and booze it serves during films. Farkhondehpour and the company have signed a letter of intent to build an eight-screen movie house on the site, something which would win huge support from Downtowners. However, the lease has not yet been inked. The restaurant shift is already underway, with plans to open an upscale sushi establishment at the corner of Fourth and Main by June, and a new cafe also coming that month. Beyond that, things get challenging. Farkhondehpour wants 10 more restaurants, but he’ll have to create a sense of vibrancy and perhaps critical mass to get some of them to locate in a part of the project that cannot easily be seen from the street. The permanent market is equally exciting, and one can see it faring well in a neighborhood that has convenience stores and small shops but no supermarket. Once again, the independent aesthetic of the vendors would fit well with the spirit of the area. Farkhondehpour will have his work cut out as he moves forward. Although the economy has recovered from the depths of the recession, securing credit and all necessary approvals will be a challenge. We wish him luck and hope he gets support from wherever he needs it.
Endorsement: Curren Price In the Ninth District
I
n the post-redistricting era, the Ninth Council District is a tricky place to be politically, economically and even geographically. The district includes the campus for L.A. Live and the Convention Center. It extends south along the Figueroa Corridor to USC before spreading to encompass a large portion of South Los Angeles. Although there is vast financial power and development potential in the small section that remains in Downtown and around the university, for the most part the Ninth is terribly impoverished. Unemployment is high. Crime, illegal dumping and packs of abandoned dogs — some dropped there from other parts of the city — are among the entrenched problems that scar the once-proud district. Jan Perry, who has ably led the district for 12 years, will be termed out July 1. Her successor will need to be a forceful problem-solver adept at building community coalitions. That person will also need skin thick enough to withstand the complaints and criticisms that will inevitably fly. Additionally, the new council rep will have to be tenacious and know how to play the political hardball required to secure the financial and other resources the district so desperately needs. Independent thinking and the ability to say no to friends and supporters will be crucial. In short, he or she will need to be excellent at two levels. The rep must be a visionary who can see well beyond the limitations of the area as they are widely accepted now, and he or she will need to be extraordinary at ground level — cleaning up alleys, helping neighborhoods deal with gangs, bringing in services common to other parts of the city. Think jobs, housing, retail, health services, homeless assistance, etc. Neither State Sen. Curren Price nor former council aide Ana Cubas, the two candidates in the runoff for the seat, meets all of these criteria. However, we think Price best fits the description. Los Angeles Downtown News endorses him in the May 21 election. As someone with experience in elected office, solid ties to the district and longstanding relationships with prominent leaders, we think Price is the better positioned of the two to move the community forward. Realizing the potential of the part of the Ninth that falls in Downtown and eradicating the blight spots in the rest of the area will likely take decades. We believe Price will have the most success in finding solutions to the deep-seated and enduring problems. We don’t love everything about Price, and we have serious qualms about the City Council morphing into “Sacramento South,” as a
growing number of former state legislators join the 15-person panel. We also hope Price will have the fortitude to go against the council’s herd mentality and buck the group’s leadership when necessary. Still, Price brings some compelling experience and proposals, such as his aim to create business improvement districts for key corridors like Central and Slauson avenues, and his plans to tap into the Ninth’s “network of nonprofits” to combat the worsening homelessness problem (not as bad as exists on Skid Row, but obviously related). He comprehends the needs of small businesses along the Figueroa Corridor and knows the importance of addressing basic issues. He has received extensive backing during the campaign from business and labor groups, and these ties could help propel change. There are positive things to say about Cubas. The former chief of staff to Councilman José Huizar has an impressive personal story of overcoming poverty, and she has run a solid campaign, immersing herself in the community during the vote-courting process. We like her long-term vision for the district and her ideas including working with USC to create a biomed and cleantech corridor. We think highly of her initiative to create educational opportunity zones around area schools. We also support her desire to work to increase the number of women holding elected office in Los Angeles. The fact that Perry is currently the only female member of the council is deplorable. This endorsement decision is not easy. That is partly because Price and Cubas both carry some serious baggage, and in a few cases it’s the same baggage. Both worked to facilitate the redistricting last year that devastated the Ninth, removing Downtown from the district and creating a shockingly poor territory. Price testified at meetings in favor of the carving. Cubas has sought to downplay her role, saying that in working for Huizar, who supported changing boundaries, she was doing her job. Still, her job meant hacking apart the community and she did not publicly protest. Both also can be accused of carpetbagging, as each only moved into the district for the sake of running for the council seat. Although both claim historic or familial ties to the area, the fact remains that until recently neither was sufficiently familiar with the daily challenges of life in the Ninth. This is another effect of redistricting — removing the best homegrown or resident candidates, and instead sparking the need to move in someone allied with other communities or interests. Still, on election day one must pick the person who has the best chance of solving problems and bettering the district. That person is Curren Price.