California: Downtown Renaissance in L.A.

By: Sara B. Miller: REALTOR® Magazine Online
Los Angeles has long lacked a traditional downtown area, but developers are converting empty buildings into upscale lofts and condominiums, transforming the city into what many are calling SoHo West.

"It's the real creation of a true downtown community," says Ken Bernstein of the Los Angeles Conservancy. The conservancy reports that 44 of the city's 50 convertible historic buildings have become residences or are works in progress.

Additionally, the Los Angeles Downtown Center Business Improvement District estimates that the number of downtown housing units has hit 16,000, up from 12,000 before 1999.

Among the projects in the works is a $1.8 billion development to include 2,000 residential units, a park, gourmet store, and entertainment facilities.

The downtown renaissance is putting luxury units just blocks from the area called home by hundreds of homeless people, but it is this reality that is luring some artists from the suburbs.