Mayor Talks Transit Projects, Future of L.A.

Villaraigosa, just back from a trip to Washington to push for federal support of the 30/10 transportation plan, said that 30/10 would not only help clean up the city's air and reduce traffic, it would be an economic stimulus that would aid recovery in the region by creating jobs. Despite L.A.'s reputation as a capital of cars and congestion as well as a city of sprawl, Los Angeles "is a city that can remake itself" through initiatives like the 10/30, Villaraigosa declared. He pointed out how the city has already remade parts of itself by way of projects like L.A. Live, new Downtown housing, Hollywood transit-oriented projects and other developments.

There is clearly a new Los Angeles already, the mayor said, a city that is more densely populated but in a positive way. "We are trying to define density not as a bad word, but as a word that can have elegance to it, and be green, and be smart," the mayor said. Yet the city needs to change even more, he said, and the 30/10 plan is one of the routes to that change. "Four years ago, when I talked about the subway to the sea, people laughed," Villaraigosa said. "But we are going to build it. All of these transit plans will happen."

When the projects will be built remains to be seen, but Villaraigosa said that the reception that the 30/10 project is getting from officials in Washington these days is "a lot warmer and more receptive than it was even a few months ago."

Initiatives like the 30/10 plan are part of a way of thinking that cities must pursue in order to remain successful, the mayor said. He advised the audience to, "continue to think through what cities need to do to be more sustainable, to develop their assets, and to leverage the many important components of what a livable city should be like."

[IMGCAP(3)]Villaraigosa's remarks were one part of a half-day program that included a panel discussion, led by ULI Los Angeles executive director Katherine Aguilar Perez, that focused on topics ranging from the large volume of vacant industrial space in Los Angeles to the city's housing challenges as well as its immense potential for growth. Panelist Ken Jackson, director of sales and acquisitions at Dynamic Builders, pointed out that, "This particular cycle has caught us with something we have never seen before. We have been left with a significant amount of industrial space."

Jackson continued, "I have been in the position of trying to reposition these properties that were built specifically for certain companies. It is tough." Nonetheless, the demand for industrial space is still strong, he said. "When you are Downtown, and look to the southeast and see the one-story and two-story buildings out there, there are thousands of apparel and general merchandise companies that started there. It shows the huge strength of L.A." Jackson pointed to Forever 21 as one of today's retail success stories, explaining that it started as a tenant in one of his mother's small buildings years ago before growing to a national chain with hundreds of stores.

On the housing topic, panelist Rudolf Montiel, CEO of the Housing Authority of Los Angeles, said that one of L.A.'s toughest challenges is how to transform public housing. The question is "How do we transform places of poverty and crime into urban villages where they are sustainable, not only economically for the people that are there, but also sustainably green and financially sustainable," he said. One project he discussed was Jordan Downs, a 700-unit, 103-building public housing apartment complex in Watts. Montiel said that Jordan Downs is one of 14 sites citywide that have potential for improvement through change like the vertical growth outlined by Villaraigosa―especially since those sites are in locations that lend themselves to transit-oriented and vertical development.

However, Montiel explained that, "Until we have budget reform at the state level that allows us to operate in a more sustainable manner, we will have a real challenge in the development world." Arturo Sneider, a partner at Primestor Development, echoed Montiel's sentiment. "Until the state budget issue is dealt with and until we make some structural changes from the state level on the way down, it will always be an issue in the real estate world," he said.

[IMGCAP(2)]The day's keynote speaker, chairman Stan Ross of the USC Lusk Center for Real Estate, cited the importance of job growth to fix the economy and assessed the potential fallout from distressed assets. President Obama's priority right now is jobs, Ross pointed out, "and that is the only thing that will drive this economy."

The huge volume of loans approaching maturity "gets me really nervous," Ross said. "There will be a lot of defaults," he continued, saying that many borrowers may not be able to refinance and that many of the loans will end up being restructured. In the interim, he said, "We will limp along for a while."

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Natalie Dolce, editor-in-chief of GlobeSt.com and GlobeSt. Real Estate Forum, is responsible for working with editorial staff, freelancers and senior management to help plan the overarching vision that encompasses GlobeSt.com, including short-term and long-term goals for the website, how content integrates through the company’s other product lines and the overall quality of content. Previously she served as national executive editor and editor of the West Coast region for GlobeSt.com and Real Estate Forum, and was responsible for coverage of news and information pertaining to that vital real estate region. Prior to moving out to the Southern California office, she was Northeast bureau chief, covering New York City for GlobeSt.com. Her background includes a stint at InStyle Magazine, and as managing editor with New York Press, an alternative weekly New York City paper. In her career, she has also covered a variety of beats for M magazine, Arthur Frommer's Budget Travel, FashionLedge.com, and Co-Ed magazine. Dolce has also freelanced for a number of publications, including MSNBC.com and Museums New York magazine.