Los Angeles Pins Hope on Mega-Downtown Development

LA's downtown heart may develop a far stronger beat, judging from the recent unveiling of the US$1.2-billion Grand Avenue Project. The project design, which comes after three years of planning, plots an area with a plethora of people-drawing features, including offices, housing, an urban park, cultural and educational facilities, retail operations, and a new hotel. The revitalization could generate as many as 16,400 permanent jobs, project backers say.

"Today we are on the verge of creating the true heart of our city," Grand Avenue Committee Co-chair and billionaire Los Angeles philanthropist Eli Broad said in announcing the project at the city's Museum of Contemporary Art on Grand Avenue.

"Paris has its Champs-Elysees. New York has Rockefeller Center, Times Square and Central Park," added Broad, who originated the idea of revitalizing Grand Avenue along with Thomas Properties Group CEO and fellow philanthropist and Co-chair Jim Thomas. "Now Los Angeles will have at its center a grand boulevard and urban park, providing millions of people each year the opportunity to walk, shop and play while enjoying downtown at its best."

Here is an artist's rendering of the project.



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