lofts outside New York?? : Manhattan Loft Guy

Manhattan Loft Guy

Jun. 28, 2007 - LA lofts hardly confidential

comment on ancient blog post suggests metaphysics

Not sure if it was a real person or some kind of bot that commented on one of my original blog posts late last night, but probably not a real person. But if it turns out to be of some interest is it spam??

This grasshopper is not sure about that bit of Zen, but the comment was made way back in March last year, Creeping loft-ism – nationally, which was only my 8^th posting as Manhattan Loft Guy. You will see the comment from “Zachary” (not ‘his’ real name?) from last night, suggesting I check out some links for “unique industrial loft spaces in the Los Angeles area and well worth a look for the preservation work the developers applied”.

Since I have been meaning to post occasionally about lofts in ‘weird’ places (like Atlanta, Minneapolis, Miami; Los Angeles certainly qualifies in his category), I took the opportunity to see what “the developers” did in LA. It is interesting work. The buildings all look as though they were reclaimed as residential from prior industrial usage; the ceilings are high (enough), and they overtly channel a “Manhattan loft” vibe.

I don’t know LA geography any better than I know Moscow’s geography, so I have no idea where these buildings are. (The developer works in Hollywood, downtown LA [an oxymoron to a snooty New Yorker], and areas in between.) The sites I viewed do not provide pricing information, or much description in the way of amenities (no uber-lofts here, for sure). I can’t tell from my quick visits whether these are rentals or condos. That would be interesting comparative data.

any space in LA?

The floor plans I clicked were – by my parochial Manhattan loft standards – very un-loft-like. Many studios (as in 500 sq ft units, not as in “artist”), and some duplexed units with bedrooms up the circular stairs. I did not see dimensions, but the floor plans all looked small.

I wonder if that is a market choice (people who want that kind of space want or can only afford small spaces??).

is ‘Zachary’ this Zachary?

The thing that gives me hope that ‘Zachary’ is a person who found my blog – rather than bot that scraped me – is that the Chief Operating Officer of the developer is named Zachary, and his responsibilities include “responsibility for cultivating the company’s image, [and] his duties have grown to encompass marketing and brand management”.

I will invite my Zachary to comment further on the loft market that Creative Environments of Hollywood is involved in.

Comments (1) :: Post A Comment! :: Permanent Link
View more entries tagged with: Los Angeles, Bots, Hollywood

Jul. 17, 2006 - What makes a city a “city”? (hint: this is a blog about lofts)

Funny little piece from the Sacramento Bee (free registration may be required for full text) about some new rental development that is part of the revitalization of downtown Sacramento.

New style of apartments in Sacramento

There are 400 rental units in two buildings about to be available, in addition to several downtown condominiums coming on line in a couple of years. Apparently, new downtown residential development is a novelty for California’s capital city, and probably falls under the general heading of ‘re-urbanization.’

The funny part starts with the two new rental buildings being high-end lofts.

John Dangberg, Sacramento's assistant city manager for economic development, said the new residential projects are not only larger than those that have previously opened downtown; they're "offering a product that has never been offered."

"From a qualitative standpoint, they're a step up, in terms of their finishes, the urban experiences they provide, the design of the units, and the volume of the units," Dangberg said. "Plus, they're mixed use. You've got retail on the ground floor and residential above."

One of the happy renters provides the punch line:

"Now we can call this a city," said Nadal, gazing out from a seventh-floor penthouse with bamboo flooring, granite kitchen countertops and a living room wall made almost entirely out of glass.

"Sacramento's not a town anymore."

I wonder how Sacramento placed in the CNNMoney.com top big cities rankings….