Local Stories

I think we've all spent enough time exasperated and distressed at the unending challenges and pervasive headwinds we often feel in Downtown.  What attracted me to DTLA and my role at the South Park Business Improvement District nearly 3 years ago, wasn't the depth of the crisis the district was climbing out of, but the breadth of opportunity that could still unfold in its future.  In Vancouver, I'd taken over for the founding CEO of Downtown Vancouver.  In Los Angeles, our legacy work still feels very much up for grabs and ahead of us.Our neighborhood has a bright future.   These are the 10 things I'd like to see us do in partnership with Mayor Bass, Councilmember Jurado, their colleagues on the City Council, and the many partners who advocate and work daily with us to make our downtown a place we can all be proud of.

It's good to get away, but it's great to come back. We arrived back in Los Angeles late Saturday night after a trip to New Orleans to visit friends, family, and celebrate my mom's 76th birthday. In New Orleans, my wife's childhood home has a walk score of 18/100 and a transit score of 32/100. That this exists in a city known for being walkable drives me insane. While downtown and historic corridors are thriving, some neighborhoods that were healthy inner ring suburbs never fully recovered from Hurricane Katrina. Every morning during our visit, I would wake up and drive 15 minutes to a coffee or matcha shop, and every evening we would make sure we had clear dinner plans before returning to what has essentially become a food and beverage desert.

Looking at vacant space in the Social District, either for potential green space or blank walls for murals, the parking lot next to what used to be Bank of America on Hill Street frequently catches my attention. I probably think more about 30 years of banking trends than most people trying to look at our neighborhood as a canvas for what's possible.

We were among the first to call for a curfew. We did so in solidarity with the Historic Core, Fashion District, and Little Tokyo following the organized looting that struck their neighborhoods at the beginning of last week. Between the chaos that was being broadcast out to the world, and the level of sophistication demonstrated by the looters springing into action once the legitimate protests ended, the curfew was necessary for the community and officials to regroup ahead of more uncertain nights.

Larry David is a miniature schnauzer. I can count on one hand, in his 11 years, how many times he's so much as nipped at anyone as a warning. But he does have a loud, and sometimes aggressive bark. People have stopped to engage with him and will ask if he bites, and I usually feel compelled to share some version of just because he never has, doesn't mean he never will. I walk him around the district multiple times a day – on occasion as early as 5 AM, and as late as 2 AM. I always feel safe outside, especially with my “ferocious” protector.

The first business improvement district (BID) was formed in Toronto, Canada in 1970. The first BID in the United States was established in 1981 in New Orleans. This marked the beginning of the BID model spreading across the United States, where property owners within a defined area agree to pay a proportional assessment to fund improvements and services beyond those provided by a city. As such, the place management industry is just 55 years old. I feel incredibly blessed to have found a connection to the industry nearly 20 years ago, and earned the responsibility of solving problems and making investments that are intended to make places.

When we changed our brand to the Social District, it was aspirationally about creating an environment that is welcoming and safe for people to connect at any time of the day. Our District is home to the South Park neighborhood, the growing Dignity Health medical corridor, L.A. Live, and the Los Angeles Convention Center. Our ambassadors and place management team work to create vibrant environments, connect our district, and promote opportunities for businesses to thrive.

My kids are on Spring Break this week. For lots of families this is a time that schedules align, bags are packed, and intentions are to hit the beach, visit grandparents, amusement parks, or maybe hop a flight to some place for a cultured experience abroad. All of that seems nice.  But the boys’ Nana, my sister-in-law, her plus one, and my nephew, have decided that Los Angeles is their destination of choice for their own holiday break.

The project envisions the triangle between Olive Street and Pico Boulevard with public art and greenery and serving as a pedestrian friendly gateway into Downtown Los Angeles. Last week, final approval was given to move forward, and work should begin in the coming weeks.

This year, our ambassadors and clean team have done an incredible job.  Whether it was mitigating the neighborhood impacts of the Oceanwide tagging, supporting neighborhood events like the Farmers’ Market, or being a vigilant presence in the aftermath of the Dodgers World Series victory, our team has stepped up beyond the call of their day-to-day duty to maintain the standards of our district. In keeping with the preferred format of the season, we computed the data, and compiled a list of how they’ve contributed to our recognition as a clean and safe neighborhood in DTLA this year.

Humans are social beings, and it is our basic instinct to transform parking lots and empty retail spaces into parks, public spaces, restaurants, bars, cafes, and galleries where we can connect and explore. When we have been at our best, we’ve forged genuine relationships that have produced enough social change to reinvent our world, and with a fraction of that investment can almost certainly change a neighborhood...