A reason why the Arts District is becoming the place to work and live.
Portland’s Stumptown moved into a 7,500-square-foot space on Santa Fe Avenue in September. Handsome Coffee Roasters celebrated its one-year anniversary at 582 Mateo St. in March. Urth Caffe, the first specialty coffee house to move into the then-predominantly industrial area back in 2008, keeps increasing sales of whole bean coffee from its headquarters at 451 S. Hewitt St.
They’re not the only ones brewing up business.
Santa-Cruz based Verve Coffee Roasters is planning to open a training facility and tasting room in the neighborhood dotted with industrial brick and concrete lofts. Citing the area’s growth, co-owner Colby Barr said he’s looking forward to participating in the Arts District’s “evolution.” The temporary training center will open above Bestia, he said. Additionally, Zinc Café which will be more restaurant than coffee, will also be pushing caffeine drinks when it debuts at 580 Mateo St. early next year.
Then there are the other places to sit down and grab a double decaf cappuccino or a half-caf, nonfat double pump mocha: Novel Café has long had a spot on Traction Avenue, and Daily Dose is a small cafe on Industrial Street near the Toy Factory and Biscuit Company lofts.
So, what is it about the Arts District, which comprises approximately 52 blocks and has only a few thousand residents, that makes it a percolating coffee district?
Representatives of the three big roasting companies all point to the increasingly vibrant community. The neighborhood in the last few years has experienced a commercial and residential renaissance, and these days common sights include parents pushing strollers and loft dwellers walking dogs, running, bicycling and skateboarding. Additionally, hundreds of new apartments and condominiums will be opening in the next few years, bringing even more customers through the coffee houses’ heavy glass doors.
“Community develops around restaurants and coffee bars. It’s a historical precedent, and it certainly rings true here,” said Anthony Carnazzo, general manager for Handsome Coffee, a 3,500-square-foot establishment with concrete floors, a high ceiling and interior windows that offer a peek at its Probat roaster. Carnazzo believes the more amenities a neighborhood offers, the better it is for everyone in the area.
Helping you get the earliest viewings possible while most must wait until these Lofts open to the general population and most realtors is Corey’s goal. Submitting the earliest bid possible to the developers before the competition comes into play, getting you ahead of the competition and inflating the prices for these Downtown Lofts! Buyers who see the new lofts early often get the best units at the lowest prices.
L.A. Loft Blog, 200 N. San Fernando Rd., #119, Los Angeles, CA 90031
The #1 Downtown buyer’s agent with 19 successful buyer transactions closed in 2013, Corey Chambers is a Realtor®, and member of the Top 6 award-winning, 5-Star Yelp rated team. J.D. Power Award 2012 – Keller Williams Realty ranked Highest in Overall Satisfaction for Home Buyers and Sellers Among National Full Service Real Estate Firms. DRE#01889449
With new lofts coming onto the market next month, our team is writing a series of blog posts on the Districts of Downtown Los Angeles. If you are interested in purchasing a loft or just interested in the growing downtown area, it’s better to know the districts and loft buildings in each neighborhood.
The Arts District is full of industrial buildings that are now converted to modern lofts as well as newly constructed lofts FOR SALE and FOR LEASE.
In the late 60’s and early 70’s, a handful of determinedly urban-minded artists saw opportunity in the empty warehouses and began colonizing the area, converting former industrial spaces into roomy working studios, renting space for as little as a nickel a square foot and carving out living quarters, inventing the concept of live-work spaces. The City of Los Angeles acknowledged the reality of the situation and in 1981 passed the Artist in Residence ordinance, which allowed artists to legally live and work in industrial areas of downtown Los Angeles.
Art galleries, cafes and performance venues opened as the residential population grew and although they are mostly a transient phenomenon, they have assumed mythical status among the urban pioneer population. Al’s Bar on Hewitt just off Traction, in particular, served up groundbreaking punk rock from the mid-70s through the beginning of the new century, introducing generations of Angelenos to dozens of emerging groups (among them, Pearl Jam). The Atomic Cafe on 1st Street at Alameda was a popular artists;’ haunt in the late 60s and early 70s. Los Angeles Contemporary Exhibitions (LACE), created pioneering post-modern exhibitions at its gallery space on Industrial Street. Riverrun, on Traction, created a regular series of challenging conceptual installations.
Today the Arts District remains the home of artists, arts enterprises and many employed in L.A’s vast film and television industry . The celebrated Southern California Institute of Architecture (SCI-Arc), now resides in the 110 year old, quarter mile-long former Santa Fe freight depot that stretches along Santa Fe between Third and 4th Streets. SCI-Arc’s reputation as an experimental anti-establishment school of architecture is a perfect fit withthe community’s somewhat rebellious self-image and its student population helps preserve the areas youthful character.
With approximate limits of Second Street to Seventh Street and Alameda Street and the LA River, surprisingly, the Southeast section of Downtown from end to end is totally walkable. in the Arts District, where the graffiti is the art! In the 1970s, the old, industrial warehouses in this district, many of them railroad buildings, were converted into art lofts for both work spaces and, once the AIR ordinance was passed, legal living spaces. Sprinkled amidst these perimeters are the makings of a community rich in character, socially conscious boutiques and some of the best restaurants and bars.
The area features an eclectic mix of restaurants, cafes, boutiques, and galleries.
The district has some of the best example of lofts, including:
The free, self-guided, public art phenomenon known as The Downtown Art Walk brings together art lovers and community friends to the ever evolving downtown Los Angeles. With exciting and unique offerings around every corner, downtown celebrates the arts each and every month on the 2nd Thursday. Please refer to your calendar for specific dates. Hours vary by gallery, but can typically range from Noon – 10PM.
Many of The Downtown Art Walk activities take shape in and around the galleries predominantly on Spring and Main streets between 2nd and 9th streets. However, there is a plethora of art related events and openings, activities, and special programming that take place all over downtown.
For art buyers and true fans, arriving early offers a more relaxing stroll through the different galleries and art exhibits. As the evening progresses, more visitors descend on the area to meet up with friends and savor the local experience. Visitors and local downtowners can often be found patronizing the outcropping of local shopping, dining and entertainment establishments that have created the thriving, vibrant community. The district has great restaurants and eateries that typify west coast culture!
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Based on information from the Association of REALTORS®/Multiple Listing as of [date the AOR/MLS data was obtained] and /or other sources. Display of MLS data is deemed reliable but is not guaranteed accurate by the MLS. The Broker/Agent providing the information contained herein may or may not have been the Listing and/or Selling Agent.
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Downtown Los Angeles Artwalk Draws Tens of Thousands Monthly
