Budokan of Los Angeles Gets a New Look

Budokan of Los Angeles (Image: Rafu Shimpo)

In October 2014, the Little Tokyo Service Center (LTSC) proudly announced that it had crossed the 50% threshold in its $23 million fundraising campaign to build the Budokan of Los Angeles.  The proposed recreation center, a longtime goal of many community stakeholders, would replace a surface parking lot at 229-49 S. Los Angeles Street.  Now, in an article published by the Rafu Shimpo, LTSC has unveiled a new look for the project designed by local architecture firm Gruen Associates.

The proposed three-story edifice--named for Tokyo's famous Nippon Budokan--would feature two full-size basketball courts, meeting rooms, a kitchen and landscaped rooftop terraces.  A one-level garage would sit beneath the 44,000-square-foot building, offering parking accommodations for up to 64 vehicles.  LTSC expects multiple uses for the facility, including after-school programs, martial arts tournaments, basketball and volleyball.

An Overhead Look at the WeHo Depot Redevelopment

Image from Cohen Brothers Realty via WEHOville

Way back in 2013, WEHOville reported on a presentation from Cohen Brothers Realty about their massive redevelopment plans for Metro's West Hollywood Bus Depot.  The sprawling 10.4 acre site on Santa Monica Boulevard would be anchored by a pair of high-rise towers containing office, hotel and residential space.  Closer to ground level, the project would feature retail space, a movie theater, an open-amphiteater, and a 50,000 square-foot sheriff's station.  Since this project would replace an existing bus maintenance facility, Cohen Brothers Realty would build a three-level replacement garage underneath the complex.  Altogether, the vision drawn up by Los Angeles-based Gruen Associates would create an approximately 1.2 million square foot campus.  Quite a substantial project for development wary West Hollywood.  Then again, perhaps this is the type of project needed to push a Santa Monica Boulevard subway closer to reality.  West Hollywood, whose citizens strongly supported both Measures R and J, was left out of Metro's immediate expansion plans when the Pink Line concept was eliminated from the Westside Subway Extension.

• Cohen Bros. Realty Pitches Santa Monica Boulevard Project to Neighbors (WEHOville)