Downtown Los Angeles Economic Opportunities​

CRA/LA and City of Los Angeles

Downtown Los Angeles has emerged in the past decade as a vibrant, eclectic mix of office and condo towers, clothing merchandising, innovative nightlife, arts and cultural venues, and mixed-use entertainment projects. Yet, several revitalization issues remain, including forging a more coherent identity, improving local circulation and walkability, stimulating quality job-generation, and balancing land uses with a citywide industrial preservation policy.

Working closely with CRA/LA and City Planning staff, BAE analyzed historic and current economic trends including emerging industry sectors, occupational and labor force characteristics, and the impacts of land use regulations on attraction and retention of businesses. Our work also included an extensive series of focus groups organized by industry sector or stakeholder interest, as well as over 40 individual stakeholder interviews. The study focused on approaches to enhance the dynamic mix of businesses and cultural organizations located downtown, including world-class music and theater, the Fashion District, historic Spring Street, the proposed streetcar corridor, Broadway (home of original movie theaters for Hollywood), and a myriad of specialty manufacturers, food industry companies, and entertainment/dining entrepreneurs.