L.A.’s Disney Central

Architect Frank Gehry introduced his massive downtown Los Angeles redevelopment project April 24th, unveiling a three-dimensional model of the proposed “village center” for the City of Angels near the Gehry-designed Disney Concert Hall.

The $1.8 billion, 1.2-million-square-foot plan includes five high rises, condominiums for the wealthy, low-income housing, terraces, gardens and outdoor restaurants. Los Angeles city officials have long complained that the second-largest city in the U.S. needed a community center.

“I hope that people will wander through it,” Gehry said. “It’s a spread-out downtown. It’s an L.A. downtown; it’s not a New York downtown.”

Gehry’s plan includes a 50-story tower facing the Disney hall that will have a wide “skirt” design as its base, the architect said. It would include a five-star hotel, rooftop pools and 250 condominiums. A 25-story tower will anchor the other end of the street and will contain 150 condos or lofts and 100 affordable housing units.

A 16-acre park, a market, seven restaurants, a health club and retail space are also included in Phase 1, which could begin next year. The whole project is expected to wrap by 2014.

Ground was broken last year on a $1.7 billion redevelopment project near the Staples Center. The sports and entertainment complex would include a West Coast headquarters for ESPN, a Grammy museum, a hotel and restaurants. The under-construction Nokia Theatre is also part of the project.