655 Hope Street Los Angeles California

Billions of dollars are being invested in the redevelopment of downtown Los Angeles. Following the general market push for urban renewal increasing the population who live, work, shop, and are entertained, the City and County of Los Angeles, the federal government, and numerous private developers are breathing new life into the urban core of downtown Los Angeles. This essay focuses on the history of one single building, standing modestly among the morass of constant change. 655 Hope Street in the financial district of Los Angeles is an example of the boom and bust gold-rush culture of the West. Historically located in an area that has seen explosive boom in the past, it remains at the heart of current booms today. 

This essay discusses the history of the building located at 655 South Hope Street, on the corner of seventh in historic downtown Los Angeles California. In researching this site, available online resources were queried including the websites for the city and county of Los Angeles California. Official websites queried included the Los Angeles City Assessor’s office where the information provided included parcel number and information on planning and zoning for the relevant parcel. Other public records included zoning changes and cases involving master plan development and variances to the master plan.  Additional sources included the United States Census Bureau with relative demographic data. Finally, news sources and information from the Los Angeles Conservancy enlightened a brief history of this dynamic urban area. 

Originally built as an eight-story office building for Republic Federal Savings & Loan Association, 655 South Hope Street, Los Angeles, California is centrally located in historic downtown. Situated at Hope and Seventh streets in downtown Los Angeles nearly a mile south of the original Los Angeles pueblo site. Following the arrival of the Southern Pacific Railroad in 1876, the city’s population exploded. Anchoring this development, was the opening of John Bullock’s, “Flagship department store on the corner of Seventh and Broadway” ("Strolling Seventh Street") in 1906. This launched the area into a commercial shopping hub.

The building at 655 Hope Street is surrounded by the historically significant Roosevelt Building, Broadway Plaza, Union Oil Building, Home Savings of America Tower, among numerous others. The building at 655 Hope Street is relatively young considering the development of the surrounding area preceded the Hope building by nearly forty years. The culmination of these buildings made the area surrounding 655 Hope Street the downtown hub for commerce in Los Angeles from 1900-until the end of the Second World War.  

Post-World War II most city expansions occurred in the suburbs leaving city centers like downtown Los Angeles vacated. In the post-war era, this part of downtown Los Angeles was left largely unattended. The urban exodus is likely to have made the property value of this parcel drop. However, since 2003, numerous formerly commercial structures have been redeveloped into mixed-use and residential space. Today 655 South Hope Street, at the corner of historic seventh street stands as an observing neighbor to this development. 

Following the urban exodus, 655 South Hope Street and Seventh Street as mentioned before was originally built in 1964 as an eight-story office building for a bank. During the 1960s - 1970s there was little development in the area. Regardless the building was modernized in 1985 by Gensler Architects as part of a downtown revitalization incentive. This renovation expanded the building to its current height of seventeen stories. An unsuccessful commercial building, the developers prepared the building for a residential loft condominium building. It is currently located in City Council District 14 represented by Councilmember Jose Huizar. Los Angeles County District 1, and is located in the City of Los Angeles’ Central City Community Planning area as well as the Central Engineering district.

This downtown revitalization followed a mid-1990s move for hip urban gentrification. Metropolitan areas throughout the country were attempting gentrification by revitalizing their urban cores by converting formerly commercial and industrial space to mixed-use commercial and residential. However, much of this development was halted given the uncertain situation of the economy in 2006. The market responded with renewed interest by younger individuals who preferred an urban setting. The current median age of both males and females in the area is 29.2 years old according to the 2010 United States Census for District 207710, including 655 Hope Street ("American FactFinder"). 

The parcel was most recently purchased on April 25, 2006, for $1.9 million and there was nearly $3 million made in improvements. This was a very uncertain time in the nation’s economy and public and private projects were stalling all over the country. To encourage downtown development the city incentivized investment and development. Effective September 23, 2007, passage of city ordinance number 179,076 established the Greater Downtown Incentive Area. This incentive program modified code to promote residential expansion in the Central Los Angeles district. In May of 2007, a variance was granted liberating developers from the responsibility of attaining clearance from the Los Angeles Metropolitan Transit Authority for development completely contained within an existing building. These zoning changes made this property more attractive for development and in 2010, the SECK Group, LLC began redeveloping the building for mixed commercial and residential use by constructing loft-style condominiums. With these zoning changes the city paved the way for expansive downtown expansion. 

The SECK Group’s redevelopment of 655 Hope Street is likely in response to market demand for urban living and is only one of numerous efforts to affecting downtown Los Angeles living and working.  Down the street from 655 Hope is the construction of a twenty-two story apartment tower in South Park. This development includes a mixed-use building of residencies as well as 5,000 square feet of retail space (Guzman et al.).    

Billions in public works projects (such as water and power systems) are being invested in the downtown area improving public transit access including the $1.37 billion Regional Connector project by the Metropolitan Transit Authority as well as the Sixth Street Bridge Replacement. Two schools are being refurbished and a new federal courthouse and Hall of Justice are being built. As well as the replacement of the Sixth Street Viaduct. More than eighty-five downtown projects are in the works in downtown development (Guzman et al.).  All of these development projects are causing a surge in construction employment. The surrounding area boasts modern shopping and trendy restaurants. The draw to the area is the proximity to all areas of Los Angeles. With enhanced access to public transit, the area is likely to be very popular with young Angelenos. However, there are also plans for civic and cultural venues and senior living locations to attract older residents as well. Although this building is among the youngest in the neighborhood, the complete renovation including eleven stories of lofts makes it an attractive residential property in a completely urban setting. 

655 Hope Street has been located in the heart of downtown Los Angeles since it was a mere agriculture pueblo. Following the boom of 1876, Los Angeles became a hub of commerce. This building was not around for the early boom. It wasn’t built until 1964 as a modest eight-floor office building. Decades later, it finds itself amidst all the buzz of an aggressive redevelopment plan incorporating eighty-five development projects. The site is in the center of a massive boom of public and private investment. The building stands as an example of the positive effect of zoning. In planning and development, there must be public and private cooperation for the betterment of the community. 

Works Cited

"American FactFinder." United States Census Bureau, n.d., http://factfinder2.census.gov/faces/tableservices/jsf/pages/productview.xhtml?pid=DEC_10_DP_DPDP1.

Guzmàn, Richard, et al. "The Development Scene: The Latest Info of 85 Downtown Projects" 

Los Angeles Downtown News, n.d., http://www.ladowntownnews.com/news/the-development-scene-the-latest-info-of-downtown-projects/article_9cb9f524-7d3d-11e2-8005-001a4bcf887a.html.

"Strolling Seventh Street." Los Angeles Conservancy, n.d., www.laconservancy.org/tours/Strolling_on_Seventh.pdf.