It's as if an occult hand had gripped the empty buildings spotted along the east end of Wilshire Bloulevard, the defective busbar of Los Angeles real estate...

I've been in that building. There's a big swimming pool where the transition from the garage to the glass high-rise begins. And the guy who managed it for location work looked a LOT like Elvis.

Might make some nice condos but that neighborhood on the ground is a big zero. Wrong side of the 110 for any real downtown action.

That should do fine now. That stretch of Wilshire is the Korean Beverly Hills now and it'll be a swank address for that crowd. In the 90s it was just the center of Crack Hell.

That stretch of Wilshire is a LONG way from Koreatown. That buidling is right between MacArthur Park and the 110 Freeway. Nearest neighbors are the the movie stages built in the former Unocal building.

And Good Samaritan Hospital. But that's still a lot of floors to fill -- and tenants will still have to deal with the unpleasant 15-story parking garage. I don't want to be driving past when some guy shoots out of that baby all dizzy from circling down for five minutes.

Well, there are the fake palazzos of the Villa Medici just a block away on 7th and a similar development going up on the other side of Wilshire overlooking the freeway, but it's still a pretty desolate stretch. If I recall correctly, the builder of 1100 was a Taiwanese investor and the edifice is a fine example of feng shui madness.

Maybe the reference in "conrad's" post was to the Wilshire/Western area. As for that intersection described as Korean Beverly hills, I don't agree at all. Though the rents in that corner building will be close to Beverly Hills. A one bedder going for $1,700 and up(the less expensive quote on the site is for lower level, which won't be available for at least 6 more months, more likely a year). Yikes. Do I get the piss streaming from behind the old box office hut at the Wiltern for free? Or the strange odors from neighboring 24-hour Young Dong, they're a perk, right?

As for 1100 Wilshire, it's an ugly building. Not near much. Walk around on a Saturday and there's nobody around. Good Sam doesn't even foster much foot traffic or feeder business, since it's so small. I guess it's an interesting move to be close to downtown(walkable/bikeable/busable) but not quite as rough on the edges as some of the Bank District properties. Since 1100 is so removed, it's both a good thing(less transients) and bad(fewer ammenities). I bet it has some great views, though. By default you have to live on the 16th or higher.

Too bad LA Unified didn't buy this instead of the still-shuttered $200 Million debacle a few blocks away. I bet you could fit a lot of students on 22-floors.

The problem I have with 1100 Wilshire is that it vents exhaust directly onto Wilshire Blvd, just 10 or 12 feet above ground level. It is an acrid, foul-smelling whitish-grey smoke - more than like carbon monoxide and other pollutants from the parking levels. I've already complained to the SCAQMD. I have to walk past that eyesore every morning on the way to work.