Century City was envisioned in the 1960s as a bold experiment in urban planning -- a sleek, efficient "second downtown" of high-rise office buildings where the car was king.
Now the district is the focus of a new urban experiment designed to undo the sort of auto-centric design that marked planning in Los Angeles for much of the last half-century. The vision -- prompted by a looming boom in the construction of luxury condo towers -- calls for a greener Century City that would be less about driving and more about walking.
Anticipating the arrival of potentially thousands of residents, a task force of property owners, developers and planners is dreaming of more open space, rows of stately trees and a pedestrian loop that would connect the new housing with the vastly expanded Westfield Century City shopping center, office towers and a growing number of restaurants and cultural amenities.
The effort, now in the most preliminary stage, would represent one of the most ambitious attempts to remake a section of Los Angeles into a place where people could get to shops, restaurants and even offices on foot.
Century City has been a hub for entertainment companies, investment bankers and blue-chip law firms. Condo developers see an opportunity to get some of those people out of their cars by offering housing in the district's core.
"Right now, Century City is a rabbit warren," said Councilman Jack Weiss, who is spearheading the task force. "You have to know the secret path and follow a trail of bread crumbs" to get, for example, from Century Park East to the shopping center. Designed with a massive underground parking lot, the mall, until a recent remodeling, was difficult to reach from the sidewalk.
To Rios Clementi Hale Studios, the Los Angeles architecture and planning firm working on the project, the focal point for the re-imagining would be the intersection of Avenue of the Stars and Constellation Boulevard.
The median along Avenue of the Stars would feature trees recalling the grand boulevards of Europe. Public green spaces or pocket parks would dot what has been a landscape of glass towers and gray concrete.
Another key element would be a station for the long-envisioned "subway to the sea" from downtown Los Angeles that would transport workers and tourists into the area.
The idea of reworking Century City as a transit- and pedestrian-friendly center appeals to David Horowitz, general manager of the landmark Hyatt Regency Century Plaza, who often has to help guests navigate the district.
