Bill Witte

Bill Witte is accustomed to dealing with large egos and massive city bureaucracies. He cut his teeth overseeing public housing projects for the mayors of Philadelphia and San Francisco. Such experience is coming in handy in Witte's current gig: handling the large egos and city bureaucracy of Los Angeles. Witte is point man for one of Southern California's largest and most high-profile real estate developments: the planned $1.8-billion Grand Avenue project on Bunker Hill in downtown Los Angeles.

Construction on the long-stalled Grand Avenue hotel, condo and shopping complex may be delayed at least another two years because developers have been unable to secure financing. The $3-billion Frank Gehry-designed Grand Avenue complex was supposed to be the centerpiece of an elaborate effort to rebuild the blocks stretching from the Walt Disney Concert Hall to City Hall. But while backers of downtown development cheer Eli Broad's recent decision to build his new art museum on Grand Avenue and a new 16-acre park nearby, the latest delay is a reminder that the fate of the broader reimagining of the Civic Center area is still uncertain.

Construction on the long-stalled Grand Avenue hotel, condo and shopping complex may be delayed at least another two years because developers have been unable to secure financing. The $3-billion Frank Gehry-designed Grand Avenue complex was supposed to be the centerpiece of an elaborate effort to rebuild the blocks stretching from the Walt Disney Concert Hall to City Hall. But while backers of downtown development cheer Eli Broad's recent decision to build his new art museum on Grand Avenue and a new 16-acre park nearby, the latest delay is a reminder that the fate of the broader reimagining of the Civic Center area is still uncertain.

Bill Witte is accustomed to dealing with large egos and massive city bureaucracies. He cut his teeth overseeing public housing projects for the mayors of Philadelphia and San Francisco. Such experience is coming in handy in Witte's current gig: handling the large egos and city bureaucracy of Los Angeles. Witte is point man for one of Southern California's largest and most high-profile real estate developments: the planned $1.8-billion Grand Avenue project on Bunker Hill in downtown Los Angeles.

In another sign that commercial real estate is thawing in choice markets, construction will officially get underway Thursday on a $350-million residential and retail development on Ocean Avenue in Santa Monica. The complex, called the Village at Santa Monica, which mixes luxury condominiums and affordable apartments, has been in the works for more than six years. The project is being built by New York developer Related Cos. on a 3-acre site once owned by think tank Rand Corp. The Village is the first major residential development to be built on Ocean Avenue in two decades and one of only a few condominium complexes under construction in Los Angeles County.

The Broad art museum being built next to the Walt Disney Concert Hall in downtown Los Angeles will soon be flanked by another noteworthy structure: a $120-million apartment tower linked to the museum by a shared plaza. A groundbreaking ceremony will be held Thursday for the 19-story apartment complex that is part of the vaunted Grand Avenue Project launched more than a decade ago to transform barren blocks on Bunker Hill. Developer Related Cos., which recently completed the $56-million Grand Park between the Music Center and City Hall, is building the 271-unit apartment tower south of the Broad museum on Grand Avenue between 2nd and 3rd streets.

Re "$2-billion downtown overhaul in the red," Nov. 17 These people do not deserve more tax breaks. These are people who already have billions hidden in their banks. Building something is the same thing as opening a new business and is always a risk. How many people open businesses every day and lose their dreams to bankruptcy because they took a chance? Did the city bail them out? These guys downtown need to either take the chance and build, or not build, but not hold the city hostage.

A $20-million project to upgrade a run-down apartment neighborhood by turning it into a gated community will begin before year's end, officials said this week. The neighborhood of about 200 apartment units, built in the late 1950s and early '60s off La Palma Avenue near Harbor Boulevard, has suffered from severe overcrowding, multiple owners, absentee landlords, crime and unsafe housing, city officials said.

Using $58 million in bonds, Anaheim will double the amount of housing targeted at low-income residents by the city. The City Council today is expected to approve issuing the bonds, which represent about 15% of those approved by the state in a recent round of funding for low-rent housing projects. "It's a very large bond issue," Anaheim housing manager Brent Schultz said. "It just all came together now."

In a ceremony that began with a traditional Shinto blessing, Community Redevelopment Agency officials and developers broke ground Tuesday on a $32-million housing and retail complex in Little Tokyo. Standing before a temporary altar near 2nd Street and Central Avenue, the Rev. Alfred Tsuyuki prayed for the success of the project -- 102 market-rate apartments, 26 apartments for very low-income people, 12,500 square feet of retail space and two subterranean parking levels with 160 spaces.

The developer behind the massive Grand Avenue project has met all of the required milestones on the downtown development but probably won't meet next month's deadline for beginning construction. Last year, Related Cos. agreed to pay financial penalties to the Los Angeles Grand Avenue Authority if ground wasn't broken by Feb. 15. Penalties would total $250,000 a month until the project breaks ground.

On the same day as the unveiling of Frank Gehry's design for Grand Avenue, a proposal to build two of the nation's tallest condominium towers on the same street in downtown Los Angeles is expected to be announced. But hurdles remain, including approval by public officials, financing and the complex construction challenges that come with erecting skyscrapers in the middle of a big city.