On February 7, representatives from Metro, the Ratkovich Company and 14th District Councilmember Jose Huizar will announce the grand opening of the new pedestrian tunnel linking the Bloc to 7th Street/Metro Center Station.

The passageway underneath 7th Street is billed as the first project of its type in Los Angeles, linking a train station to a private commercial property.  Such tunnels are common in major cities such as New York, Paris, London and Tokyo.

7th Street/Metro Center is the busiest in the growing Metro Rail network, serving more than 200,000 daily passengers on the Red, Purple, Blue and Expo Lines.  That number is expected to grow in the coming years, following the construction of a new 1.9-mile tunnel linking 7th Street to Union Station.  The Purple Line, which currently terminates in Koreatown, is also being extended west towards the Miracle Mile.

The Bloc, which spans a full city block at 7th and Flower Streets, is the Ratkovich Company's reimagining of the formerly-shabby Macy's Plaza, a sunken shopping center flanked by a flagship Sheraton Hotel and a 33-story office building.  The family-owned real estate firm has invested heavily into the property since acquiring in 2014, most notably by removing a glass canopy to open the mall up to the street.

National Real Estate Adivosrs and Blue Vista Capital are also participating in the development.