CicLAmini in Watts on May 21, L.A. housing woes, and more

So long, LAC + USC Medical Center.

This week, L.A. County Supervisor Hilda Solis and L.A. Mayor Karen Bass announced that the facility, the largest health care complex in the region, is being rebranded as Los Angeles General Medical Center - or L.A. General for short.

The medical center dates to 1878, and serves thousands across the region. The name change comes as the County looks to redevelop the centerpiece of the complex - the hulking, vacant General Hospital building - as well as 12 acres of surrounding property.

Plant-based milk company Califa Farms has moved into its new home - 30,000-square-foot space at the Maxwell Coffee House building in the Arts District.

The office, which was designed during the pandemic, includes a tasting room, a reception area with a barista, and roll-up garage doors at street level which create a sort of "office patio."

Califia Farms, the popular plant-based milk company, recently moved into its new space in the Maxwell Coffee House building at 1019 E. 4th Place in the Arts District. The 30,000-square-foot space was designed during the pandemic — and knowing Califia’s employees would be working in a hybrid model, the company didn’t want an office that looked or felt half empty.

Alexis Dennis-Huether served as the lead designer of the space at architecture firm Slam.

Architecture, design, and strategy firm Nelson Worldwide has relocated its L.A. office to the historic Pershing Square Building in Downtown.

“We are excited to strengthen our footprint in Los Angeles and with this move, we are committed to the city and enter a new era of growth,” said Nelson Worldwide chairman and chief executive officer John Nelson Jr. in a news release “Nelson's relocation to downtown LA means we are able to expand our network of talent, clients, and opportunities given our centrality within the city limits and beyond.”

The building sits across the street from its namesake park, and is well known as the home of the popular rooftop bar Perch.

UCLA cityLAB and Heart of Los Angeles (HOLA) have been awarded a grant from The Mellon Foundation for the project “MARKINGS: Inscribing Indigenous Immigrant Histories in Westlake," which will create new public art and archives to capture the overlooked cultural histories of the Westlake neighborhood. By late 2026, the project is expected to lead to the creation of three interactive, public elements - a digital community archive in the Felipe de Neve Public Library, a digital wall display at HOLA's Arts and Enrichment Center, and a new public art installation near Lafayette Park.

On Sunday, May 21 from 9 am to 3 pm, CicLAvia will hold a "CicLAmini" event in Watts.  The event, more neighborhood- and pedestrian-oriented than a full CicLAvia, will turn a one-mile stretch of Central Avenue and 103rd Street into a public park for the day.

Click here for more information.

Here's what we're reading this week:

California saw a 10% increase in pedestrian traffic deaths over 3 years "504 pedestrians were killed in crashes involving vehicles in California in 2022, according to preliminary data from the Governor’s Highway Safety Association: a nearly 10% increase over 2019." (KTLA)

An Estimated 3,600 LA County Fast Food Workers Are Unhoused, Report Finds "Flaming said the study’s data analysis, which he believes provides a conservative estimate, results in figures estimating that the fast food industry employs 11% of unhoused workers across California and 9% of unhoused workers in L.A. County." (LAist)

Some sanity is finally returning to SoCal’s brutal apartment market: A rental guide "In Los Angeles County early last year, only 3.7% of apartments were vacant and available, the lowest level since 2001, according to real estate data firm CoStar. Now that measure is up to 4.4%." (LA Times)

Cinerama Dome Re-Opening Pushed To 2024 – Update (Deadline)

L.A.’s luxury real estate market freezes, putting ‘mansion tax’ funds in limbo "The slowdown makes sense. Sellers were economically incentivized to close deals before they would have to pay the tax, so most of the sales that were going to close already closed. L.A.’s luxury market won’t remain frozen forever, and deals will eventually pick back up, especially once the courts rule on two lawsuits arguing that the tax is unconstitutional. Many sellers are holding off listing while they wait for a clear ruling one way or the other." (LA Times)

Metro Extends Free Student Pass Program through June 2024 (Streetsblog LA)

$55,000 to leave a rent-controlled apartment? Why these tenants say no thanks "Though city and state officials are desperate to create more of it, developers are simultaneously reducing affordable units by buying out longtime rent-controlled tenants with cash-for-keys offers and renovating old buildings into pricey new apartments or condos. Many residents quietly accept the offers and leave. Others try to hold out, knowing that taking the money probably means leaving their communities or facing rent that’s double, triple or more what they currently pay. Sometimes, tenants say, that leads to harassment or pressure campaigns." (LA Times)