OCTA has reopened a portion of the San Clemente Beach trail - a result of a roughly $93-million project aimed at shoring a crumbling coastal bluff which has impacted service on Amtrak's Pacific Surfliner and Metrolink's Orange County line.

New catchment wall along the coast in San ClementeOCTA

Construction has been underway for roughly one year, and involves the addition of a new pedestrian bridge, landscaping, and other improvements which add to a roughly 1,400-foot catchment wall. More than $300 million has been invested in protecting the coastal railway, although a permanent fix is likely to have a 12-figure price tag and involves moving the corridor inland (more on that in the article linked below).

Here's what we're reading this week:

Aerial view of rooftop at the proposed residential tower at The BLOCShimahara

The Bloc is back on the market as downtown L.A.’s office market shows signs of bottoming out "Part of its potential lies in the future. The current owners have secured city permission to build a 41-story apartment or condo tower on top of the Bloc’s original 12-story garage. They also received city approval to add digital signage to all four sides of the complex, which could bring in advertising revenue to a new owner." (LA Times)

L.A.’s Studio Lot Values Are Cratering "Hollywood’s soundstage boom drew billions of dollars from investors betting on film and TV shoots in the city. Then came the spending pullback." (Hollywood Reporter)

Peek inside Frank Gehry's Colburn expansion, under construction in Downtown LA "Frank Gehry’s final addition to Downtown Los Angeles now has an opening date: The 100,000-square-foot Colburn campus expansion will open September 25, 2027, with a week-long festival of performances, adding another performance venue to Grand Avenue’s packed cluster of cultural institutions." (Archinect)

Rendering of the Colburn Center at the Colburn School. View from Hill Street and 2nd Street intersection. Shimahara

L.A. Might Be Commercial Real Estate’s Best-Kept Secret "Distress and discounts — plus perennial demand for housing — present opportunities despite... well, everything else" (Commercial Observer)

Nine Districts Have Seen Zero Repaving This Year. How Does Yours Measure Up? "Recent city reports show L.A. resurfacing small streets to avoid multimodal and accessibility mandates. This practice has steered street resources to wealthier neighborhoods." (Streetsblog LA)

CicLAvia is coming to Boyle Heights Sunday. Road closures, parking and more to know "On Sunday, Oct. 11, a 6.5-mile stretch of road will be closed to cars from Mariachi Plaza to Echo Park for CicLAvia’s Heart of L.A., encouraging residents to enjoy open streets in their neighborhood. This year, Boyle Heights Beat and The LA Local will be tabling at CicLAvia to share more about our community-centered reporting." (LAist)

The Pacific Surfliner in San ClementeWikimedia Commons

SoCal’s famed coastal railroad may have to move to survive rising seas. How could it happen? "Transportation planners previously said it could cost more than $5 billion to move the tracks inland." (LA Times)

L.A. City Plans to Add New Bus and Bike Lanes on Westwood Blvd "The proposed 2.2-mile project would add new protected bike lanes connecting the Metro E Line station to UCLA and would add 1.1 mile of new bus-only lanes. Give your input via online survey."

Malibu delays speed camera warnings after testing records approximately 100,000 detections "Eastern Malibu accounts for 86% of preliminary detections as city reviews speed limits and completes installation adjustments" (Malibu Times)

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