Dodger Stadium gondola re-approved, RIP Frank Gehry, and more

A groundbreaking is scheduled for December 11 for the restoration of the Young Korean Academy campus in Exposition Park, a  Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument and one of 180 Korean diaspora heritage sites slated for preservation by the Korean government.

Located at 3421 South Catalina Street, the former Hung Sa Dahn headquarters served as a hub for Korean independence activists from 1929 to 1979. The project calls for rehabilitating the site’s mid-century buildings into spaces for exhibits, reflection, and community gatherings. Plans also call for a new elevator linking the main structures, a converted catering kitchen, redesigned multipurpose rooms, and outdoor areas featuring traditional Korean landscaping and a “Wall of Remembrance.”

The latest Casden Real Estate Economics Forecast from USC’s Lusk Center projects that rents will continue rising across Southern California through 2027, with construction still far from meeting regional demand. The annual report, which tracks multifamily rents and vacancies in Los Angeles, Orange, San Diego, and Ventura counties, as well as in the Inland Empire, warns that slow housing production will help keep affordability out of reach for many renters.

Los Angeles County remains the region’s slowest-growing rental market, with rent growth expected to hover near 0.6 percent annually. In contrast, Orange County is set to remain the most expensive, with rents climbing roughly 2.5 percent per year. San Diego stands out as the most responsive market, where years of steady construction have kept rents relatively stable. Ventura County remains high-cost with little new supply, and the Inland Empire, though still the most affordable, is projected to see faster rent gains as new construction slows.

Here's what we're reading this week: 

Metro votes to approve Dodger Stadium gondola project despite protests "The Los Angeles City Council will consider whether to approve the gondola project. The council is unlikely to take up a potential vote until late next year." (LA Times)

SBCTA Could Finally End One of the Country’s Worst Zombie Projects: The ONT Connector "The ONT Connector project is/was first proposed by Elon Musk in 2019 to connect Rancho Cucamonga Metrolink/Future Brightline West Station and ONT Airport via a tunnel for autonomous underground vehicles." (Streetsblog LA)

Robert Silverstein, who fought City Hall over Hollywood development and won, dies at 57 "The lawyer’s aggressive advocacy spurred the city’s planning department to become more exacting when reviewing real estate projects." (LA Times)

Frank Gehry, masterful architect who transformed L.A.’s urban landscape, dies at 96 "In the architect’s finest work, proportion as well as attention to light and shadow are expertly handled, taking advantage of skills honed over many decades. His most memorable rooms are as carefully and intelligently put together — and in their charismatic and forward-looking energy, as quintessentially American — as the most fluid descriptive prose by F. Scott Fitzgerald, the most freewheeling artwork by Robert Rauschenberg or the most stirring fanfare by Aaron Copland." (LA Times)

Could Cities Partner With Guerilla Urbanists For Safer Streets? "Los Angeles failed to eliminate traffic fatalities, so Angelenos are taking Vision Zero into their own hands – one bucket of paint at a time." (Next City)

Women's World Cup could come to LA in 2031 "The U.S. Soccer Federation submitted a joint bid with Mexico, Costa Rica and Jamaica. It was the only bid that made the deadline." (LAist)

Eyes on the Street: Caltrans Sidewalk Work on Alvarado "Caltrans $70M State Route 2 Multimodal Project is rehabbing and improving 5 miles of Santa Monica Blvd, Alvarado St., and Glendale Blvd." (Streetsblog LA)

Glendale Community Pushes Back on Housing Project Plan "The proposed five-story development on the 1.08-acre site at 2413 Foothill Blvd. in La Crescenta, at the northwest corner of Briggs Avenue and Foothill Boulevard, seeks to provide 80 apartment rental homes, including 39 one-bedroom, 21 two-bedroom, and 20 three-bedroom units, with one two-bedroom reserved for an onsite community manager and 25 units designated for Transition-Aged Youth (TAY), ages 18 to 24." (GNP)

Metro advances water taxi plan for 2028 Olympic Games "Metro's board has for months been considering investing in a service to ferry spectators along the harbor for the Olympics, positioning it as a way to reduce traffic and increase access to the Games in the South Bay. Long Beach will host more than a dozen Olympic and Paralympic competitions." (LAist)

LA starts SB 79 mapping, explores delays and local implementation options  "With SB 79 set to allow more density within a half-mile of major transit stops, LA has begun mapping where it applies." (Daily news)

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