transformed into for years. The median age of downtown L.A. residents is 34, with a median annual income
of $98,700 per household, according to a survey issued
in 2013 by the Downtown Center Business Improvement
District. That is nearly double the national figure. The residential population continues to soar, nearly tripling over
the past 10 years to over 58,000 current residents. Now
deemed “America’s Next Great City,” DTLA has made its
place among the other revitalized city centers and may
surpass most, due to its location, weather and general
availability of space.
“We realize the revitalization of downtown Los Angeles
hasn’t happened overnight, although its momentum continues to pick up,” says Carol E. Schatz, President and
CEO of the Downtown Center Business Improvement
District. In 1999, in a bid to create more housing downtown, the city approved the Adaptive Reuse Ordinance
that encouraged developers to convert obsolete and
older structures into housing by expediting the approval
process, and relaxing the zoning and code requirements.
As a result, in the past several years the area has seen
more than 500 new restaurants, bars, nightclubs and retail shops spring up.
Schatz reports: “Probably the most significant catalyst in
the renaissance of downtown Los Angeles was the passage of the adaptive reuse ordinance, which made it easier
for developers to convert old office buildings to housing.
The opening of Staples Center also encouraged people
to explore living in Downtown. What’s exciting today