Santa Monica Place will gain ocean view in major makeover

The Frank Gehry-designed shopping center will feature a broad plaza surrounded by curving walls that open both to the street and toward the beach.

By Roger Vincent, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer
10:21 PM PDT, September 10, 2008

The new incarnation of Santa Monica Place, the Frank Gehry-designed shopping center that is getting a major makeover in downtown Santa Monica, will feature a broad plaza surrounded by curving walls that open both to the street and toward the beach.

With flourishes of curved shining material unwinding from a third-story plaza, the $155-million renovation will allow patrons to see the nearby ocean from its rooftop dining level, according to architectural drawings released Wednesday.

The mall's owners, who mostly demolished the original structure, say that upon completion the new center will differ vastly from its predecessor and sport a Bloomingdale's department store instead of longtime anchor Macy's.

Designed by noted Los Angeles architect Gehry early in his career, the old mall, completed in 1980, had an enclosed suburban-style configuration that was incongruously set in one of the most affluent urban shopping districts in the region.

The existing mall is about a block from the beach but does not allow shoppers to see the ocean or local streets. It was one of many inwardly focused shopping centers built during an era when owners wanted to lure customers into a self-contained bubble where there was little to do but shop.

The center's owner, the Santa Monica-based shopping center chain Macerich, launched the renovation in January. The new center, which was designed by the Jerde Partnership, is intended to connect with Third Street Promenade.

Mortgage rates are plunging -- for those who qualify

"The government takeover of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac has sent mortgage rates tumbling, prompting homeowners and would-be buyers to flood loan offices with phone calls.

But there's a catch: Although the lower interest rates make it easier to get a mortgage, many lenders this week also raised the minimum down payment they'll allow on a loan -- making it impossible for some people to qualify for a mortgage.

And the decline in rates doesn't apply to you if you're borrowing more than $730,000.

But for the traditional 30-year fixed-rate mortgages that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac acquire from lenders, interest rates have fallen to about 6% this week after hovering above 6.5% most of the summer, said data tracker HSH Associates."

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Real Estate Woes Spread to China

"China has joined the United States, Britain, Spain and others on the list of nations suffering a real estate decline.

Although the last national statistics showed single-digit growth from July 2007 to July 2008 in the average price of commercial and residential real estate, real estate brokers say prices are down from peaks reached earlier this year, while the number of transactions has plunged.

This downturn comes as the growth rate of Chinese exports has slowed — sharply in yuan terms — and stock markets have plummeted. The confluence of events has resulted in what economists describe as a deceleration in China’s economic growth — although at nearly 10 percent it remains the envy of many nations."

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Loan Giant Overstated the Size of Its Capital Base

"The government’s planned takeover of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, expected to be announced on Sunday, came together after advisers poring over the companies’ books for the Treasury Department concluded that Freddie’s accounting methods had overstated its capital cushion, according to regulatory officials briefed on the matter."

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Had the Federal Reserve tightened its restrictions on home loans, then all the speculation that distorted the real estate market would not have happened, and we, taxpayers wouldn't be forced to pay for these loans. Why don't some of these CEOs and government officials, including Alan Greenspan, return the huge profits they made during this real estate frenzy?

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LOFT DESCRIPTION
> 1200 sq. ft.
> Legal Live / Work Space
> 18-ft Ceilings
> Amazing Panoramic Views of Los Angeles
> Views of Hollywood Sign and Griffith Park Observatory
> Huge Walk-in Closet
> Polished Concrete Floors
> Central AC & Heat System
> One Full Bathroom
> Individual Water Heater
> Large Bath / Shower
> Bathroom Vanity Lights
> One Full Chef's Kitchen
> Granite Countertops and Bar
> Stainless Steel Appliances (Refrigerator, Gas Stove, Dishwasher)
> Garbage Disposal
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> Exposed Piping
> Unfurnished
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BUILDING AMENITIES
> Two Separate Entrances

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LEASE TERMS
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U.S. Rescue Seen at Hand for 2 Mortgage Giants

"WASHINGTON — Senior officials from the Bush administration and the Federal Reserve on Friday called in top executives of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the mortgage finance giants, and told them that the government was preparing to place the two companies under federal control, officials and company executives briefed on the discussions said."

Apparently, there's no end in sight. Click on title to read full NY Times article.