III. ENVIRONMENTAL SETTING This Section provides a brief overview of the Project Site’s regional and local setting. Additional descriptions of the environmental setting as it relates to each of the environmental issues analyzed in this EIR are included in the environmental setting discussions contained within Sections IV.A through IV.N of this EIR. A list of related projects, which is used as the basis for the discussion of cumulative impacts in each section is also provided. 1. OVERVIEW OF ENVIRONMENTAL SETTING a. Regional Setting b. Local Setting and Land Uses c. Surrounding Land Uses 2. RELATED PROJECTS Wilshire Grand Redevelopment Project III. Environmental Setting Draft Environmental Impact Report Page III-1 City of Los Angeles July 2010 1. OVERVIEW OF ENVIRONMENTAL SETTING a. Regional Setting The Project Site is located in Los Angeles County, in the Central City (downtown) area of the City of Los Angeles (the “City”) (see Section II [Project Description], Figure II-1 [Regional and Project Vicinity Map]). The Project Site is also located in the Financial Core district of downtown Los Angeles, which is bordered by South Park to the south and southwest, the Historic Core to the east and southeast, Bunker Hill to the north and northeast, and City West to the west and northwest across the US/Interstate 110 (the “Harbor Freeway”) (see Figure II-3 [Downtown Context Map] in Section II [Project Description]). Regional access to the Project Site is provided via the Harbor Freeway approximately 0.04 mile west of the Project Site. Wilshire Boulevard, Figueroa Street, and Olympic Boulevard serve as the primary arterial roadways providing access to the area surrounding the Project Site. The Project Site is bounded by Wilshire Boulevard to the north, Francisco Street to the west, 7th Street to the south, and Figueroa Street to the east. Because the Project Site does not lie on a due-north grid, Figure III-1 has been prepared to illustrate which “quadrants” are considered north, south, east, and west. The Project Site is located adjacent to the 7th Street/Metro Center/Julian Dixon station (“the 7th Street/Metro Center station”), which provides access to the Red, Purple, and Blue light rail transit lines operated by Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (“Metro”) and to other hubs of the regional transit system via Los Angeles Union Station. The Metro subway runs in a tunnel beneath 7th Street adjacent to the Project Site. b. Local Setting and Land Uses The Project Site, located in the Central City Community Plan Area, encompasses approximately 3.2 acres, or approximately 140,165 square feet of land area on three irregularly shaped rectangular parcels, inclusive of the 0.51 acres of Francisco Street proposed to be vacated. The majority of the Project Site has a corresponding existing zoning classification of C2-4D. After the vacation of Francisco Street, which does not currently have a zoning designation, the western half of the street would have a zoning classification of C4-4D and the eastern half would have a zoning designation of C2-4D. The Project Site is currently developed with the 16-story Wilshire Grand Hotel and Centre, which consists of 896 hotel rooms, approximately 215,000 square feet of office uses, approximately 206,600 square feet of hotel amenity, accessory retail and restaurant uses, and subterranean parking with 286 parking spaces. The amenities for the hotel include conference space and meeting rooms, ballroom, pool and spa, and fitness facilities. Views of the existing Project Site are shown in Figures III-2 (Views of the Project Site, Views 1, 2, and 3) and III-3 (Views of the Project Site, Views 4, 5, and 6). Wilshire Grand Redevelopment Project III. Environmental Setting Draft Environmental Impact Report Page III-2 NORTH QUADRANT Garland Ave Project EAST WEST Site QUADRANT QUADRANT SOUTH QUADRANT Not to Scale Source: Google Maps and Christopher A. Joseph & Associates, 2010. Figure III-1 Directional Quadrants of the Project Area View 1: View looking southwest across the intersection View 2: View looking northwest across the intersection of of Figueroa Street and Wilshire Boulevard toward the Figueroa Street and 7th Street toward the Project Site. Project Site. 110 HARBOR FRWY WILSHIRE BOULEVARD FRANCISCO STREET 1 7TH STREET FIGUEROA STREET LEGEND 3 # Photo Location LEBANON STREET Project Site 2 PHOTO LOCATION MAP View 3: View looking northwest across the intersection of Figueroa Street and 7th Street toward the Project Site. Source: Christopher A. Joseph & Associates, 2009. Figure III-2 Views of the Project Site Views 1, 2, and 3 View 4: View looking northeast across the intersection of View 5: View looking northeast across Francisco Street Francisco Street and 7th Street toward the Project Site. toward the Project Site at approximately mid-block. WILSHIRE BOULEVARD 110 HARBOR FRWY 5 6 FRANCISCO STREET 4 7TH STREET FIGUEROA STREET LEGEND # Photo Location LEBANON STREET Project Site PHOTO LOCATION MAP View 6: View looking west along Wilshire Boulevard toward the Project Site. Source: Christopher A. Joseph & Associates, 2009. Figure III-3 Views of the Project Site Views 4, 5, and 6 City of Los Angeles July 2010 c. Surrounding Land Uses The Project Site is located in a highly developed urban area. General land uses in the vicinity of the Project Site include a mix of high-density commercial/retail and office uses, as well as limited residential uses, contained in structures ranging from small buildings to skyscrapers, which are physically separated from the Project Site by arterial and non-arterial roadways. The following paragraphs describe the specific land uses in the Project Site vicinity. The structures that immediately surround the Project Site include the 21-story, 350-foot tall 1000 Wilshire Boulevard building across Francisco Street to the west, the 23-story, 288-foot tall 911 Wilshire building across Wilshire Boulevard to the north, and the 52-story, 717-foot tall Figueroa at Wilshire building across Wilshire Boulevard to the northeast. To the east of the Project Site, across the intersection of Wilshire Boulevard and Figueroa Street are the six-story building at 835 Wilshire Boulevard, the 15-story Northwestern Mutual Life Building at 888 6th Street, and a five-story, above-ground parking structure fronting Figueroa Street. Views of the surrounding uses to the east are shown in Figure III-4 (Views of Surrounding Land Uses, Views 1, 2, and 3). To the southeast of the Project Site across Figueroa Street are a one-story building at the southern corner of the Wilshire Boulevard and Figueroa Street intersection, the approximately three-story Mullen Building/Historic Fire Station No. 28, and the 24-story, 356-foot Figueroa Tower. To the south of the Project Site across the 7th Street and Figueroa Street intersection are the 12-story, 174-foot 818 Plaza building with adjacent surface parking lot as well as two parking structures, one six-story and one seven- story, which also occupy the block. Views of the surrounding uses to the south are shown in Figure III-4 (Views of Surrounding Uses, Views 1, 2, and 3) and Figure III-5 (Views of Surrounding Uses, Views 4, 5, and 6). To the west and southwest of the Project Site across 7th Street are the 42-story, 534-foot Ernst & Young Plaza building and 7 + Fig Center; the 53-story, 725-foot 777 Tower; and an approximately 13-story parking structure which serves the Ernst & Young Plaza building, 7 + Fig Center, and the 777 Tower. Views of the surrounding uses to the west and north are shown in Figure III-6 (Views of the Surrounding Uses, Views 7, 8, and 9). The surrounding structures generally consist of office uses and ground floor retail uses with the exception of the 1000 Wilshire Boulevard building and the 777 Tower, which contain only office uses, and the Mullen Building/Historic Fire Station No. 28, which contains a restaurant. The nearest multi-family residential uses, which include The Pegasus apartments, Roosevelt Lofts, The Piero apartments, and 1010 Wilshire apartments, are each located approximately 500 feet or more from the Project Site to the east, southeast, north, and northwest, respectively. A portion of the Figueroa Tower ground floor at the corner of 7th Street and Figueroa Street, immediately southeast of the Project Site, provides access to the 7th Street/Metro Center station which serves the Red, Purple, and Blue light rail transit lines operated by Wilshire Grand Redevelopment Project III. Environmental Setting Draft Environmental Impact Report Page III-6 View 1: View looking east across the intersection of View 2: View looking south across Figueroa Street Wilshire Boulevard and Figueroa Street toward the toward the three-story Mullen Building and 24-story 15-story Northwest Mutual Life building, five-story parking Figueroa Tower. structure, and various Wilshire Boulevard office buildings. 110 HARBOR FRWY WILSHIRE BOULEVARD FRANCISCO STREET 1 2 7TH STREET FIGUEROA STREET LEGEND 3 # Photo Location LEBANON STREET Project Site PHOTO LOCATION MAP View 3: View looking southwest across the intersection of 7th Street and Figueroa Street toward the 12-story 818 Plaza. Source: Christopher A. Joseph & Associates, 2009. Figure III-4 Views of Surrounding Uses Views 1, 2, and 3 View 4: View looking southwest across 7th Street from the Project Site toward the 13-story parking structure. View 5: View looking east along 7th Street toward the 24-story Figueroa Tower. 110 HARBOR FRWY WILSHIRE BOULEVARD FRANCISCO STREET 4 5 7TH STREET 6 LEGEND 8TH STREET # Photo Location Project Site FIGUEROA STREET PHOTO LOCATION MAP View 6: View looking north from 8th Street toward the Project Site and the 21-story 1000 Wilshire. Source: Christopher A. Joseph & Associates, 2009.