A Look at SB Main & SB Spring

Outside the windows of my loft I've been watching the SB Spring and SB Main buildings slowly come together. SB Main looks as if it is almost done. SB Spring, by the looks of the exterior has a little ways to go. SB main will have 220 units, SB Spring will have 195 units. These buildings show amazing potential as far as activating yet another corner in downtown. With available ground floor retail, it is exciting to think about the potential. I contacted the leasing office at SB Manhattan to see if they had information. Both buildings will be available as rentals and the expected completion date will be by the end of this year. I just hope the interiors are up to par. SB Grand and the Higgins building interiors, well , lets say, not to my liking. While the SB Manhattan and SB Lofts building interiors were a step up.



There were some odd choices for the exteriors though, for example:
This SB Spring sign is terrible, especially on a historic bank building. I don't see why they have to have the "name" on the building, its not even the original name of the building. Also, the painting of the original stone is a cheap way to avoid cleaning the damn building, its just lazy.














Here is another example of the lame signs on the SB Main. Why does Shy Barry, or Barry Shy, have a need to name his buildings, ego? The water falling is not rain, but water falling from a crew cleaning the outside of the building on the upper floors. Also, the stone was lazily painted over as well.











There are some pretty cool details like the one on the left on the SB Main building.
















Crews power washing the exterior of the SB Main building.












Here is a picture that I took with my iPhone a few months back when they started painting the street level stone. Instead of cleaning the granite at the base of the building they painted it. They didn't even bother cleaning it before painting it, this paint is going to chip easily. Another lazy way to finish a building.












I am glad to see these buildings rehabbed. Even though these may be Barry Shy buildings, it is just nice to see that people will be living there. There have been many problems in the past and many horror stories (Bartlett anyone?), but Barry Shy's last two buildings (SB Manhattan, SB Lofts) have seen less problems. Two more new buildings rehabbed in downtown, many more to go.

More photos at inLAonLA's flickr page