Los Angeles Undertakes Major Development Projects

LOS ANGELES, CA - DECEMBER 14: Passengers ride a Metro Link train at a station near high-rise loft buildings under construction, an outgrowth of the current development of the mega-project L.A. Live entertainment complex blocks away, next to Staples Center sports arena, on December 14, 2006 in Los Angeles, California. A boom in mega-projects including the L.A. Live entertainment complex and Grand Avenue developments downtown and a major expansion of Universal City at a combined cost of $7.5 billion could reshape the way Los Angeles grows. Residents of these communities are expected to have fewer reasons use their cars but critics fear that the sheer size of the projects will create traffic gridlock in the areas. The mixed-use L.A. Live "sports-entertainment" hub alone will include a convention center, next to the Los Angeles Convention Center, a 7,100-seat theater, 14-screen movie theater, luxury condominiums, a hotel, restaurants, and clubs, spurring a flurry of major residential loft building projects throughout the South Park area that surrounds it. (Photo by David McNew/Getty Images)