SPNA has decided on their New Year’s resolutions for 2026. The SPNA Board met in December 2025 to review the year and to assess strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats for the organization and the neighborhood. The Executive Committee then determined the trajectory for the organization’s neighborhood work for the year at January’s meeting. 

I would like to introduce you to Susan Shum who is the newly elected Chair of the South Park (now known as the Social District) Business Improvement District Board (SPBID

First, are you registered to vote in California?

Toastique debuted in the neighborhood last September at South Park Neighborhood Association’s (SPNA) A Taste of South Park. They were a hit!!! Now they are set to open their shop at Olympic and Olive on Saturday, Feb. 7 at 8 am. You will want to be there – for many reasons.

Located in a store front just off Grand Avenue on 11th Street adjoining the Chase Bank, you will find a new real estate brokerage owned and brokered by Erwin Pineda and managed by long time downtown Los Angeles brokers Monica and Kerry Henderson and Bill Cooper.

As the name suggests, the Hideout hair salon is a charming oasis “hidden” in the back of one of the buildings at the intersection of Spring and Main (833 S. Spring St. Unit 101). You may have met them at the Taste of South Park event in September. I had the pleasure of visiting the salon for a haircut and a chat with owners Stef and Angela.

The Wine Station on Hope at 12th opened at the end of last year bringing a French connection to the neighborhood. From tasting curated wines and feasting on gourmet bites Tuesday through Sunday to participating in monthly wine tasting or joining the Wine Club, each experience is notable.

South Park resident Candice Cable is a nine-time Paralympian.  She is the first woman to medal in both the Summer and Winter Olympic Games.  In addition, she is a six-time winner of the Boston Marathon women’s division and winner of the first four Los Angeles Marathons.  That’s quite a history of accomplishment – tied closely to an inspiring life.

As mentioned last month, our country was founded 250 years ago with a strong sense of community that included social connections and engagement in the collective well-being of the neighborhood. Interestingly, that is also what urban planners today encourage for vibrant places to live and work and play.

Find out where you can celebrate a special Valentine’s Day with you Honey!

         More streets and sidewalk closures as work progresses on the LA Convention Center expansion.

The South Park Business Improvement District (SPBID) Board of Directors voted at its December 10, 2025 meeting to begin the process to renew the BID’s charter early. The SPBID currently is set to expire in 2030, but Nolan Marshall, president of the SPBID, told the board he wanted to begin the process early to avoid trying to renew during the 2028 Olympics. The renewal process may take a year or longer. The last time the SPBID was renewed was 2023.

  New board member positions, plans for early renewal of the South Park Business Improvement District (SPBID), proposed 11th street pedestrianization plan, Social District Foundation funding, and presentation by The Gaia Box co-founder and CEO were on the agenda of the SPBID’s December board meeting.

December saw the closing of Pico between Figueroa and LA Live Way until April 2028, and the beginning of construction work mostly related to infrastructure of the LA Convention Center Expansion project. The project includes 200,000 square feet of new exhibit space, rooftop ballroom, new amenities, and modernizations. Highlights of the progress as of this date -

South Park is home to several significant murals on building walls throughout the neighborhood. Kobe Bryant murals are well known and visited often. But one mural in South Park is by a world-renowned artist whose work is in the permanent collections at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA), the  National Portrait Gallery in Washington, DC, the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in NYC, the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, and others. In addition, this artist designed the “Hope”  poster for Barack Obama’s 2008 U.S.  presidential race. Shepard Fairey is the artist, and his mural Defend Dignity has graced a wall on Grand between 11th and Olympic since 2019.

The iconic and historic Mayan Theater on South Hill between 11th and Olympic in South Park closed “for good” recently when it’s operator for 35 years, Sammy Cho, decided to retire from the business. However, it was recently announced that the landmark venue is set to reopen under new management in January 2026. 

It has been worth the wait! I had a nice meeting recently with Jorge Teixeira, owner of South Park’s newest business, Awesome Coffee, on his delightful outside patio at the corner of 12th and Grand.  Locals know it has been a long time in the planning, execution, and opening of this upscale coffee shop. 

Neighbors, families, friends, and those wandering the neighborhood stopped in at the 2nd Annual South Park Winter Craft Market the evening of December 6, at Audio Graph patio (12th & Olive). A fun winter evening was had by all who attended.

While life 250 years ago in the colonies looked very different than life in 2026, there is one aspect I wish we had retained. Granted, I can only think of one. In 1776, 75% of the population was engaged in agriculture with 90% of the population living in rural villages, no electricity or running water, small houses and open-fire cooking, shorter life span, limited or no social mobility for women, minorities, slaves, and the focus was purely on survival.

Seriously, if asked (and I am asking), what advice would you give to a friend or a neighbor for 2026? Send to spnadtla@mail.com and we will include in the February newsletter.