A coalition of city officials and building-preservationists hasbegun trying to do something about it. The City Council recentlyapproved a new adaptive re-use ordinance that should make it easierfor developers to convert the CBD's stock of old industrial andcommercial buildings into housing. And now, a new survey by thenonprofit Los Angeles Conservancy estimates that nearly 50 ofDowntown's older commercial structures are ripe for conversion toapartments—a report that might kindle the interest of builders andreal estate investors.

"Converting those buildings would be a great way to revitalizethe CBD and, at the same time, save some very beautiful structuresthat are important parts of our city's history and architecturallegacy," Conservancy Executive Director Linda Dishman tellsGlobeSt.com.

It would also be an important step toward creating the type of24-hour-a-day environment in Downtown LA that San Francisco, NewYork and some other big cities already enjoy. "To have a vibrantDowntown, you need people who actually live Downtown," Dishmansays. "And right now, there just isn't a lot of good housing stockin our CBD."