Though the Downtown nightlife scene has transformed in the last couple years—now housing more chic bars than crack dens—it's still unsettling to walk around after dark, even when armed with liquid courage. Just ask the folks at Bordello, located at the foot of the 1st St. bridge. There's so little foot traffic, they've decided to hold off on opening their next project, a "sinister beer garden" called Bridge Tavern, even though the space is ready to go. So what are the occupants of all those new million-dollar lofts nearby supposed to do? For many, the answer is hit an elevator button and head downstairs to the bar.

Behold the residents of the Higgins Building, all of whom get a VIP card that lets them cut the line at turn-of-the-century-themed Edison bar downstairs. They also get an "Edison Black Card," good for 15 percent off food and drinks. Just a mile away at the Library Court Lofts, the in-house boîte, Library Bar, welcomes new tenants with a drink on the house. And at the Flat’s uber chic Blue Velvet, residents are privy to holiday drink specials. Not a bad perk to go with the comfort of knowing that home is just an elevator ride away.

Do we sense a trend bubbling up? Judging by the amount of loft bars slated to open in the coming months, we think so.

Last month the team behind the Room, a hipsterfied lounge with locations in Santa Monica and Hollywood, broke ground on the Association, a basement bar in the Pacific Electric Lofts scheduled to open this summer. In a nod to the building's inhabitants, there will be a private door for residents, accessible only via a security key, in addition to the street entrance for the public. "It's sort of like a 'Goodfellas' entrance through the back," says co-owner Ashley Joyce. Described as a "proper boozer," the Association will have the dark, sexy, sophisticated feel Joyce and Co. have become known for. But the bar will be more than just a nightspot—the plan is to make it an extension of the loft lifestyle.

"People talk about how great Downtown is, but what they're really talking about is the future," Joyce says. "It's our role to provide venues where people can come together. We really want people to feel like, 'It’s 7 o'clock. Let's just go downstairs, have a drink and see who's down there.'"

And if one spot wasn’t enough for the PE Lofts, Cedd Moses, who owns Broadway Bar, Seven Grand and Golden Gopher, is set to reopen the historic Cole's Original French Dip later this year. The famed eatery will be back in action around August with its original bar, built in 1908, completely intact. Across the street at the Santa Fe Lofts, Moses is opening a small music venue that could be the next Spaceland.

Just a zip code over in the 90015, BottleRock wine bar is ramping up to debut its second location, in the Bauhaus-inspired Met Lofts, at the end of March. Like the Culver City outpost, the venue will do double duty as a retail space, offering 500 vintages, each available by the glass. Unlike the small, quaint original, the offshoot will feature modern décor with steel and pearl-white tables, a long bar, and a cushy lounge. Not to mention, its patrons will bask in the neon lights from the nearby Staples Center.

And if all this drinking makes you hungry, Steven Arroyo, of Cobras & Matadors fame, has transformed the loading docks in the Biscuit Company Lofts into Church & State, a brasserie and wine bar set to open in March. With a nod to the Industrial era, he says the space is decked out with oversized metal columns and turn-of-the-century brick floors. When asked if there will be any perks for residents, he laughs. "Having Church & State in the building is the perk," he says.

>>Pacific Electric Lofts, 610 S. Main St., L.A. 90014; Santa Fe Lofts, 121 E. 6th St., L.A. 90014; Met Lofts, 1050 S. Flower St., L.A. 90015; Biscuit Company Lofts, 1855 Industrial St., L.A. 90021

Alexandra Le Tellier is Bars & Clubs editor for Metromix Los Angeles.