This is a buy and hold property for at least the next 5 years, and the area, which is in downtown Riverside is really turning around.  

The area is in the downtown of the town that I grew up in( so very familiar with the demographics and historical rents etc. ) and have noticed it trending up for the last decade or so due to nightlife, low crime and decent schools, major train station in town, and the coast line with beaches .The house  has two units which are currently yielding 1600 and 1500.

what about downtown raleigh. is it worth speculating there esp. with amazon rumours

It may cost more than 10% to sell properties at the downtown then buy it back at a later time.

Downtown Dayton is making a comeback and most Investors would not have believed that a few years ago.

As downtown LA continues to build expensive luxury apartments it will push out those how cant afford it into the surrounding areas such as Boyle Heights, South Central LA, and Inglewood.

What would one recommend investing in a Major downtown, metropolitan area, like downtown LA or SD for generating positive cash flow?

I do love the house but it was far from downtown.

I also live in Denver and purchased about 5 blocks north from Denver's largest park and am relatively close to downtown and the fun areas.

We also want the older stuff near downtown, as the city center has really come on strong....so we want to hold these for future potential.