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Tag: oceanwide plaza

  • Buyer for Oceanwide Plaza’s infamous graffitied towers emerges

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    A buyer has emerged for the notorious graffiti-bedecked towers in downtown Los Angeles — a Riverside County developer who intends to finish the stalled $1.2-billion project.

    The proposed buyer of the residential, hotel and retail project in bankruptcy proceedings is a partnership led by Kali P. Chaudhuri, whose KPC Development Co. owns and builds commercial properties in California and India.

    Kali P. Chaudhuri celebrates Kali Hotel reaching its maximum height during construction on Sept. 10 in Inglewood.

    (William Liang / For The Times)

    KPC is building a $300-million hotel next to SoFi Stadium, an addition to Rams owner Stan Kroenke’s sprawling mixed-use development on the former site of the Hollywood Park horse racing venue in Inglewood.

    On Monday KPC and its partner Lendlease, the original contractor for the project, filed an initial purchase agreement in federal bankruptcy court that establishes a baseline price of $470 million for the complex. If no higher qualified offer is received by April 9, the court could approve the sale.

    “I’m very excited,” Chaudhuri said. “I’ll try my very best to turn it around and make it the jewel of downtown L.A.”

    If the court approves the sale, it would take several months to complete due diligence and secure city construction approvals, he said. KPC would then take title and begin work.

    Removing the graffiti would be “first priority,” he said. The plan is to complete the project as it was created with housing, a hotel, stores and restaurants.

    The first phase of construction would include putting on the massive LED screen planned to wrap around the base of the complex on 11th Street, Figueroa Street and 12th Street.

    Street level view from Hope St. and 12th St. of Oceanwide Plaza in downtown Los Angeles.

    Street level view from Hope St. and 12th St. of Oceanwide Plaza in downtown Los Angeles.

    (Robert Gauthier/Los Angeles Times)

    Chaudhuri also intends to change the name of the complex, which was named after its original developer Oceanwide Holdings, though he didn’t say what the new name might be.

    Work on Oceanwide Plaza stalled in 2019 as its developers ran out of money. Early in 2024, taggers began turning its skyscrapers into canvases for florid graffiti art. Base jumpers parachuted from its heights and a performance artist filmed himself teetering along a 1-inch-wide slackline strung between two of the derelict properties’ 40-story towers.

    The complex gained fame as an arresting sight on the L.A. skyline, a graffiti-covered oddity on Figueroa Street — the wide thoroughfare that connects downtown’s financial district with L.A. Live, Crypto.com Arena and the Los Angeles Convention Center. It fills a large city block across the street from the arena, an A-plus location in real estate terms for being in the midst of year-round activity.

    An April 2024 appraisal by real estate brokerage Colliers submitted in a bankruptcy case involving the project estimated the as-is market value of the complex at nearly $434 million. Colliers also projected a cost of $865 million to complete the buildings, which are 60% finished. Other industry estimates to complete the project reach $1 billion.

    Real estate developments stall from time to time as developers run out of money, but rarely do they fail in such a high-profile manner as Oceanwide Plaza, which was supposed to be a glamorous addition to the skyline and center of activity in the bustling sports and entertainment district of downtown’s South Park neighborhood.

    Beijing-based Oceanwide Holdings bought a sprawling parking lot across from the arena in 2014 and soon set to work on a three-tower complex intended to house luxury condominiums and apartments, and a five-star hotel supported by upmarket stores and restaurants. It was also to include a massive electronic sign intended to help bring a Times Square flavor to Figueroa Street.

    The international company ran into financial problems that coincided with a Chinese government decision to restrict the flow of outbound investment. Work stopped on Oceanwide Plaza in early 2019 as contractors building it stopped being paid.

    In February 2024, general contractor Lendlease filed a petition for the involuntary Chapter 11 bankruptcy of Oceanwide Holdings to force a sale of the property and pay creditors who were demanding almost $400 million. Major creditors include Lendlease and EB-5 visa investors, who helped fund construction.

    Oceanwide also owes back taxes to Los Angeles County and money to repay the city for security put in place in response to the graffiti and other incidents such as parachute leaps.

    “Right in the heart of downtown Los Angeles, the blighted Oceanwide Plaza has been an eyesore for too long due to failed ownership,” Mayor Karen Bass said in a statement Friday. “With the resurgence of our Downtown and as we prepare to host Olympic and Paralympic events right across the street, I look forward to working with the new ownership to transform this plaza into something that spurs further investment — and that Angelenos can be proud of.”

    “Downtown’s resurgence is real, and the interest in this property proves it,” said Nella McOsker, president of the Central City Assn. business support group. “We call on the new owners to immediately clean this site and join us in leading the DTLA turnaround. Erasing this stain on our skyline is essential to restoring confidence and accelerating DTLA’s comeback.”

    Among KPC’s other developments are hospitals in Riverside and Orange counties and a 300,000-square-foot office campus in Corona, where the company is based. It has built a nursing college and 1,000-bed hospital in Kolkata, West Bengal, India. KPC is also building two residential projects in Kolkata, including a 74-story skyscraper, the company said.

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    Roger Vincent

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  • Graffitied skyscraper in downtown Los Angeles poised for sale

    Graffitied skyscraper in downtown Los Angeles poised for sale

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    Oceanwide Plaza, the bankrupt, unfinished development in downtown Los Angeles that became a canvas for trespassing graffiti artists, is officially on the market.

    The Chinese owners of the stalled residential, hotel and retail complex towering over Crypto.com Arena have hired real estate brokers to sell the property to buyers who could restart the project after work stopped in 2019. Taggers recently covered its outer walls with graffiti visible from far away.

    Likely bidders for the property include large institutional investors such as Blackstone Inc. and BlackRock, and cash-rich overseas sovereign wealth funds from the Middle East, Asia and Europe, property broker Mark Tarczynski said.

    “I think there’s a broad range of buyers,” he said, “but the pool of buyers is small because of the size of the project.”

    Tarczynski is part of a team from real estate brokerage Colliers and Hilco Real Estate that will market the property, which fills a large city block on Figueroa Street across from the arena and LA Live.

    An April appraisal by Colliers submitted in a bankruptcy case involving the project estimated the as-is market value at nearly $434 million, Bloomberg said. Colliers also projected a cost of $865 million to complete the buildings, which are 60% finished.

    Real estate developments stall from time to time as developers run out of money; but rarely do they fail in such a high-profile manner as Oceanwide Plaza, which was supposed to be a glamorous addition to the skyline and center of activity in the bustling sports and entertainment district of downtown’s South Park neighborhood.

    Beijing-based Oceanwide Holdings bought a sprawling parking lot across from the arena in 2014 and soon set to work on a three-tower complex intended to house luxury condominiums and apartments, and a five-star hotel supported by upmarket stores and restaurants. It was also to include a massive electronic sign intended to help bring a Times Square flavor to Figueroa Street.

    The international company ran into financial problems that coincided with a Chinese government decision to restrict the flow of outbound investment. Work stopped on Oceanwide Plaza in early 2019 as contractors building it stopped getting paid.

    In February, general contractor Lendlease filed a petition for the involuntary Chapter 11 bankruptcy of Oceanwide Holdings to force a sale of the property and pay creditors who were demanding almost $400 million. Major creditors include Lendlease and EB-5 visa investors, who helped fund construction. Oceanwide also owes back taxes to Los Angeles County and money to repay the city for security put in place in response to the graffiti and other incidents including BASE-jumping paragliders leaping form the towers.

    The city allotted nearly $4 million to remove graffiti and secure the property in February. The property is now surrounded by a tall metal fence.

    While some real estate observers have speculated that it might make sense to raze the towers to make way for a different development, Tarczynski predicts that the next owner will finish the existing project.

    “It’s about two-thirds of the way done, with about $1.2 billion already invested in it,” he said. “Why would you tear down a perfectly good project? It’s unimaginable.”

    Oceanwide’s location in the center of downtown’s sports and entertainment district should help entice investors to finish the complex, Tarczynski said.

    “Every bit of the potential synergy between Crypto.com Arena, LA Live and Oceanwide Plaza still exists,” he said, “and there is a huge demand for housing and also hotel demand. This remains an attractive project.”

    The brokerage team expects to distribute financial information and other facts about the project to qualified buyers early next month and call for offers by the end of July, Tarczynski said. “We hope to be in escrow by October.”

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    Roger Vincent

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  • 2 arrested hours after group breaks into abandoned graffiti-covered high-rise complex in downtown LA

    2 arrested hours after group breaks into abandoned graffiti-covered high-rise complex in downtown LA

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    DOWNTOWN LOS ANGELES (KABC) — Two people were arrested Wednesday morning at the site of an abandoned, graffiti-covered high-rise in downtown Los Angeles, hours after a group broke into the complex that has gained notoriety as an eyesore.

    Police officers surrounded a building complex across from L.A. Live in the morning hours following the break-in.

    According to the Los Angeles Police Department, up to 8 people, many of them possibly juveniles, broke into the complex near Cryto.com Arena late Tuesday night. They were still believed to be inside several hours later.

    Just after 8 a.m., a juvenile was arrested at the scene. An adult was taken into custody shortly afterward. An officer told ABC7 that they will likely be booked, cited and released.

    The abandoned and graffitied high-rises in downtown L.A. have become a magnet for taggers. Meanwhile, city officials are preparing to order the owners to clean it all up.

    This comes just days after the city installed a new metal fence around the Oceanwide Plaza in effort to deter trespassing. The unfinished towers have become a magnet for taggers after the buildings were abandoned by the developers that went bankrupt.

    An LAPD sergeant told Eyewitness News there’s no official security in place, but officers have been stationed around the property around the clock for more than two weeks.

    Copyright © 2024 KABC Television, LLC. All rights reserved.

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    Marc Cota-Robles

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  • City Council OKs $3.8 million to clean up and secure graffitied downtown L.A. skyscraper

    City Council OKs $3.8 million to clean up and secure graffitied downtown L.A. skyscraper

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    The Los Angeles City Council voted Friday to allot nearly $4 million to remove graffiti and secure an unfinished downtown Los Angeles skyscraper, which has been heavily tagged in recent weeks.

    Councilmember Kevin de León introduced a motion this week to allocate the funds to secure the property and restore the public right of way, which is obstructed by plastic barriers, scaffolding and debris.

    “I’m not holding my breath waiting for the developer to clean up their property,” De León said Wednesday. “The purpose of my motion is clear: to prepare our city to take decisive action if the Oceanwide Plaza developer ignores their responsibility and to put them on the hook for costs incurred by the city.”

    The motion will move $1.1 million into a fund to fence and secure the ground floors of the building and place an additional $2.7 million into a fund for security services, fire safety upgrades and graffiti abatement.

    The motion also calls on the city attorney and city administrative officer to report back to the council within 30 days with a legal strategy to recoup all of the city’s related expenses from the property owners.

    The Oceanwide Plaza project, located across Figueroa street from Crypto.com Arena, has become a site for graffiti tagging and even paragliding in recent weeks and posed a headache for city officials and authorities alike. Ahead of the Grammy Awards held at Crypto.com Arena, dozens of floors of the skyscraper were tagged with colorful spray paint.

    More than two dozen floors of the skyscraper were tagged with graffiti ahead of the Grammy Awards that were held at Crypto.com Arena held across Figueroa Street.

    (Robert Gauthier/Los Angeles Times)

    The owner, Oceanwide Holdings, is a publicly traded Beijing-based company that halted the project in 2019 when it ran out of money.

    At least 18 people have been arrested, including 12 on Sunday, on suspicion of trespassing at the site, according to the Los Angeles Police Department.

    The City Council adopted a motion earlier this month, also introduced by De León, that ordered the owners of the property to fence and clean up the area by Saturday. If they miss the deadline, the city will secure the property and charge the owners for the cost, the motion said.

    Just one day before the deadline, the owners have not indicated whether they will comply with the city’s orders.

    The increase of activity at the site has also stretched resources at the Los Angeles Police Department, LAPD Chief Michel Moore said during Tuesday’s Los Angeles Police Commission meeting.

    Officers have spent “more than 3,000 hours” to secure the complex, Moore said.

    “We have called in some officers on an overtime basis, so that we can provide for these added patrols or station them at that site to deter vandals and others from gaining access to it while also ensuring that we meet the minimum deployment requirements for stations across the city,” Moore said.

    During a City Council meeting last week, Councilmember Imelda Padilla said she was surprised at how much attention the skyscraper was getting and attributed it to its large size.

    Padilla mentioned that at least four “mini versions” of the unfinished skyscraper exist across Los Angeles. The buildings include abandoned commercial, manufacturing and family business structures.

    Padilla was referring to abandoned buildings on Sepulveda Boulevard and Kester Avenue, as well as a Denny’s restaurant at Vineland Avenue and Sunland Boulevard, according to a spokesperson for Padilla’s office.

    The fourth building, a Roscoe hardware store, is located at Sunland Boulevard and San Fernando Road, according to her spokesperson. Padilla is currently working on getting it demolished.

    “It’s upsetting that blight gets more attention when it affects wealthier parts of the city,” Padilla said in a statement Thursday. “Yet, working-class neighborhoods like the ones I represent struggle with this issue every day. Blight is unacceptable no matter the ZIP Code, and we deserve to have the same sense of urgency.”

    The Oceanwide Plaza development sits among shops and restaurants near the LA Live complex.

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    Summer Lin, Caroline Petrow-Cohen

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  • LAPD investigating gunfire at graffitied skyscraper in downtown L.A.

    LAPD investigating gunfire at graffitied skyscraper in downtown L.A.

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    Gunshots rang out just before midnight Friday at a vacant skyscraper that taggers recently covered in graffiti across the street from Crypto.com Arena in downtown Los Angeles, authorities said.

    Officers responded to Oceanwide Plaza on Figueroa Street late Friday night after receiving a call of shots fired but found no victim or suspects, according to LAPD Officer Jader Chaves.

    Police recovered two spent bullet casings at the scene and the investigation is continuing, he said.

    The incident comes after vandals spray painted at least 27 floors of the skyscraper this week, judging by aerial video of the building.

    Early Tuesday morning, officers responded to a vandalism call on South Figueroa Street, the site of the unfinished and long-idle Oceanwide Plaza development, according to the LAPD.

    The department’s Air Support Division reported seeing more than a dozen suspects trespassing and possibly spray painting the building.

    By the time more officers arrived, all but two suspects had fled the location, authorities said. The two — L.A. residents Victor Daniel Ramirez, 35, and Roberto Perez, 25 — were arrested and transported to the Central Area station, where they were cited for trespassing on private property and released.

    Two days later, officers returned to the construction site in the early afternoon to respond to another vandalism call, this time involving spray painting on the 30th floor, according to the LAPD. Officers were told by the site’s security guards that the suspects fled the building in a car.

    Police found a car matching the description they’d been given and told the driver to stop, but the driver didn’t yield, the department alleged. Officers eventually found the vehicle a short distance away and the driver was cited for failure to yield to an officer. The investigation is still ongoing.

    Oceanwide Plaza was once one of the biggest real estate development projects in Los Angeles, but construction was halted five years ago when its Chinese developer ran out of money. The $1-billion mixed-use project was supposed to feature hotel and retail space as well as luxury apartments and condominiums.

    The buildings have remained unfinished ever since in the popular LA Live complex, which includes shops, restaurants and the Grammy Museum. Crypto.com Arena anchors the complex and will host the 66th Grammy Awards on Sunday.

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    Ben Poston

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