LA To Spend $150K To Study Next Step For Former ‘Graffiti Towers’

LOS ANGELES, CA — The Los Angeles City Council voted unanimously Tuesday to spend $150,000 on a consultant to analyze the economic development of a proposed hotel at Oceanwide Plaza, formerly known as downtown's "graffiti towers."

The city is seeking to provide potential development incentives to assist in the creation of a new hotel. The council is also likely to ask the developer to provide the funding or reimburse the city for any financial, economic or consulting services required to evaluate the proposed project.

There was no discussion on the matter.

The council's vote comes two months after a U.S. Bankruptcy Court approved plans from the new owners of the property to move forward on the Los Angeles apartment tower, according to a statement issued in July by Hilco Global, the court-approved broker for the bankruptcy sale of Oceanwide Plaza.

U.S Bankruptcy Judge Deborah Saltzman approved the $517 million sale agreement, which also consisted of remediation work. Clean up of graffiti was expected to be complete within three months at the site.

Construction on the project had been stalled since 2019. Located at 1101 S Flower St., Oceanwide Plaza is across Figueroa Street from Crypto.com Arena, L.A. Live and the Los Angeles Convention Center. The 1.5 million-square- foot project consists of three high-rise towers with a 49-story tower designed for an 11-story luxury Park Hyatt Hotel above residential floors.

"This confirmation is the culmination of a long and complex process, and it delivers exactly what we set out to achieve: a credible path to finally bring this project back to life," Bradley Sharp, Oceanwide's chief restructuring officer, said in a statement earlier this summer. "We are grateful to the court, the creditors, and the city and county for working with us toward a resolution that serves everyone's interests, including the people of Los Angeles."

Both the city and county of LA had withdrawn objections to the bankruptcy sale following months of negotiations between the city and KPC Square, facilitated by Sharp on behalf of the debtor. The negotiations resulted in graffiti abatement and other measures to improve the property.

On Feb. 23, Hilco Global had announced an agreement by KPC Square LLC, owned by a new joint venture by affiliates of Oceanwide senior creditors The KPC Group and Lendlease, to purchase the property from Oceanwide Plaza LLC for $470 million.

The KPC Group bills itself as a "global enterprise" advancing real estate and healthcare. Lendlease was the original contractor for the project.

The development has drawn much attention on social media for its massive tagging and daredevil base jumpers.

Oceanwide Plaza, a planned $1 billion multi-use complex, began construction years ago, but stalled in 2019 when Beijing-based developer Oceanwide Holdings could no longer finance it. The complex would have included housing, hotel space and retail stores, building up the area near L.A. Live.

City News Service