It has been suggested that
L.A. Skyscrapers Graffiti be
merged into this article. (
Discuss) Proposed since April 2024. |
Oceanwide Plaza | |
---|---|
| |
Former names | Oceanwide |
General information | |
Type | Retail and residential |
Location | 1101 Flower St. Los Angeles, California |
Coordinates | 34°02′33″N 118°15′55″W / 34.04250°N 118.26528°W |
Construction started | 2015 |
Completed | 2020 (originally projected) unknown |
Cost | $1 billion |
Owner | Oceanwide Holdings |
Management | Oceanwide Holdings [1] |
Height | |
Architectural | 206.4 m (677 ft) |
Top floor | 206.4 m (677 ft) |
Technical details | |
Floor count | 49 4 below ground |
Floor area | 2 million sq ft |
Lifts/elevators | 49 |
Design and construction | |
Architect(s) | RTKL |
Developer | Oceanwide Holdings [1] |
Structural engineer | Englekirk Structural Engineers |
Main contractor | Lendlease Group |
Oceanwide Plaza is an unfinished residential and retail complex composed of three towers in downtown Los Angeles, California, across the street from Crypto.com Arena and the Los Angeles Convention Center. [2] The complex, designed by CallisonRTKL, is owned by developer Oceanwide Holdings.
Construction began in 2015 but stopped in 2019. [3] It is unknown when the complex will open; development has been beset by financing problems related to ongoing geopolitical tensions between the US and China. [4] [5] [6] In late January-early February 2024, at least 27 floors of multiple towers at the complex were tagged with graffiti. [7]
Oceanwide Plaza was designed by CallisonRTKL. Tower one was designed to feature a 184-room five-star Park Hyatt hotel and 164 Park Hyatt serviced condo residences, a live-in hotel option. It was designed to reach a total height of 675 ft, 49 floors. Towers two and three were designed to have 504 residential condominiums. [5] They were designed to reach a total of 530 ft (160 m), 40 floors in height. [1] A retail mall was designed for the first three floors above ground with 153,000 sq ft (14,200 m2) of retail space. [8] The 9th floor was designed to feature a two-acre private park. [9]
The site was a vacant parking lot used by Crypto.com Arena patrons in the South Park neighborhood of Downtown Los Angeles. The site is immediately northwest of Los Angeles Metro Rail's Pico station. [10] [11] [12]
This development is part of a group of projects being developed on Figueroa Street in the 2010s, which allowed the addition of giant video advert screens facing Staples Center. Nearby projects include the Circa Towers and the Luxe Development. Oceanwide renderings also featured large ribbon-style video LED screens. [13] [14]
The three apartment towers were constructed in April 2018. In January 2019, interior construction on the project was put on hold. The developer cited restructuring of capital and indicated work on the plaza would resume "shortly". [15] [16] [6] Contractor Lendlease suspended work until late March 2019, when it was announced that construction had resumed after nine active liens had been filed by subcontractors totaling US$98.6 million. [17] Due to the three-month pause in work, the opening date was delayed to an unknown date. [18] Work once again stopped in late 2019. Media reported that the towers were stuck in limbo over unpaid work and pending lawsuits. [19] The towers were an example of Chinese reductions in capital and investing in US real estate because of the country's ongoing trade dispute with the US and a Beijing crackdown on credit and capital flight. [4] Completion of work was reported to be uncertain and all work was on hold as of 2019. [3]
After failing to pay its debts, the project was foreclosed on by China-Oceanside in June 2023 and listed for sale. No asking price information was released. China-Oceanwide owed $157 million to a group of EB-5 lenders and planned to repay them from the proceeds of the sale. Lendlease filed a claim in court that it should be first in line for payment in the foreclosure sale. Lendlease also filed with the California Court of Appeals to invalidate the EB-5 loans altogether, claiming fraud and misrepresentation. In filings with the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, China-Oceanwide said that more than $1.2 billion was needed to finish the project and that they had already spent $1.1 billion. [20] [21]
In late January and early February 2024, at least 27 floors of multiple towers at the complex were tagged with graffiti, attracting national attention. [7] [22] Several people have been arrested, [23] [24] and city officials and a downtown business association condemned the graffiti. [25] [26] [27] By contrast, columnist Gustavo Arellano described the "street art" as "L.A. at its finest" because it "transform[ed] something ugly into something far more vibrant". [28] The Los Angeles City Council announced a cleanup campaign for the graffiti. [29]