LOS ANGELES | Oceanwide Plaza | 677' - 49 FLOORS | 2X - 530' - 40 FLOORS | ON HOLD

[BanBrokenChatBots]

Amazing that no security or local beat cops didn't see this happening.. I don't think people realize how long it takes to graffiti an entire building, it must have been an army of taggerz

https://www.latimes.com/california/story...at-graffitied-skyscraper-in-downtown-l-a

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.

[rgarri4]

I'm sure its making the developer look like fools the longer it stays like that, but in my opinion it looks way more interesting than an abandoned construction site. People pay big bucks in hip trendy neighborhoods to have walls covered in art like that.

[NYguy]

• Video Link

[Altoic]

Ouch it became worse

[Busy Bee]

Damn.

And it's the same crew that did that enormous LA River job 15 years ago... That they got busted for.

The balls.

How is this site still not secured after all this outcry?

[sopas ej]

It's too bad that somehow it couldn't be seized by eminent domain and then turned into city/county/state workforce housing, like for firefighters, teachers, police, college instructors, etc.

[plinko]

^Fascinating idea, and could be done under the guise of 'public safety'. However, the city/county would have to partner in order to complete the project. Nobody is going to do that unless they ended up owning it at a substantial profit. I suspect neither the city or county has even the funds to pay that profit. Maybe there's a hybrid solution where like 30-40% of the units could go 'public servant occupied' and the rest go market rate.

It's really too bad, because these were aesthetically turning out to be some of my favorite multi-family towers in downtown. They make a nice architectural nod to the Gas Company Tower up the street.

Another year unsecured and unwatched and we might end up with this:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Centro_Financiero_Confinanzas

I actually saw this tower in 2001 before it was taken over. It had already been sitting 7 years by that time...

[Charmy2]

Originally Posted by Busy Bee

Damn.

And it's the same crew that did that enormous LA River job 15 years ago... That they got busted for.

The balls.

How is this site still not secured after all this outcry?

I mean I've seen a ton of videos of people tagging it as police choppers fly around the tower on Instagram.

[NYC2ATX]

No doubt, this seems bad, but I'm hoping this might be the thing that causes the city, county, or even state governments to take a greater role in resolving the issue of these vacant towers. Up until this point it seemed to be left in the hands of Oceanwide and the lenders, the lawyers, etc. handling the case of the financial defaults, but now this is a major eyesore on the skyline of one of the country's most important cities. Los Angeles and California may be sputtering a bit at the moment, but they aren't in decline the way a giant, graffitied, unfinished skyscraper would have one believe. Perhaps now local leaders will feel incensed to act.

[whatnext]

And so the cold dying hand of Chinese real estate reaches across the ocean to blight LA. Luckily Vancouver has only seen their unbuilt projects fold at the latest at the excavation stage. It would be fascinating to list all the failed projects in North America from China-based or connected developers.

[Scotchman]

Karen Bass is confused about Oceanwide Plaza

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ppQoluedDIs

[Stratosphere]

LA’s $1.2 Billion Graffiti Towers Put on Sale After Bankruptcy

by John Gittelsohn

(Bloomberg) -- For sale: Steel skeletons of three towers in downtown Los Angeles, erected by a Chinese developer that spent $1.2 billion before running into financial troubles.

The site, called Oceanwide Plaza, became famous this year when graffiti artists covered the 49-floor-tall structures. Now, the property is going on the market, with lenders and other creditors needing about $400 million to recoup their money.

The brokerage Colliers and advisory firm Hilco Real Estate have been hired to market and handle a sale of the property, subject to bankruptcy court approval, according to a statement.

...

https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/other/la...=c33805d1df0440a6886e5c13399b081c&ei=10#

[Yackemflaber69]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lRd13-JxBkQ

[chase7417]

An Unfinished Skyscraper Complex Covered With Graffiti Finds a Lifeline

By Katie King

(WSJ) -- A trio of half-completed, graffiti-covered skyscrapers in downtown Los Angeles has become one of the world’s most notoriously stalled real-estate projects. Now a buyer has emerged to give it new life.

...

Now the brokers representing the building’s owners in bankruptcy court are in advanced talks with an unidentified local developer to acquire Oceanwide Plaza. The developer would act as a stalking-horse bidder and pay about $500 million to assume ownership if no higher bid emerges by a bankruptcy-bid deadline scheduled for mid-August or at a Sept. 17 auction.

https://www.wsj.com/real-estate/luxury-h...-with-graffiti-finds-a-lifeline-13e68932

...

[Urbannizer]

LA’s $1.2 Billion Graffiti Towers Reach Bankruptcy Exit Deal

The long-stalled Oceanwide Plaza project in downtown Los Angeles has struck a bankruptcy-exit agreement with creditors, clearing the way for a potential sale after its Chinese developers invested about $1.2 billion.

The settlement resolves an inter-creditor dispute over the residential complex — dubbed the Graffiti Towers for its spray-painted exterior — which has been stalled since 2018 after developer China Oceanwide ran out of funding when Beijing curbed overseas investment by Chinese firms.

A potential investor is negotiating to buy the property, a deal that hinges on resolving the bankruptcy, according to people with knowledge of the matter, who asked not to be identified discussing confidential information.

[Urbannizer]

Buyer for Oceanwide Plaza’s infamous graffitied towers emerges

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.

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.

[Urbannizer]

Oceanwide Plaza buyer faces resistance, confirmation hearing pushed

Oceanwide Plaza’s latest $470 million offer is encountering pushback in bankruptcy court, and more details are emerging on an all-cash offer behind the scenes that The Real Deal previously reported on.

The all-cash offer is via a foreign investment group. The overseas investor has an agreement with Sean Burton’s Cityview that it would be a fee-based developer, according to a person familiar with the matter. The Los Angeles company would develop it and work with the city. It may help that Burton has a relationship with Mayor Karen Bass. Either way, Cityview would not be a part owner.

The Los Angeles mayoral race is happening now, and the Oceanwide saga is unfolding in the background. Bass faces challenges from a former ally, City Council Member Nithya Raman, and disparager Spencer Pratt, a reality television star. People blame downtown’s problems on politicians, and Oceanwide Plaza has become an emblem of all that’s wrong downtown: a homelessness crisis, crime, commercial vacancies and more.

The city claimed to need more time to complete its evaluation and diligence process, attorneys for the City of Los Angeles wrote. That occurred after having a conversation with the proposed purchaser. The city said it needs to review and assess KPC and Lendlease’s ability to close the deal, secure financing and complete the development, the court documents read. The city’s attorneys said it has identified issues with the purchase agreement that requires landing entitlements and financing without much further clarification.

The Los Angeles County Treasurer and Tax Collector’s concern has to do with delinquent property taxes to the tune of $40 million — and the United States Trustee’s concern has to do with bankruptcy code and precedent.