LOS ANGELES | Downtown Project Rundown 6.0

[craigs]

Los Angeles County agrees to buy downtown skyscraper

Roger Vincent, Rebecca Ellis
Los Angeles Times
August 1, 2024


Los Angeles County has agreed to buy the Gas Company Tower, center, one of the most prominent office skyscrapers in downtown Los Angeles, for $215 million in a foreclosure sale. (Myung J. Chun / Los Angeles Times)

The county of Los Angeles has tentatively agreed to buy the Gas Company Tower, a prominent office skyscraper in downtown Los Angeles, for $215 million in a foreclosure sale.

The price is a deep discount from its appraised value of $632 million in 2020, underscoring how much downtown office values have fallen in recent years.

The Board of Supervisors must still approve the deal, which county real estate officials quietly but aggressively negotiated. If completed, the purchase could move workers and public services out of existing county offices, including the well-known Kenneth Hahn Hall of Administration, which dates to 1960, according to multiple people familiar with the transaction who requested they not be named in order to discuss the confidential negotiations.

The county has begun the due diligence process of examining the property for possible structural problems or other issues before finalizing the transaction, which could take two to three months to complete, the sources said.

In a statement to The Times, the county said that it had submitted a nonbinding “letter of interest” for the tower.

“Because we are seeing once-in-a-generation price reductions for commercial real estate in the downtown area, as responsible stewards of public funds, the County is doing its due diligence and evaluating the possibility of acquiring property in the Civic Center area, such as the Gas Company Tower,” the statement said.
. . . .

[citywatch]

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[craigs]

I had been wondering how tall Olympic + Hill would look from certain angles, especially in relation to 820 Olive. Here's a show from LA Reddit giving us a clue:

[BrandonJXN]

Would it be a bad thing for more civic employees and services move into the unused office spaces in downtown? There's a lot of room apparently.

[Blesha13]

Originally Posted by craigs

I had been wondering how tall Olympic + Hill would look from certain angles, especially in relation to 820 Olive. Here's a show from LA Reddit giving us a clue:

I just like how the skyline is divided into 3:

1. Anything between Union Bank and 777 Tower (entertainment)
2. TCW to Deloitte (offices)
3. Oceanwide to Olympic + Hill (residential)

Literally work, play, live

[SoCalKid]

Originally Posted by BrandonJXN

Would it be a bad thing for more civic employees and services move into the unused office spaces in downtown? There's a lot of room apparently.

I think it's a great thing. This is the County government being smart with our money for once. I'd much rather them buy a nice existing tower for ~$125/sf than spend $1,000/sf+ on a new office building like they did in Koreatown.

Plus, maybe they will now demolish Stanley Hahn Hall of Administration and expand Grand Park!

[LosAngelesSportsFan]

Originally Posted by SoCalKid

I think it's a great thing. This is the County government being smart with our money for once. I'd much rather them buy a nice existing tower for ~$125/sf than spend $1,000/sf+ on a new office building like they did in Koreatown.

Plus, maybe they will now demolish Stanley Hahn Hall of Administration and expand Grand Park!

Exactly! My hope is that the building on the eastern side is turned into some kind of hybrid of Grand Central market, Chelsea market and the ferry building and opens into the park and the Western building is torn down and the park expanded to the street.

[craigs]

Should Los Angeles County ditch the Civic Center?

Rebecca Ellis, David Zahniser
Los Angeles Times
August 10, 2024


The county’s considering trading its stock of buildings vulnerable in an earthquake for something a little sleeker. (Myung J. Chun / Los Angeles Times)

Downtown L.A.’s Civic Center has its share of icons. At one end of Gloria Molina Grand Park sits Los Angeles City Hall, an Art Deco gem featured in more than a dozen municipal-minded films, including “L.A. Confidential” and “Chinatown.” At the other end is Grand Avenue, home to the Music Center and Frank Gehry’s Walt Disney Concert Hall, whose gleaming curves make it a constant tourist draw.

Then there’s the Kenneth Hahn Hall of Administration, the heart of county government and something of an unloved sibling to the masterworks nearby. It’s old, visually unremarkable and, most consequentially, could come crashing down during the next big earthquake. Faced with a daunting retrofitting project, the county is now considering trading up for something a little snazzier, a move some real estate observers say could reshape downtown. “It would have a ripple effect in all directions,” said Nick Griffin, executive director of the Downtown Center Business Improvement District. It’s “the 800-pound gorilla in that scenario.”

County officials met for over an hour behind closed doors Tuesday to discuss a deal to purchase the Gas Company Tower, a 52-story downtown skyscraper considered the peak of L.A. office buildings when it was built in 1991. The county is also looking to acquire space at the World Trade Center Los Angeles, potentially for employee parking. The building is at 350 S. Figueroa St., about a 10-minute walk from the tower, which is at 555 W. 5th St.

John Cooke, who heads the county’s asset management division, and Thomas Faughnan, a senior lawyer for the county, are negotiating with Gregg Williams, a receiver for both properties Tuesday, per the agenda. The county says they’re still negotiating the deal, which will eventually need to get approval from the Board of Supervisors. For the county’s Chief Executive Office, which is spearheading the negotiation, it’s a chance to grab a prime piece of real estate for $215 million (a bargain basement price when compared with its appraised value of about $600 million pre-pandemic) while avoiding a costly retrofitting process. Kit Miyamoto, a commissioner with the California Seismic Safety Commission, said the cost to seismically upgrade the Hall itself could easily consume tens of millions of dollars.

It’s early still, but some in the downtown real estate world are salivating at the idea of a move by county government deeper into the city’s core.
. . . .

[scania]

That’s very interesting!

[caligrad]

I would have liked if the county was able to buy 611 Place, it screams "Government" tower haha. I would have liked for the Gas Company to have been turned into a mixed use Apartment/Hotel or Condo/Hotel Combo with a cool Observation/Restaurant deck in its crown. With a price of 215 Million, that would have been easily doable to pencil out with a private investment company.

That being said, I'm all for the county utilizing some of the old office towers with 90s mentality cubicle floor plans, but the Civic Center needs to be revamped and updated but not ditched. I've always liked its layout with the buildings centered around a park.

[Radio5]

Originally Posted by LosAngelesSportsFan

Exactly! My hope is that the building on the eastern side is turned into some kind of hybrid of Grand Central market, Chelsea market and the ferry building and opens into the park and the Western building is torn down and the park expanded to the street.

It's a good idea, but if they can't even build a park on a vacant lot next to city hall, not sure how'd they pull that off.

[craigs]

One of the articles (I can't remember which) included talk of tearing down the Kenneth Hahn Hall of Administration and enlarging the park. Personally, I'd love to see that space contain a unique, eye-catching, interactive feature (like The Bean is to Chicago) that could draw locals and tourists alike. Additionally, it would be cheaper for the County to just move workers into an existing, high-quality office building (at a fire-sale price) which requires no significant reconfiguration, let alone seismic retrofitting. And the infusion of thousands of County office workers would really liven up downtown LA. I hope this deal goes through.

[dax_gray]

Originally Posted by craigs

One of the articles (I can't remember which) included talk of tearing down the Kenneth Hahn Hall of Administration and enlarging the park.

Honestly I feel all the buildings flanking Grand Park should go, and the park just be expanded with green space. The current Grand Park layout is fine, but it has too much hardscape imo, again because most of the park sits atop a parking garage just like Pershing Square. Would further love to see parking ramps gone, and Spring, Broadway and Hill closed off and turned into park space like how they are closing off Wilshire in Mac Arthur park. Give us an actual damn park!

[LA21st]

Originally Posted by craigs

One of the articles (I can't remember which) included talk of tearing down the Kenneth Hahn Hall of Administration and enlarging the park. Personally, I'd love to see that space contain a unique, eye-catching, interactive feature (like The Bean is to Chicago) that could draw locals and tourists alike. Additionally, it would be cheaper for the County to just move workers into an existing, high-quality office building (at a fire-sale price) which requires no significant reconfiguration, let alone seismic retrofitting. And the infusion of thousands of County office workers would really liven up downtown LA. I hope this deal goes through.

Yes, do it. Those buildings arent of any value, low slung and take up too much space. They shouldve been replaced 20 years ago. Just move those workers into the financial district and give it a boost.

[LA21st]

Originally Posted by dax_gray

Honestly I feel all the buildings flanking Grand Park should go, and the park just be expanded with green space. The current Grand Park layout is fine, but it has too much hardscape imo, again because most of the park sits atop a parking garage just like Pershing Square. Would further love to see parking ramps gone, and Spring, Broadway and Hill closed off and turned into park space like how they are closing off Wilshire in Mac Arthur park. Give us an actual damn park!

Agreed. Tear them all down.

[scania]

I totally disagree. If anything, tear it down and build more residential. No need for a bigger park. How many of you clowns actually go to the LA Historic Park that’s just within 2 miles of this park. If the people who go their feel we need a bigger park, so be it…otherwise it’ll be a waste of potential opportunity to bring in more people to use the existing park, as well as to increase the number of people that use the LA Historic Park.

[dax_gray]

LA state historic park is great, but its not exactly walking distance from DTLA, and while Chinatown is growing, the park surroundings are still mostly warehouses. I love cities where there's green spaces within walking, where people use parks not just as a destination, but also as a cross-through to their destination. It just makes a city so much more vibrant and good looking. We can't even cut through Grand Park because its not even accessible from 2 sides due to these buildings.

[ThebiteofSuarez]

took some pics last week on Tuesday after work.

[LA21st]

Nice pic!

[LAsam]

^Looks great! US Bank tower no longer the center of gravity in the skyline... well, at least from that angle.