A buyer has finally been found for the hated “graffiti towers” that have blighted the Los Angeles skyline for six years.
Real estate mogul Kali Chaudhuri is poised to acquire Oceanwide Plaza for $470 million after a financial quagmire left the site in ruin since 2019.
He is expected to have to splash another $1 billion to finish the project, but vowed to turn it into “the jewel of downtown LA.”
The three towers, which are across the street from Crypto.com Arena, were left abandoned after developers ran out of cash when the structure was only 60% finished.
In 2024 graffiti artists swooped in and sprayed across multiple floors, while base jumpers have also parachuted from the top.
Riverside-based Chaudhuri, who owns commercial spaces in California and India, told the LA Times: “I’m very excited.
“I’ll try my very best to turn it around and make it the jewel of downtown LA.” He added that stripping off the graffiti would be his “first priority.”
His company KPC Development, which is also building a $300 million hotel next to SoFi Stadium, wants to complete the plans the previous owners had.
It includes turning the sprawling space into homes, a hotel, shops and dining facilities. There will also be a huge wrap around LED screen near the bottom.
The proposal, etched out on Monday, will go through if no higher offer is received by April 9 and providing due diligence checks and construction plans are accepted, which could take months.
The site had been owned by Beijing-based Oceanwide Holdings since 2014 when work began, but they run out of cash partly due to the Chinese Communist Party squeezing investment outside of China.
LA Mayor Karen Bass said: “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.”
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