The proposed buyer of the residential, hotel and retail project in the bankruptcy proceedings is a partnership led by Kali P. Chaudhuri, whose KPC Development Co. owns and builds commercial properties in California and India.
(William Liang / For The Times)
KPC is building a $300 million hotel next to SoFi Stadium, complementing Rams owner Stan Kroenke’s sprawling mixed-use development on the former site of Hollywood Park horse racing track in Inglewood.
On Monday, KPC and partner Lendlease, the project’s original contractor, filed an initial purchase agreement in federal bankruptcy court, setting a base price of $470 million for the complex. If no higher qualified bid is received by April 9, the court may approve the sale.
“I am very excited,” said Chaudhuri. “I will do my very best to turn it around and make it the jewel of downtown LA”
If the court approves the sale, it would take several months to complete due diligence and secure building permits from the city, he said. KPC would then take over the title and get to work.
Removing the graffiti would be the “first priority,” he said. The plan is to complete the project as envisioned with homes, a hotel, shops and restaurants.
The first phase of construction will include installing the massive LED screen planned to enclose the base of the complex at 11th, Figueroa and 12th streets.
A street-level view from Hope and 12th Street from Oceanwide Plaza in downtown Los Angeles.
(Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)
Chaudhuri also plans to rename the complex, which is named after the original developer, Oceanwide Holdings, although he did not say what it would be called.
Work on Oceanwide Plaza stalled in 2019 because the developers ran out of money. In early 2024, taggers began turning the skyscrapers into canvases for flowery graffiti art. Base jumpers parachuted from the heights and a performance artist filmed himself staggering along a one-inch-wide slackline strung between two of the abandoned buildings’ 40-story towers.
The complex rose to prominence as a striking sight on the LA skyline, a graffiti-covered oddity on Figueroa Street – the broad thoroughfare connecting downtown’s financial district to LA Live, Crypto.com Arena and the Los Angeles Convention Center. It fills a large city block across the street from the arena, an A-plus location in real estate terms because there are year-round activities.
An April 2024 appraisal by real estate brokerage Colliers, filed in a bankruptcy case involving the project, estimated the complex’s current market value at nearly $434 million. Colliers also projected a cost of $865 million to complete the buildings, which are 60% complete. Other industry estimates to complete the project are $1 billion.
Real estate developments stagnate from time to time as developers run out of money, but rarely do they fail in such a high-profile way as Oceanwide Plaza, which was supposed to be a glamorous addition to the skyline and center of activity in the vibrant sports and entertainment district of downtown’s South Park neighborhood.
Beijing-based Oceanwide Holdings bought a sprawling parking lot across from the arena in 2014 and soon began construction on a three-tower complex intended to house luxury apartments and condos, and a five-star hotel backed by high-end shops and restaurants. It would also include a huge electronic sign intended to give Figueroa Street a Times Square flavor.
The international company encountered financial problems that coincided with a decision by the Chinese government to restrict the flow of outward investments. Work on Oceanwide Plaza stopped in early 2019 because contractors who built it stopped being paid.
In February 2024, general contractor Lendlease filed a petition for the involuntary Chapter 11 bankruptcy of Oceanwide Holdings to force a sale of the property and pay creditors demanding nearly $400 million. Major creditors include Lendlease and EB-5 visa investors, which helped finance construction.
Oceanwide also owes back taxes to Los Angeles County and money to reimburse the city for security measures instituted in response to the graffiti and other incidents such as skydiving.
“Right in the heart of downtown Los Angeles, the blighted Oceanwide Plaza has been an eyesore for too long due to failed ownership,” Mayor Karen Bass said in a statement Friday. “With the renaissance 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 owner to transform this plaza into something that drives further investment – and that Angelenos can be proud of.”
“Downtown’s resurgence is real, and the interest in this property proves it,” said Nella McOsker, president of the Central City Assn. business support group. “We call on the new owners to immediately clean up this site and join us in leading DTLA’s turnaround. Erasing this stain on our skyline is essential to rebuilding trust and accelerating DTLA’s comeback.”
KPC’s other developments include hospitals in Riverside and Orange counties and a 300,000-square-foot office campus in Corona, where the company is based. It has built a nursing school and a 1,000-bed hospital in Kolkata, India. KPC is also building two residential projects in Kolkata, including a 74-storey skyscraper, the company said.
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