LOS ANGELES, CA – Crews have removed most of the graffiti that covered the towers of Oceanwide Plaza, the stalled $1.2-billion hotel, residential and retail complex in downtown Los Angeles, and city officials joined the project’s buyers Thursday to mark the milestone.
The celebration took place Thursday, Nov. 12, at the complex at 1101 S. Flower St., where spray-painted graffiti had reached as high as 54 stories. The towers stand across Figueroa Street from Crypto.com Arena and the L.A. Live entertainment center.
Removing the graffiti was a top priority of the city, which made the job a condition of the bankruptcy sale to buyers KPC Group and Lendlease. The $517-million sale is set to close in January, said KPC executive John Petty, and work to finish the project is to begin after that.
Cleaners to use swing stages on remaining paint
Petty said the hand removal of graffiti, done with a biodegradable solution, is an arduous process that is not quite complete. Most of the graffiti was applied by taggers who reached outdoor balconies in the two residential towers, he said.
Some of the paint was sprayed on windows by people who moved from the balconies onto ledges little more than a foot wide. Petty said crews could not remove that paint safely from the ledges, so cleaners will next lower themselves on window-washing platforms known as swing stages.
According to initial reports, crews finished removing graffiti from about 250 balconies by Oct. 20.
How the graffiti spread across the towers
Early in 2024, taggers began turning the skyscrapers into canvases for graffiti. BASE jumpers also parachuted from the towers during that period.
Some people regarded the graffiti-covered towers as an engaging art installation. Others, including some downtown residents and stakeholders, regarded it as blight that suggested downtown was a disorderly place where mischief could go unpunished.
The bankruptcy sale dragged on for almost two years while the graffiti remained, a span that brought the towers closer to the 2028 Olympics. Central City Association President Nella McOsker called the cleanup an important step in turning one of downtown’s most visible symbols of blight into one of its greatest comeback stories.
Federal bankruptcy judge confirmed the sale in July
A federal bankruptcy judge confirmed the plan of liquidation and the sale to KPC Square, a joint venture of KPC Group and Lendlease, in July. The city and Los Angeles County had withdrawn their objections to the sale after the plan added a graffiti-removal commitment funded by the buyer, not the city.
Councilmember Ysabel Jurado of District 14 had welcomed the filing of the purchase agreement in federal bankruptcy court months earlier, in a statement in February. She said the joint venture gives the city an opportunity to turn the neglected property into a true asset.
In July, after the selection of KPC Development Co. as buyer, Jurado said it represented a meaningful step forward and an opportunity to turn the page on a project that had remained unfinished for far too long. She said she looked forward to seeing the graffiti removed and a clear plan to resume and complete achievable construction.
Mayor announced the cleanup in July
Mayor Karen Bass announced July 20 in a news release that graffiti removal and blight abatement would begin at Oceanwide Plaza following the confirmation hearing for the sale. The release said the proposed buyer, led by KPC Development Co., committed to start comprehensive remediation immediately and to finish graffiti removal within three months, funded by the buyer rather than the city.
The release tied the cleanup to downtown revitalization ahead of the 2028 Olympics. Bass said in remarks July 22, when the cleanup started, that the effort aims to restore confidence and reconnect a vital commercial corridor ahead of the LA28 Olympics.
City Attorney Hydee Feldstein Soto said in July, after the city withdrew its objection to the sale, that her office is committed to working with the new owner and looks forward to bringing the property into compliance.
Plans call for 504 homes, a hotel and shops
Petty said the buyers will complete Oceanwide Plaza as designed, with 504 residential units, a luxury hotel and a shopping center in three skyscrapers. “The original design was amazing, and when it comes to life and actually opens it’s going to just completely transform this area of downtown Los Angeles,” he said.
He said finishing the project will take about another $850 million. Petty described Thursday’s milestone as “the end of the medieval period and the beginning of the renaissance.”
KPC Group Chairman Kali Chaudhuri said removing the graffiti is about more than improving the appearance of a building. He said it is about restoring pride, rebuilding confidence and demonstrating the company’s commitment to bringing new life to the property.
Olympics goal includes a large electronic sign
After the sale closes, the developers’ next goal is to make the complex presentable for the Olympics, Petty said. That includes erecting a massive electronic sign on the facade intended to bring a flavor of Times Square to Figueroa Street.
The complex is expected to be renamed at some point, Petty said.
Sale is set to close in January
The sale is contingent on securing a construction loan to complete the project. Petty said the developers are negotiating financing terms with domestic institutional and private equity lenders.
The remaining window paint is still to be removed by cleaners on swing stages, and the closing is set for January.
