Riverside County real estate developer set to buy graffiti towers in downtown Los Angeles

DOWNTOWN LOS ANGELES (KABC) — A Riverside County real estate developer is set to buy the so-called graffiti towers in downtown Los Angeles.

The KPC Development Group, led by Kali P. Chauduri, and Lendlease formed a joint venture to buy and complete the long-stalled Oceanwide Plaza development. They plan to pay $470 million for the unfinished 3-tower complex near the Crypto.com Arena.

“We are eager to work in partnership with the City of Los Angeles and the Downtown community to move quickly on what is truly a keystone project for Downtown revitalization and that will deliver economic benefits across the region,” said Chauduri.

They still need final approval from the bankruptcy court for the sale to move forward. An initial purchase agreement was filed in court Monday. If no higher offer is received by April 9th, the court could approve the sale.

Multiple parties placed bids on the property to become the proposed owners of the project that had been in bankruptcy proceedings for nearly two years.

In 2015, a Chinese developer broke ground on the mixed-use development that was intended to house luxury apartments, hotel rooms and retail space. But construction stalled after they ran out of money for the project.

The site was left vacant and then taken over by taggers, who defaced every floor of the buildings with graffiti. It has been an eyesore in the community ever since.

City leaders hope the new owners will secure and improve the property immediately.

“I really hope that the new owner is going to be a good neighbor. You know, it’s right across the street from the Convention Center and some have said the graffiti towers are the front door to downtown, and so we want to make sure that… whoever the owner is, takes responsibility and they clean it up,” said Councilmember Ysabel Jurado.

Jurado and other leaders hope the sale of the property signals a renewed confidence in downtown L.A. They say it’s an opportunity to show the city’s economic recovery.

They also hope once the sale is approved, the clean-up of the property will start almost immediately.

The proposed buyer plans to complete the project as intended – with luxury housing, a hotel, restaurants and retail spaces.