A buyer has emerged for downtown Los Angeles’ notoriously graffiti-adorned towers — a Riverside County developer aiming to complete the $1.2 billion project.
The proposed buyer of the residential, hotel and retail project in bankruptcy proceedings is Kali P. Chaudhuri’s partnership, KPC Development Co. He owns and develops commercial properties in California and India.
Kali P. Chaudhuri celebrates the Kali Hotel reaching its maximum height during construction on September 10 in Inglewood.
(William Liang / For The Times)
KPC is building a $300 million hotel near SoFi Stadium, an addition to Rams owner Stan Kroenke’s mixed-use development at the former Hollywood Park racetrack in Inglewood.
On Monday KPC and its partner Lendlease, the prime contractor for the project, filed an initial purchase agreement in federal bankruptcy court that sets a base price of $470 million for the complex. If no reasonable high offer is received by April 9, the court may approve the sale.
“I am very happy,” said Chaudhuri. “I will try my best to transform it into a jewel of the city of LA”
If the court approves the sale, it will take several months to complete due diligence and secure city building permits, he said. KPC will then take the title and start the work.
Removing the graffiti will be a “priority,” he said. The plan is to complete this project as it is built with houses, hotels, shops and restaurants.
The first phase of construction will include the installation of a large LED screen planned to wrap around the base of the building at 11th Street, Figueroa Street and 12th Street.
Street level view from Hope St. and 12th St. of Oceanwide Plaza in downtown Los Angeles.
(Robert Gauthier/Los Angeles Times)
Chaudhuri also intends to change the name of the complex, which was named after its original developer Oceanwide Holdings, although he did not say what the new name might be.
Work on Oceanwide Plaza stopped in 2019 as its developers ran out of money. At the beginning of 2024, the markers began to transform their high-rise buildings into canvases of flowery graffiti art. Base jumpers parachuted from the heights and the artist filmed himself swinging on a 1-inch-wide slackline between the 40-story towers.
The building gained fame as a landmark in the LA skyline, a graffiti-covered landmark on Figueroa Street – a wide street that connects the city’s financial district with LA Live, Crypto.com Arena and the Los Angeles Convention Center. It fills a large city block across the street from the stadium, an A-plus location in real estate terms for being in the middle of year-round activity.
An April 2024 appraisal by real estate firm Colliers filed for bankruptcy involving the project estimated the complex’s market value at about $434 million. Colliers also revealed a cost of $865 million to complete the buildings, which are 60% complete. Some industry estimates of the layoff are as high as $1 billion.
Real estate development stalls from time to time as developers run out of money, but rarely do they fail in a high-profile way like Oceanwide Plaza, which was supposed to be a great addition to the skyline and business center in the bustling sports and entertainment area of downtown South Park.
Beijing’s Oceanwide Holdings bought a large parking lot across from the stadium in 2014 and soon began work on a three-tower complex intended to contain luxury condominiums and apartments, as well as a five-star hotel backed by high-end shops and restaurants. There would also be a large electronic sign intended to help bring the flavor of Times Square to Figueroa Street.
The multinational company faced financial problems associated with the Chinese government’s decision to restrict the flow of outbound investment. Work stopped at Oceanwide Plaza in early 2019 as the contractors building it stopped being paid.
In February 2024, general contractor Lendlease filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy for Oceanwide Holdings to force the sale of the property and pay creditors who were demanding about $400 million. Major creditors include Lendlease and EB-5 visa investors, who helped finance the construction.
Oceanwide also owes back taxes to Los Angeles County and money to reimburse the city for safety measures put in place to respond to graffiti and other incidents such as parachute jumps.
“Right in the heart of downtown Los Angeles, the dilapidated Oceanwide Plaza has long been neglected due to ownership failures,” Mayor Karen Bass said in a statement Friday. “With the renaissance of our Downtown and as we prepare to host the Olympic and Paralympic events across the street, I look forward to working with the new ownership to transform this area into something that inspires more investment — and one that Angelenos can be proud of.”
“Downtown’s renaissance is real, and the interest in this area proves it,” said Nella McOsker, president of the Central City Assn. business support group. “We are asking the new owners to clean up this area immediately and join us in leading DTLA. Erasing this blight from our skyline is critical to restoring confidence and accelerating DTLA’s comeback.”
Among KPC’s other developments are hospitals in Riverside and Orange counties and a square-foot office campus in Corona, where the company is based. He built a nursing college and a 1,000-bed hospital in Kolkata, West Bengal, India. KPC is also developing two residential projects in Kolkata, including a 74-storey skyscraper, the company said.
