Unfinished Chinese skyscraper in Los Angeles put up for sale after being abandoned for years
The massive Oceanwide Plaza in downtown Los Angeles has become known for the graffiti artwork that covers its half-built towers.
The unfinished Oceanwide Plaza development has become a hotspot for graffiti artists and even base jumpers.
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LOS ANGELES: A troubled Chinese real estate project in Los Angeles is up for sale, more than five years after work stopped on the mixed-use development.
The massive Oceanwide Plaza in downtown Los Angeles has, over the years, become known for the graffiti artwork that covers its half-built towers.
Construction on the high-end residential and retail complex, owned by embattled Chinese real estate firm Oceanwide Holdings, started in 2015. But the project never materialised and was essentially left abandoned.
LOOKING FOR BUYERS WITH DEEP POCKETS
Commercial real estate attorney Robert Weiss of Los Angeles law firm Valensi Rose PLC said: “In 2019, all construction stopped and they already had a billion dollars put into the property. And they just let it sit and languish.”
Oceanwide Holdings’ cash flow had dried up amid restrictions by the Chinese government on outbound capital meant to help stabilise its currency.
The publicly-traded company in China now faces involuntary bankruptcy proceedings in Bermuda, with creditors saying they are owed hundreds of millions of dollars.
As of June, the towers are officially for sale.
However, real estate analysts told CNA that it is going to take a buyer with deep pockets to turn the development around.
GAINING WORLDWIDE FAME ON SOCIAL MEDIA
Despite its troubles, Oceanwide Plaza has gained international fame on social media.
With the building unguarded after work stopped, it became a hotspot for graffiti artists and even base jumpers.
Art gallery Superchief Gallery, located just down the road from Oceanwide Plaza, has been documenting what the towers have meant to Los Angeles’ underground art scene with an exhibition as well as an upcoming documentary film.
“It's been fun to watch this slightly chaotic historical current event unfold with the towers,” said the gallery's director and co-founder Bill Dunleavy.
“We've never seen an opportunity for graffiti artists to showboat on this scale before, and it was interesting to see unknown people, well-known people, and everyone figure it out and create this collective thing together.”
Earlier this year, the Los Angeles City Council voted to spend nearly US$4 million to remove graffiti, as well as secure unfinished skyscrapers that were heavily tagged, by building fences and hiring round-the-clock security.
CONTRIBUTING A PART OF HISTORY
For now, Oceanwide Plaza remains a symbol of a different side of the city.
“There's nothing more DIY, do-it-yourself, than organising with a group of your friends to transport hundreds of pounds of paint up to the top of a skyscraper and pull off a large-scale painting,” said Mr Dunleavy.
“I think that when you see things like that happening in the city, especially on this scale, it indicates that there's a really strong underground art community in that city.”
Meanwhile, the stalled real estate project has raised concerns in Los Angeles about working with Chinese companies, said observers.
"So China is, for this project, really persona non grata downtown. The people really resent that,” said Mr Weiss.
“This whole neighbourhood has been torn up for maybe eight to nine years, and they don't like it. They are paying good rents for apartments down there.”
Observers said the priority for the city now is to move on and find a buyer willing to take on the risk - and the potential reward - to put their name on a development that has become a part of local history.
