“Can you see it?” I ask. The unfinished Oceanwide Plaza looms before us a stark reminder of ambition and abandonment. Construction began in 2015. It ground to a halt in 2019.
Oceanwide Plaza was intended to be a dazzling mixed-use complex. It sits across from Crypto.com Arena and the Los Angeles Convention Center. The Beijing-based Oceanwide Holdings owns it. The development was designed by CallisonRTKL.
Imagine this place bustling with life. The original plan included three towers. Tower one was to house a five-star Park Hyatt hotel. It also planned 164 Park Hyatt serviced condo residences. Towers two and three would hold 504 residential condos. A three-story retail mall was planned. It would have offered 153000 square feet of shopping space. The ninth floor would feature a two-acre private park.
The site was once a parking lot. Crypto.com Arena patrons used it. It sits immediately northwest of the Los Angeles Metro Rail’s Pico station.
Oceanwide Plaza was part of a development boom on Figueroa Street in the 2010s. Giant video advert screens were added facing Staples Center. Renderings showed ribbon-style LED screens on Oceanwide too.
Apartment tower construction started in April 2018. By January 2019, interior work stopped. The developer cited capital restructuring. They said work would resume shortly. But contractor Lendlease suspended work. Subcontractors filed liens totaling $98.6 million. The opening date was delayed. Work stopped again in late 2019.
The towers became symbols of Chinese capital reductions. Investment in US real estate declined. This was due to China’s crackdown on capital flight. A real estate financial crisis and a US trade war exacerbated the situation.
China-Oceanwide failed to pay its debts. The project was foreclosed on by June 2023. It was then listed for sale. China-Oceanwide owed $157 million to EB-5 lenders. Lendlease claimed it should be paid first. They also filed to invalidate the EB-5 loans. They alleged fraud. China-Oceanwide said it needed over $1.2 billion to finish the project. They had already spent $1.1 billion. The building was removed from the sale.
In May 2024, China-Oceanwide re-listed the towers. They needed $400 million to pay off lenders. The asking price was not disclosed.
In late December 2023, taggers broke into the tallest tower. They spray-painted their names across the windows. Soon, more graffiti artists joined in. They tagged the skyscraper.
The event sparked political urgency. The Los Angeles Police Department allocated resources. The Los Angeles City Council announced a cleanup campaign. The council voted to bill Oceanwide approximately $4 million. This covered graffiti removal and barrier reinforcement. The graffiti has not yet been removed.
Now, Oceanwide Plaza stands unfinished. It is a canvas for street art. Its fate remains uncertain. Will it be completed, demolished, or transformed? Only time will tell.