New buyer emerges for graffiti-covered Oceanwide Plaza Towers in Downtown LA

The graffiti-covered Oceanwide Plaza towers in downtown Los Angeles — an abandoned high-rise development that has drawn attention for massive tagging and daredevil base jumpers — moved closer to a potential sale today after a new buyer emerged in bankruptcy proceedings.

Kali P. Chaudhuri, founder and chairman of The KPC Group, which bills itself as “global enterprise” advancing real estate and healthcare, is seeking to purchase and finalize the mixed-use project that stalled in 2019 after funding was cut off.

“We are excited to move forward with a catalytic investment that creates a path to turn around a key part of Downtown L.A.,” Chaudhuri said in a statement, noting the property’s proximity to the Convention Center, LA Live and Crypto 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.”

The company’s real estate division, KPC Development Co., is expected to oversee remediation and construction if the deal moves forward. The company owns and develops commercial properties in California and India.

KPC Development Co. is developing the Kali Hotel and Rooftop, a 300-room hotel at Hollywood Park in Inglewood, located at 373 Stadium Drive, adjacent to the SoFi Stadium and YouTube Theater.

The company has previously bought 6,000 acres located on the north and south sides of Interstate 10 in Coachella with proposed plans to build thousands of homes and commercial buildings, according to KPC Group’s website.

KPC and its partner Lendlease, the original contractor for the project, filed an initial purchase agreement in federal bankruptcy court, offering $470 million for the complex, the Los Angeles Times reported Monday. The court could approve the sale if no higher qualified offer is received by April 9, according to the newspaper.

If the court finalizes the offer, it would still take months before construction could begin. The joint venture said additional details will be released once court filings are complete and the approval process progresses.

Oceanwide Plaza, a planned $1 billion multi-use complex, began construction years ago, but stalled in 2019 when Beijing-based developer Oceanwide Holdings could no longer finance it. The complex would have brought online housing, hotel-use and retail stores, to build up the area near Crypto.com Arena.

In 2024, the unfinished towers became a major downtown eyesore after graffiti vandals covered at least 25 floors, followed by dangerous stunts including base jumping that were captured on video and widely shared on social media.

That same year, Lendlease filed an involuntary Chapter 11 bankruptcy petition against Oceanwide Holdings to force a sale and repay creditors, according to the Times.

Oceanwide also owes back taxes to Los Angeles County and the city, the newspaper reported.

City officials previously approved about $1.1 million to install fencing along 12th Street between Figueroa and Flower streets and secure ground-floor areas, along with allocating funds for temporary Los Angeles Police Department security at the property.

Ahead of Monday’s bankruptcy proceedings, the Central City Association of Los Angeles issued a joint statement Friday alongside Mayor Karen Bass, City Attorney Hydee Feldstein Soto and City Councilwoman Ysabel Jurado supporting the potential sale.

The group called the development a “strong signal of renewed confidence in downtown Los Angeles” and urged the new owners to quickly secure and clean the property.

“Right in the heart of downtown Los Angeles, the blighted Oceanwide Plaza has been an eyesore for too long due to failed ownership,” Bass said in a statement. “With the resurgence of our Downtown and as we prepare to host Olympic and Paralympic events right across the street, I look forward to working with the new ownership to transform this plaza into something that spurs further investment — and that Angelenos can be proud of.”

Jurado, who represents the 14th Council District, which includes the high-rise building, said the property has brought blight and safety concerns to one of the most visible parts of the city, impacting her constituents.

“With a new owner on the horizon, securing and cleaning the property right away would show they are ready to be a good neighbor. Downtown L.A. is on the rise, and in the middle of a budget crisis, our public dollars must go to sidewalks, streetlights, and the services people rely on, not to a long-neglected private property,” Jurado said in her statement.

Nella McOsker, president and CEO of the Central City Association, said it is critical to erase the “stain” on downtown’s skyline as it is essential to restoring confidence to downtown.

“Downtown’s resurgence is real, and the interest in this property proves it,” McOsker said in a statement. “Downtown’s recovery requires more than transactions, it requires stewardship, and we call on the new owners to immediately clean this site and join us in leading the DTLA turnaround.”