Bass announces graffiti removal begins at Oceanwide Plaza
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass (D) announced yesterday that graffiti removal and blight abatement will begin immediately at Oceanwide Plaza, the long-stalled downtown high-rise complex known to Angelenos as “Graffiti Towers,” following a bankruptcy court hearing confirming the plan for its $470 million sale.
The proposed buyer, KPC Square — a joint venture between KPC Group and Lendlease — has committed to completing comprehensive remediation work within three months. The move marks a major milestone in Bass’ ongoing push to revitalize Downtown Los Angeles, a corridor she has repeatedly tied to the city’s preparations for the 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games.
“Oceanwide Plaza sits at the center of one of Downtown Los Angeles’ most important economic corridors, linking the Convention Center, Crypto.com Arena, LA LIVE, and the broader South Park district,” said Bass. “Completing this project is about far more than finishing a building — it’s about restoring confidence, reconnecting a vital commercial corridor, and unlocking the economic potential of one of the city’s most strategic destinations ahead of a transformative decade for Los Angeles. I look forward to an expedited closing and the proposed buyer delivering on their commitments.”
The three-tower complex at 1101 S. Flower Street has sat unfinished since 2019, when original developer Oceanwide Holdings ran out of money amid Chinese capital controls imposed during a trade dispute with the U.S.
Years of vacancy turned the property into a magnet for graffiti artists and, at times, illegal base jumpers, cementing its “Graffiti Towers” nickname before it entered contested bankruptcy proceedings. The U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Central District of California, under Judge Deborah J. Saltzman, confirmed the plan of liquidation Monday after both the City of Los Angeles and Los Angeles County withdrew their objections, clearing the way for the sale.
“The selection of KPC Development Co. represents a meaningful step forward and an opportunity to turn the page on a project that has remained unfinished for far too long,” said Councilmember Ysabel Jurado (D-Historic Filipinotown, Echo Park, Boyle Heights). “As the sale process moves ahead, we look forward to seeing the graffiti removed and the development of a clear plan to resume and complete achievable construction.”
Horvath, Barger direct County to back merger lawsuit
Los Angeles County Supervisors Lindsey P. Horvath (D-Santa Monica, Beverly Hills, West Hollywood, Calabasas, Malibu, Pacoima, Panorama City) and Kathryn Barger (R-Palmdale, Lancaster, Santa Clarita, San Marino, Pasadena, La Cañada Flintridge, portions of the San Gabriel Valley) at today’s Board of Supervisor’s Meeting will join into California’s legal battle against the $110 billion Paramount Skydance-Warner Bros. Discovery merger.
Horvath is putting forth a motion directing County Counsel to work with the Department of Economic Opportunity to support the state Attorney General Rob Bonta’s lawsuit challenging the deal — including by filing an amicus brief or supplying supporting declarations drawn from the county’s own economic analysis.
Bonta is leading a coalition of 12 state attorneys general, who sued in federal court in the Northern District of California to block the merger, arguing it would combine two of Hollywood’s five major film distributors and two of its five major basic cable owners, giving the combined company control of nearly a third of wide-release theatrical distribution and cable programming nationally.
A federal judge granted the coalition’s request for a temporary restraining order halting the deal while the court weighs a preliminary injunction, and extended that pause by 14 days this week.
Barger is asking for a broader look at the county’s options, directing County Counsel to report back in 60 days with an analysis of all other legal avenues available to protect film and television jobs from the merger’s fallout, separate from whether the county formally joins the state’s litigation.
The county’s creative economy supports more than 312,000 workers, including about 171,000 in the entertainment sector directly, and FilmLA data shows local production activity fell 16% in 2025 compared with the prior year.
Hahn fast-tracks funding for Men’s Central Jail closure
Los Angeles County Supervisor Janice Hahn (D-Long Beach, San Pedro, Diamond Bar, Whittier, Cerritos, Downey, Torrance, Redondo Beach, Hacienda Heights) today is moving to force the county’s hand on shutting down Men’s Central Jail, suspending Board procedural rules to bring forward a motion directing the Chief Executive Officer to identify and fund the first year of the jail’s closure plan and build it into the 2026-27 Supplemental Budget.
The downtown Los Angeles jail, built in the early 1960s, has been the target of county closure efforts since the Board voted in 2021 to shut it down without building a replacement, embracing a “care first, jails last” philosophy pushed by reform advocates and formalized through the county’s Jail Closure Implementation Team.
That original plan set an 18-to-24-month timeline for closure but stalled for years without a dedicated funding source.
Hahn’s motion arrives alongside a separate item on Today’s agenda in which the Jail Closure Implementation Team is set to report to the Board on its progress, a continued item originally requested back in April 2024.
Advocacy groups including Dignity and Power Now and the JusticeLA coalition have pressed the county for years to move faster, citing more than 260 deaths in county jail custody since the 2020 closure vote and repeated findings of inadequate conditions inside the facility.
Solis presses state on Boyle Heights fire insurance claims
Los Angeles County Supervisor Hilda L. Solis (D-Downtown Los Angeles, East Los Angeles, Pico-Union, Boyle Heights, El Monte, West Covina, Baldwin Park, Pomona) is directing the county’s Chief Executive Officer to send a five-signature letter to California Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara seeking direct state engagement with residents still dealing with the fallout from last month’s massive fire at the Lineage Logistics cold storage warehouse in Boyle Heights.
The fire broke out June 17 at the 500,000-square-foot facility at 1400 S. Los Palos Street and burned for roughly eight days before crews declared it knocked down, destroying about half the building and its contents — an estimated 85 million pounds of stored food.
Lineage, which operates the warehouse as a tenant, has said the fire is believed to have started during rooftop solar panel testing conducted by a third-party contractor, Altus Power, a conclusion Altus has disputed.
The Los Angeles Fire Department has not released an official cause.
Solis’s motion directs the county to request that Lara’s office proactively engage with residents, workers and small businesses affected by the fire, help them navigate filing complaints with the California Department of Insurance, and press insurance companies directly on outstanding resident concerns.
The area under the fire’s shelter-in-place order stretched roughly from the 101 Freeway south to Washington Boulevard and from Soto Street east to Indiana Street, encompassing homes, schools and businesses that saw days of heavy smoke.
