![\"Architect's](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/1784704343_414_.jpeg\")
<\/p>\nThe sale of notorious Oceanwide Plaza in downtown Los Angeles is expected to be approved by a bankruptcy court judge, clearing the path for removal of graffiti that has loomed over the city skyline for years and completion of the long-stalled real estate development.<\/p>\n
Work cleaning the skyscrapers \u2014 known informally as Graffiti Towers \u2014 will begin immediately, according to the $517-million sale agreement tentatively approved by federal judge Deborah J. Saltzman. <\/p>\n
On Monday, the city withdrew its objection to the Chapter 11 sale, saying the buyer had agreed to begin graffiti removal immediately and formally close the sale in six months. <\/p>\n
The plan will likely lead to substantial movement toward completion of the project ahead of the 2028 Olympics and speed cleanup, which nearby residents and businesses have been demanding.<\/p>\n
\u201cCompleting this project is about far more than finishing a building \u2014 it\u2019s about restoring confidence, reconnecting a vital commercial corridor, and unlocking the economic potential of one of the city\u2019s most strategic destinations ahead of a transformative decade for Los Angeles,\u201d Mayor Karen Bass said in a statement. \u201cI look forward to an expedited closing and the proposed buyer delivering on their commitments.\u201d<\/p>\n
The approved buyer of the mothballed residential, hotel and retail project is a partnership led by Kali P. Chaudhuri, whose KPC Development Co. owns and builds commercial properties in California and India.<\/p>\n
KPC and partner Lendlease, the original contractor for the project, filed an initial purchase agreement with the court in February after a lengthy auction process. <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Architect\u2019s 2014 rendering of Chinese developer Oceanwide Real Estate Group\u2019s upscale project.<\/p>\n
(RTKL Architects Inc.)<\/p>\n
The original developer, Beijing-based Oceanwide Holdings, spent about $1.2 billion on the project before running out of money in 2019 and halting construction at about 60% completion. It will take about another $850 million to finish it, said John Petty, executive vice president of real estate and construction for KPC.<\/p>\n
KPC will complete the project as designed, Petty said, with 504 residential units, a luxury hotel and a shopping center. <\/p>\n
While graffiti removal will begin within two weeks, he said, construction will start after the sale closes. The immediate goal is to get the complex looking nearly finished from the outside in time for the Olympics, Petty said.<\/p>\n
The first phase of construction will include installing the massive LED screen planned to wrap around the base of the complex at 11th, Figueroa and 12th streets. <\/p>\n
Early in 2024, taggers began turning Oceanwide Plaza\u2019s skyscrapers into canvases for graffiti. BASE jumpers parachuted from its heights, and a performance artist recorded himself teetering along a one-inch-wide slackline strung between two of the property\u2019s 40-story towers.<\/p>\n