Former Getty Oil Tower to Be Converted to Condos
Forest City Residential Group Inc. has purchased the former Getty Oil Co. headquarters on Wilshire Boulevard in Los Angeles and will convert the building into condominiums.
The developer paid close to $60 million for the 22-story tower at the southwest corner of Wilshire and Western Avenue, which was completed in 1963 by oil tycoon J. Paul Getty.
The seller, Upside Investments Inc. of Calabasas, paid more than $20 million for the property in 2003 and announced plans to convert the offices to luxury apartments.
Upside has partially improved the shell of the building and Forest City will continue with the construction while changing the plans to accommodate 260 condos. The building will include retail space and a rooftop swimming pool and spa, garden and fitness center.
The buyer also has the option to develop an additional 90,000 square feet, or about 93 units, above the existing five-story parking structure, said real estate broker Gregory Harris of Marcus & Millichap, who represented the seller. Upon completion, the property is projected to be worth $140 million, he said.
The condos probably will be priced between $300,000 and $1.2 million, said Kevin Ratner of Forest City. The units should be ready by the middle of next year. Stores on the first two floors will include a coffeehouse, juice bar and restaurant.
The building was Getty Oil’s headquarters for many years. Getty Oil was acquired by Texaco in 1984, the same year that Getty Oil completed a new headquarters building in Universal City. At that time, the Wilshire district was struggling as an office market, and the former Getty building also suffered. The property has been mostly vacant for at least a decade.
The buyer, a unit of Cleveland-based Forest City Enterprises Inc., also is in the process of converting two other Los Angeles office buildings to residential use. Work recently began on an empty 37-story building at 1100 Wilshire that will have 230 condos. It is expected to be finished next year. Construction should wrap up this summer on 264 apartments in the former Subway Terminal Building at 417 S. Hill St.
