Mitsui Tower Development Firm Signed : Hines Interests to Manage Construction of 50-Story Building
The long-awaited 50-story Mitsui Tower, planned for the northwest corner of Wilshire Boulevard and Figueroa Street, has moved much closer to reality with the announcement that the nationally prominent Gerald D. Hines Interests will serve as development manager of the $200-million project.
The Times has learned that Houston-based mega-builder Hines will be responsible for design development, construction, marketing and leasing for the 1-million-square-foot structure, designed by the architectural firm of Albert C. Martin & Associates.
When Ken Miyao, president of Mitsui Fudosan (U.S.A.) Inc., announced last Nov. 16 that his firm would proceed with the tower, a tentative start date of this summer was set, but now it may be later this year.
The Mitsui-Hines combination brings together two of the world’s largest real estate developers and marks the entry of Hines into the Los Angeles market. Mitsui is a division of Mitsui Real Estate Development Co., Ltd. largest developer of housing and commercial realty in Japan.
Hines has developed more than 75 million square feet of commercial real estate in 28 cities over 30 years, resulting in a realty empire valued at close to $5 billion.
Miyao said the Hines firm will also stay on as property manager upon completion of the project, a predestined landmark at the major downtown intersection. James C. Buie Jr., vice president of Hines Interests, will be the firm’s representative, heading a new office in Los Angeles. Hines has 12 other offices, including one in San Francisco.
Mitsui, with reported world-wide holdings worth more than $6 billion, is no newcomer to Southern California. It owns the AT&T; Center downtown, the Landmark office tower in Canoga Park and the Oak Ridge Business Center in Vista. Currently, in New York, it is developing a major new office tower at 5th Avenue and 40th Street.
Hines gained worldwide attention in 1970 with his mixed-use Galleria shopping mall in Houston, a 1.4-million-square-foot showplace featuring hotels, offices, art, indoor skating rink, gardens, club and athletic facilities. That bold project established Hines, holder of a mechanical engineering degree from Purdue University, as one of the nation’s most innovative developers.
The 760-foot Los Angeles tower, designed by the Martin firm, will use coral granite and gray glass. At its top, it will feature architectural setbacks to create a sculptural silhouette on the skyline. The 1.56-acre project site, now a parking lot, was formerly occupied by St. Paul’s Cathedral, an Episcopal church property sold eight years ago for about $4 million.
