A Tall Order : Early High-Rise to Be Wrapped in a New Skin
It’s not a case of down with the old, up with the new, but it comes close.
Instead of demolishing the building and starting over, the owners of 811 Wilshire--one of the first downtown buildings to break Los Angeles’ old 13-story height limit--are giving the high-rise a new face.
On Tuesday, a special 25-member construction crew began gliding into place the first of 1,164 aluminum and stainless steel panels that will form the new facade of the 20-story, circa-1960 skyscraper.
The existing “skin” of the building is made up of small blue tiles, some of which have fallen off over the years. Many of the high-rise’s occupants say that the building looks shabby and is dwarfed by the sparkling newer towers that have sprouted up around it, such as the 52-story Sanwa Bank building across the street.
“It’s the most disgusting building downtown,” said Elissa Goodman, who works in the high-rise. “This has got to be an improvement.”
The novel “re-skinning” procedure was developed by a Miami-based company called Glassalum International, which performed a similar job on a 35-story building in New York City.
The panels, each weighing about 500 pounds, slide down special tracks installed on the sides of the building, said Phillip Pitts, project manager for Treptow Development Co., which owns the skyscraper with GE Investment Realty Partners.
Pitts said the procedure is a relatively quick and inexpensive way to renovate a high-rise. The developers are spending $5.7 million on the resurfacing, which is expected to be completed by July. It is part of a $52-million renovation.
John Boyd, who is supervising the project for Koll Construction, said rehabilitating skyscrapers by applying a new facade is a “very hot” alternative to tearing down and building anew, given the depressed economy and sagging commercial real estate market.
Although the procedure, patented by Glassalum, is unusual, the idea of remaking buildings with a new facade is not new, according to architectural historians.
In some cases famous Los Angeles buildings earned landmark status based on their new exteriors, such as the Pacific Mutual building at 6th and Olive streets, said Jay Rounds, Los Angeles Conservancy executive director. Rounds said the 811 Wilshire building lacks sufficient architectural merit to cause alarm about the change in its original appearance.
The building formerly was known as 615 S. Flower, until its new owners, eager for an address with more cachet, petitioned the post office for the change.
