Fox Plaza Measures Up to City’s Test

Fox Plaza in Century City is as big as it’s supposed to be.

That is the conclusion of Los Angeles Building and Safety Department officials who recently measured the Century City skyscraper.

The officials were dispatched to the office tower at the request of City Councilman Zev Yaroslavsky, who was responding to suspicions by area homeowners that the office tower, used as the setting for the film “Die Hard,” was overbuilt.

The suspicions stemmed from what appeared to be conflicting numbers in public documents. The building that was supposed to have 650,000 square feet also had about 710,000 square feet of leasable space.

If the building had been bigger than its permit allowed, it could have become a factor in 20th Century Fox’s proposed expansion plan. The plan is being studied by an ad hoc traffic committee and other homeowner groups. There are a finite number of trips available in the Century City zoning and growth plan. If the tower had generated more traffic trips than had been thought previously, it would have cut down on the number available to 20th Century.

From the outset, Fox Vice President David Handelman, insisted the discrepancy was a “mirage” that existed only on paper, because of the use of different but equally valid formulas for measuring a building.

City officials agreed with Handelman. In a letter to Yaroslavsky, Richard Holguin, assistant chief of the building bureau, recounted a visit to the building by two of his employees. By measuring exterior columns and the core of the building, officials concluded the numbers matched with the plans for a 650,000-square-foot building.

In fact, according to their calculations, the building is actually under-built at 642,000 square feet. The building opened in 1987, and Fox has since sold it. Its current general manager did not respond to phone calls from The Times.

Despite the city’s pronouncement, some members of the homeowner community are not satisfied. Westwood activist Laura Lake said she and others are looking into the possibility of hiring their own professional “Measure Meister” to survey the structure.