Downtown Luxury Condos Set

The owners of 1010 Wilshire, a 16-story office building just west of the Harbor Freeway, said Friday that they planned to spend $100 million to convert the former Pacific Bell Building to about 200 luxury condominiums.

San Francisco-based Amidi Real Estate Group hopes to garner city approvals and begin work in July and finish 18 months later, owner Rahim Amidi said.

Prices for the condos have not been set, but with plans to spend nearly $500,000 a unit, they are expected to be among the most expensive condos in downtown L.A. when they hit the market in 2006.

The building is occupied by telecommunications giant SBC, which is moving to Transamerica Center near Staples Center next July.

Wade Killefer, an architect who has been involved in other residential conversions of downtown office buildings, will design the makeover, which is expected to include the addition of balconies, a swimming pool and a cafe to the 56-year-old building.

The downtown housing market is “really hot,” said Hamid Behdad, the city’s director of adaptive reuse projects. Since 1999, more than 3,500 units have been added to the market. About 3,100 more are under construction, and 4,500 more are in the pipeline.