New Life

Old Getty Oil Building in Koreatown Gets a Mixed-Use Conversion

By Greg Aragon

The building that used to house Getty Oil Headquarters in Koreatown in Los Angeles is being converted into a new $120 million mixed-use condominium tower.

"Adaptive reuse is the ultimate form of recycling," said Kevin Ratner, senior vice president for the Southern California region of Forest City Residential Development, the project's developers.

He said the building, which was constructed in 1962, was empty when Forest City purchased it in February 2005 from a company that had spent one year and about $17 million trying to redevelop it before giving up on the idea.

"They had no experience doing adaptive reuse," Ratner said. "That is why we were brought in; we took out everything and started over. Everything in the building is now completely new."

Known as Mercury, the 332,000-sq.-ft. project will feature 238 new condominiums, eight penthouses and 22,000 sq. ft. of retail in a 23-story tower.

The retail portion will consist of a Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf, a Jamba Juice, two as-yet unnamed restaurants and one financial institution, in addition to other local tenants.

The condos will range from approximately 700 to 1,200 sq. ft. and the penthouses from 1,200 sq. ft. to 3,000 sq.-ft. Prices are expected to go from $300,000 to more than $2 million.

Greg Vilken, president of Forest City West Residential Group, said he expects Mercury to attract a combination of empty nesters, young professionals, and a strong contingent from the local Korean population. He said the project already has a waiting list of more than 2,000 people, with presales underway this month

The studio, one- and two-bedroom units, which are laid out in 10 different floor plans, will feature private balconies, 10- to 11-ft. ceiling heights, bamboo floors, operable windows and gourmet kitchens with granite countertops.

Because Mercury is at least seven floors taller than any of its neighbors, residents will have spectacular panoramas of the downtown skyline, the Pacific Ocean and the Hollywood hills.

And nowhere will these views be more pronounced than on the project's 12,000-sq.-ft. rooftop recreational facility. To be called Club 23, this private retreat will boast a resort-style pool, a spa, an outdoor cinema, a fitness center, barbecue areas and a fire pit.

"The 360-degree views on the rooftop will just blow you away," said Daniel Gehman, project designer with Irvine-based Thomas P. Cox: Architects, Inc.

Gehman, who refers to the project as "the adaptive reuse of an adaptive reuse project," said when he began working on Mercury, the rooftop was covered with steel framework, which was erected by the previous development team. He said the steel was placed to support amenities such as a pool, spa, kitchen and conference room, but that it "blocked all the views, which seemed not the best gesture."

He said that prompted him to reshuffle the contents of the roof deck, but without taking the structure away. "We left the steel structure exposed and now it kind of defines different outdoor spaces, but it's kind of transparent so the view is not blocked," Gehman added.

He said this transparency is highlighted by a 13-ft.-wide open section that runs down the center of the roof. Framed by 29-ft.-tall steel columns, with fabric on top, the hall is paved with white terrazzo tile and leads to a huge fire cauldron.

"The theme of the roof is an archeological discovery of a Greek ruin, so the thing that goes down the middle is a classical Greek space," Gehman said.

The building, used throughout the 1960s and '70s by the Getty oil empire, features a white-marble façade with bronze-anodized framed windows on the exterior. It is located across the street from the Wiltern Theatre and just steps away from a Metro Red Line subway stop, at the intersection of Wilshire and Western, in the heart of Koreatown.

Standing next to the building is an attached, existing five-story parking garage with 600 parking stalls, which has been updated with new elevators and fire safety systems.

Construction on Mercury broke ground in September 2005 and is currently about 60 percent complete. Substantial completion is scheduled for February, when move-ins will begin.

The financial partner on the project is San Francisco-based MacFarlane Partners and Taisei Construction of Cypress is serving as the general contactor.

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