A Classic is Reborn: Thomas Properties Group Unveils Plans for Transformation of Public Areas of Arco Plaza in Downtown Los Angeles.News Editors/Business Editors/City Desks LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)--July 16, 2003 $125 million program to include tower laser bridge, dancing fountains, distinctive new retail Thomas Properties Group has unveiled plans for major changes at the Arco Plaza in downtown Los Angeles Downtown Los Angeles is the central business district of Los Angeles, California, located close to the geographic center of the metropolitan area. The sprawling, multi-centered megacity is such that its downtown core is often considered just another district like Hollywood or , aimed at returning the landmark office complex to its preeminent position in the city. The two-year, $125 million program will transform the public plaza into a vibrant gathering place with restaurants and dancing waters, link the towers with laser beams, add state-of-the-art building systems, and revitalize the retail. "Arco Plaza is a timeless architectural classic and we are committed to improvements that will make it better than new," said James A. Thomas, CEO (1) (Chief Executive Officer) The highest individual in command of an organization. Typically the president of the company, the CEO reports to the Chairman of the Board. of Thomas Properties Group, the leading national development and investment firm that purchased the 2.7 million-square-foot Arco Plaza in January 2003. "This is unequivocally the 100% location in downtown; now we intend to create the best tenant environment in downtown." In order to fulfill its vision for the "new" Arco Plaza, Thomas Properties Group brought together a team of leading architects, designers and artists led by David Martin David Martin may refer to: Politicians
FAIA Food Additives and Ingredients Association (Kent, UK) FAIA Fellow, American Institute of Architects (honorary position) , of AC Martin Partners, original architects for the project. Inspired by the neon lights companies put atop downtown Los Angeles buildings that he saw as a child, Martin proposed a "cats cradle" of laser beams connecting the towers -- the first in the U. S. Creating a 21st century bridge, the final laser design will be created by a renowned artist chosen through an international competition. Light also will be beamed from the tops of the towers. Martin collaborated with internationally respected landscape architect Laurie Olin Laurie Olin (b. 1938 in Marshfield, Wisconsin) is an American landscape architect. He has worked on everything from private residences to large public parks. Olin grew up in Alaska, and earned his degree in Architecture from the University of Washington, in Seattle. of Olin Partnership to activate the central public plaza in the style of a European piazza. Plans include translucent canopies that cantilever from the towers to shade a host of tables and chairs that are flexible and movable to accommodate tenant events and public activities. Herbert Bayer's eye-catching red sculpture, "Double Ascension," remains the focal point focal point n. See focus. of the plaza. Its fountain will be re-engineered as a dancing water display by WET(R) Design, the premier architect/engineer of imaginative water attractions. WET Design also will design new fountains to be installed along Flower Street and water walls to be constructed at the rear of the plaza. Thomas Properties hopes to encourage tenants to use the plaza as an informal outdoor workplace by installing wireless access to the Internet, and adding lively cafes and restaurants. Further expanding dining options, the lobby of each tower facing 5th and 6th Streets will be converted into handsome restaurant space with indoor and outdoor seating. The "jewel box" building within the plaza -- a three-story, 65,000-square-foot structure -- is being contemplated for a variety of uses such as museum shop, restaurants, cafes or branch bank. Sussman/Prejza, the nation's top environmental design firm, has created elegant interior-illuminated signage sentinels for each corner of the site. These translucent monuments accent the architectural classicism classicism, a term that, when applied generally, means clearness, elegance, symmetry, and repose produced by attention to traditional forms. It is sometimes synonymous with excellence or artistic quality of high distinction. of the towers while heightening street level identity and providing naming opportunities. To herald the new retail center, Sussman/Prejza has designed an appealing contemporary look for the escalators that transport visitors from the plaza and Flower Street. Thomas Properties Group is compressing the underground retail into one 80,000-square-foot floor and completely renovating it with sophisticated graphics, engaging styling and topflight top·flight adj. Informal First-rate; excellent. topflight adj → de primera (categoría or clase) topflight adj → goods and services In economics, economic output is divided into physical goods and intangible services. Consumption of goods and services is assumed to produce utility (unless the "good" is a "bad"). It is often used when referring to a Goods and Services Tax. . "By tailoring the center to best serve our tenants and attracting high quality non-competitive shops and services, we are confident we will have a successful retail concourse just with our daytime population of 15,000 people," said Thomas. He added that another 50,000 people work within one block of the project. Encompassing an entire city block bounded by Figueroa, Flower, Fifth and Sixth Streets, the project was built in 1972-1973 as the world headquarters for Atlantic Richfield Company and the Southern California headquarters of Bank of America
Bank of America (NYSE: BAC TYO: 8648 ) is the largest commercial bank in the United States in terms of deposits, and the largest company of its kind in the world. . Thomas Properties Group and the California State Teachers Retirement System (CalSTRS) are the major investors in TPG TPG Texas Pacific Group TPG Tapping TPG Transports Publics Genevois (Geneva, Switzerland public transportation) TPG Test Pattern Generator TPG TNT Post Group TPG Trésorier Payeur Général Plaza Investments, the entity that owns Arco Plaza. Kings Capital, a privately held company privately held company A firm whose shares are held within a relatively small circle of owners and are not traded publicly. managed by Picerne Investment Management Corp., is a member of the investor group. |
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