Thomas hoping to return Arco Plaza to its former glory.

Large Developer

Jim Thomas 

Born: Pembroke, N.C., year undisclosed

Position: Chief Executive, Thomas Properties Group LLC 

Accomplishments: With former partner Rob Maguire, developed Wells Fargo Center, U.S. Bank Tower and Gas Company Tower; after splitting with Maguire, bought Arco Plaza in 2003.

Quote: "What you need downtown to make it work is high-end housing and housing for the middle class. To do all the things you need to do to make a city great, you need a wide spectrum."

BORN in North Carolina and educated in Ohio, Jim Thomas has made Los Angeles the place where he will leave his mark.

In fact, many of his marks are already here. With his one-time partner Rob Maguire, Thomas is responsible for many of downtown's landmark buildings, including the Wells Fargo Center, U.S. Bank Tower and Gas Company Tower.

Thomas and Maguire split in 1996, but each remains atop the local development scene. Just last year Thomas Properties Group, where Thomas is chairman and chief executive, was the main investor in a partnership that bought Arco Plaza for a reported $270 million. The twin skyscrapers, separated by a three-story, 62,115-square-foot Bank of America office, hold 2.7 million square feet of office space on the southwest corner of Fifth and Flower streets.

The towers have struggled with low occupancy for years, but Thomas has big plans for righting the wayward trophy. His renovation calls for creating a European piazza with wireless Internet access, restaurants and a dancing fountain. The two levels of subterranean retail will be combined on one floor.

"The primary motivating factor was that this project was and will become again the premier project in Downtown," Thomas said. "It has the best location. It was built without consideration for cost. It's a classic and the only reason that the project has had some difficult time is it was allowed to drift and not properly cared for."

Thomas came to Los Angeles in January 1966 as a lawyer for the Treasury Department, trying cases in U.S. Tax Court. Later, he went into private practice and one of his clients was Maguire. After the two hooked up a few years later, one of their first projects was conversion of an old telephone regional headquarters at 740 S. Olive St. into senior housing. Thomas Properties still is involved in that holding.

In discussing his relationship with Maguire, Thomas told the Business Journal last year: "I had a door in my office where I could walk into his office and he could walk into mine." These days, Thomas describes their relationship as "excellent. It's probably improved since we're not there to talk to each other every day."

Maguire Thomas projects like Library Tower and Wells Fargo Tower helped shift the financial district from Spring Street to Bunker Hill. All told, Thomas has been involved in the development of more than 5 million square feet downtown.

"It's an intangible thing," he said in explaining his interest in the area. "I liked being involved in the transformation and the civic feeling, the need to give something back."

He's giving back in other ways, including a pro bono stint as chairman of the Grand Avenue Committee, which is in the midst of looking for a development team to revitalize the area fronting the Music Center complex. Thomas has been involved in Grand Avenue since the mid-'80s when he and Maguire built the Wells Fargo Center and competed for the construction of California Plaza.

Real estate attorney O'Malley Miller said Thomas' continued presence downtown is important to finishing its transformation. "To have somebody like Jim, who knows all of the players downtown as well as anyone, donate his time to try and make that vision happen is a huge gift to the city," Miller said.

Thomas was chairman of the Music Center when plans for Walt Disney Concert Hall were taking shape. While he was considering how to update the Music Center to complement the new concert hall, billionaire philanthropist Eli Broad and Mayor Richard Riordan approached him with idea of taking a broader look at Grand Avenue.

Proposals are due in April. "This is a great opportunity for this city," he said. "lf we don't develop these parcels to achieve the goal then it's a lost opportunity forever."