Update (7/14/17): There may be a last-minute reprieve in the works to save the vintage Metropolitan Water District structure from the wrecking ball. According to The Eastsider, the owners of the apartment building next to the building slated to be torn down have filed an application for the MWD building to be designated a historic cultural monument. If the Public Heritage Commission decides to consider the case, the building will stay intact until the full review is completed.
The developers who bought the property set to be demolished, unsurprisingly, disagree with the wrench their neighbor is trying to throw into their plans. In the view of Palisades Capital Partners, the building has already been changed enough since it's original 1963 version that it no longer qualifies as a historic building. They also assert that the complex in its current state is derelict and a hazard to public safety.
Whatever shakes out, there are likely to be some tensions between the next-door neighbors for some time to come.
Los Angeles will soon be saying goodbye to another notable work of mid-century architecture. The Metropolitan Water District building, situated along Sunset Boulevard just before Echo Park begins to fade into Downtown—a mini-hood officially designated as Vincent Heights—was originally built in the 1960s by architect William Pereira. Now, as The Eastsider reports, demolition notices have been posted on the chainlink fence surrounding the 5.3-acre property.
Even if William Pereira’s name doesn’t ring a bell, you’ve definitely seen his work. His most famous design is a little icon of the San Francisco skyline known as the Transamerica Pyramid. Closer to his LA home, he was also responsible for the first of LACMA’s buildings and the flying-saucer like Theme Building structure at LAX. Along the way, he also worked on the master plans for the cities of Irvine and Newport Beach and picked up an Academy Award for his special effects work on 1942’s Reap the Wild Wind.
There are actually two Pereira buildings among the three adjacent structures on the plot. One of the original buildings is set to be demolished as well as a church on the property, built by Holy Hill Community Church in the 1990s. Another original Pereira building, which was once the Water District offices, was recently converted to a luxury apartment building known as The Elysian and will remain intact as it was not part of the $30 million deal that went down last year to sell the other two buildings and surrounding land.
What did the buyers, the Beijing-based Palisades Capital Partners, get for their cash? A space set for mixed-use development that comes zoned for 576 residential units, according to Curbed. More apartment units in such a desirable area might be good for helping level out the rise in rent prices, so long as the price-points are accessible to a broad swath of the community.