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It's been a few months of peaks and valleys for The L.A Times. In March, it was revealed that the paper forgot to give Oscars tickets to the very reporters who were covering the event . Then, in May, it was reported that music critic Sasha Frere-Jones had been dropping cash in strip-clubs on the paper's dime . The paper did, however, win a Pulitzer in April for their coverage of the San Bernardino shooting .
It looks like there could be more unfavorable news on the horizon. As we noted last week, a Canadian developer named Onni Group has put in a bid to purchase the Times' headquarters on 1st and Spring streets. It was also reported that Onni's plans for the Times building included new offices and retail stores.
Now, as more details emerge, it looks like apartments will be included in the mix, reports the Los Angeles Business Journal . Sources also told the LABJ that Onni Group will pay about $120 million to Tribune Media Co., the Chicago-based company that owns the real estate.
If all goes according to plan, apartments will be added to the Broadway side of the building. The Spring Street segment of the edifice will undergo renovation, and is expected to house the new offices and retail stores. As noted by Curbed L.A. , these plans could coincide with the construction of Metro's light rail connector just one block south, and a cool-looking park on 1st and Broadway .
Surprisingly, the building isn't listed on the Los Angeles Cultural Heritage Commission's list of historic-cultural monuments , which would have designated the structure as being worthy of preservation. According to the Office of Historic Resources in the Department of City Planning, a building may be named a historic-cultural monument if "cultural, political, economic, or social history of the nation, state, or community is reflected" and if it is "identified with historic personages or with important events in the main currents of national, state, or local history."
There's no concrete word on what will happen to the Times if the deal goes through. A Times spokesperson told the LABJ that the paper is "very interested in exploring a new arrangement that would ensure an even better, more collaborative workspace.”
