By Isabel Sami | LA Business First
Gathering in the freshly renovated lobby of the U.S. Bank Tower, members of Silverstein Properties’ executive team lined up to cut the ribbon commemorating the completion of the building’s $60 million capital improvement program on Tuesday.
Silverstein Properties, the New York-based development and management firm that bought the downtown L.A. building for $430 million at the height of the pandemic, completed the two-year renovation to revamp 35,000 square feet of common spaces at the traditional office building, adding amenities, a redesigned lobby, food and beverage options, elevator modernizations, and upgraded meeting and collaboration spaces.
The biggest redesign took place on the 54th floor, reintroduced as the Vista, a 15,000-square-foot flexible workspace and amenity floor. Exclusive to building tenants, the Vista features curated food and beverage options, event and conferencing spaces, and meeting and pitch rooms, with floor-to-ceiling windows and views across Los Angeles.
The Vista includes museum-quality collections that reflect the history and culture of Los Angeles, including vintage 8mm movie cameras and projectors, a wall of original film noir posters, books and gifts from L.A.'s Central Library and tributes to L.A.-based writers and poets from Ray Bradbury to Amanda Gorman.
“The U.S. Bank Tower is a landmark in downtown Los Angeles,” said Larry A. Silverstein, chairman of Silverstein Properties. “We have reimagined the building with spaces and amenities that reflect the new way of working. We want to ensure it remains a beacon of the business district, and also contributes more broadly to a thriving downtown, one of the best places in L.A. to work, live and visit.”
At an event earlier in the day day at the U.S. Bank Tower, Silverstein said the new features in the building enable those coming into the office to have an experience different from those working from home.
"What we’ve done is provide a whole slew of amenities that didn’t exist before Covid," Silverstein said via a video call. "As a result of this pandemic, people are looking at office space with an entirely new and different perspective. If you see what we invested in in the building, the specific facilities so people can come together and work together and relate to each other, there’s such a huge benefit as a result of collaboration that you cannot get from home. It doesn’t exist.”
Business leaders, local community leaders, artists and musicians joined to celebrate the milestone on Tuesday afternoon, with a performance by L.A. music education group the Harmony Project and a mural by L.A. artist Man One.
At the ribbon-cutting, Man One donated his mural of the late painter, muralist and activist Noni Olabisi to the AltaMed Foundation. Last year, Silverstein Properties commissioned Man One to create the piece for “Sky High DTLA,” an art installation on the top floor of the building which has been moved to the 61st floor, accessible to the public once a month.
Silverstein Properties partnered with design firm Jeffrey Beers and architecture firm A + I to design key elements of the building. Informed by hospitality design, the upgrades include a redesigned main entrance and lobby, new contactless elevators and elevator lobbies, a new day-to-night juice and cocktail bar, a grab-and-go market, seating and collaboration areas, and more.
In November 2022, Silverstein Properties announced five lease signings at U.S. Bank Tower totaling 72,000 square feet. Tenants include Walter P. Moore, with a 10-year, 9,400-square-foot lease; a global management consulting firm, which signed a 12-year, 19,000-square-foot lease; Lincoln International, with a 10-year, 27,000-square-foot lease expansion; Rothschild & Co, with an 8,500-square-foot lease; and Morgan & Morgan, which signed a 7,000-square-foot lease.
“As downtown L.A. reemerges as a major business and cultural hub, our leading properties are being reimagined to attract and retain leading businesses,” said Suzanne Holley, president and CEO of Downtown Center Business Improvement District in a statement. “Many of these companies are looking for modern work and collaborative spaces in a neighborhood that has it all: from transit to great restaurants and bars, to world-class arts and culture. Silverstein’s community-focused approach has already attracted leading firms to the building, and we are excited to see the impact a revamped U.S. Bank Tower will have on this amazing neighborhood.”
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