A protective fence is being built around the graffiti-covered Oceanwide Plaza towers in downtown LA as a part of the city council’s $1.1 million in initial funding for measures to address the defaced skyscrapers. Macy Jenkins reports for the NBC4 News on Feb. 23, 2024.
Work began Friday to place fencing around an unfinished downtown Los Angeles high-rise building that became a target for taggers.
Video from NewsChopper4 showed heavy construction equipment placing fencing around the vacant high-rise development known as Oceanwide Plaza. The fencing along 12th Street between Figueroa and Flower streets is intended to deter people from entering the site of the graffiti-covered towers.
Scaffolding also has been removed around the construction site.
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An initial $1.1 million was approved last week by the Los Angeles City Council to address the development, where work stopped in 2019 after the Chinese Developer ran out of money. The towers were supposed to house condos, a hotel and mall.
Councilman Kevin De Leon proposed another $2.7 million, as a loan, to cover costs associated with security services, fire safety upgrades, graffiti abatement and other measures. City Council members voted to hold off on that $2.7 million for the time being until another estimate could be conducted, according to de Leon's office.
City officials officially began an abatement process on Feb. 17, after the building's developer, Oceanwide Holdings, did not respond to demands from the city to address ongoing issues. Ultimately, the city hopes Oceanwide gets the land cleaned up and a group of investors comes forward to take over the project.
City News Service contributed to this report.
