Wilshire Grand Tower, Los Angeles

Happy Summer Everyone! 

In June 2015 I flew to LA and went downtown to the financial district.   I inspected a building under construction that when finished will be the true modern skyscraper.  The project is called the Wilshire Grand Tower and at completion in 2017, will be the tallest building not only in Los Angeles but in the entire western United States.

The project takes up an entire city block and will be part of a mixed-use hotel, and have retail, observation decks, shopping malls and an office complex.  The height of the building is going to be 1,100 feet. To get a size perspective, imagine the two Pacific Guardian Center buildings downtown on Bishop Street.  Next take those towers and stack one tower on top of the other; then add a third like building on top of that.  The total height of those three buildings would still be lower than the height of the Wilshire Grand Tower.  

But we are not done yet.  Imagine the building sprawling an entire LA City block.  Yes, that's how huge this building is.  You'll get a sore neck looking up at the building from across the street.  I counted 6 tower cranes and innumerable  hundreds of workers.  It is a daily construction event on an entire massive city block.

I asked an engineer on site how much the project was going to cost and he said the initial estimate is $1 billion.  That's a lot of concrete, steel and glass composing the Wilshire Grand Tower.  I don't hope to have a building this big in Honolulu. It's just too gigantic!  

In July I will be inspecting some buildings in Portland, Oregon.  Then on to Vancouver Canada,  where I will be touring a metal railing manufacturing plant.  It'll be the perfect opportunity to look over those buildings on Victoria Island both ancient and modern alike.  

Expect an update on these upcoming business trips.  Remember when in doubt call on the Building Expert at 422-2132.

Meanwhile Have a Happy Summer!