In the summer of 2013, Brookfield Office Properties acquired the two-tower, 2.5-million-sf Wells Fargo Center, in downtown Los Angeles, as part of a four-building portfolio deal with a $450 million price tag.
At the time, Wells Fargo Center was one of L.A.’s primo office addresses. But while its Bunker Hill neighborhood has emerged as a hub for creative business professionals, the two-tower complex has been showing its age of late, and has had a tougher time attracting new companies with younger tenants. “The environment was dated,” Bert Dezzutti, a Senior VP for Brookfield Office Properties, the building’s landlord, admitted to the Los Angeles Times.
To help change that perception, Brookfield last April kicked off a $60 million makeover of the Wells Fargo Center’s atrium, between the 54- and 45-story towers, to include full-service restaurants, plaza seating, fast/casual dining options, a rooftop deck, tenant lounge, concierge services, health and wellness amenities, and an indoor-outdoor bar. All of these features are being added to lure the 5,000 employees who work in that building and the 40,000 who work within Bunker Hill.
Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, Wells Fargo Center’s original designer, designed the new atrium, dubbed “Halo,” which is scheduled to open next year.
To further accentuate the building’s hipper vibe, Brookfield on November 15 introduced Launchpad, a contest for innovative startups, whose winner will receive free office space within Wells Fargo Center for 24 months, a prize with an estimated maximum retail value of $360,000.
Companies have until December 31 to submit their entries online at http://Launchpad.BunkerHillDTLA.com. Entrants must be U.S.-based, and new businesses with no more than $5 million in annual revenue in either 2017 or 2018. An entrant must provide information about the company—including its address, history, principals, contact information, and at least one social media profile. It must also submit an essay of no more than 2,000 characters describing its background, purpose, and culture, and how it believes it would benefit the Bunker Hill community.
Entrants can supplement their essays by uploading a video of no longer than two minutes in length.
The refurbished atrium, dubbed Halo, will offer a welcoming street-level connection where previously there had been none. Image: Brookfield Office Properties.
A panel of judges, selected by Brookfield, will evaluate the contestants on the basis of the their respective business objectives and prospective benefits to the community, how the entrants complement the downtown L.A. and Bunker Hill culture, and the creativity and originality of their submissions.
The Grand Prize entitles the winner to a Convene WorkSuite Membership Agreement for a maximum of 24 consecutive months. (Convene manages communal work and meeting spaces for rent in Brookfield’s office buildings.) The agreement can commence as early as Feb. 1, 2019, and would include up to 22 WorkSuite memberships. (The office space would be located on the building’s 3rd and 4th floors.)
Occupants would be entitled to exclusive, badge-protected access to the WorkSuite, a fully-furnished office space, state of the art technology and high-speed WiFi, an open kitchen with a nourish café, a monthly community lunch prepared by the building’s onsite executive chef, facilities maintenance, and mail delivery.
To encourage entries, Brookfield has been offering brokers a $10,000 commission if one of their clients is selected for the Grand Prize.
Related Stories
Multifamily Housing | Jul 25, 2023
San Francisco seeks proposals for adaptive reuse of underutilized downtown office buildings
The City of San Francisco released a Request For Interest to identify office building conversions that city officials could help expedite with zoning changes, regulatory measures, and financial incentives.
Market Data | Jul 24, 2023
Leading economists call for 2% increase in building construction spending in 2024
Following a 19.7% surge in spending for commercial, institutional, and industrial buildings in 2023, leading construction industry economists expect spending growth to come back to earth in 2024, according to the July 2023 AIA Consensus Construction Forecast Panel.
Office Buildings | Jul 24, 2023
A twist on office conversions maximizes leasable space
A recent NELSON Worldwide project is made more suitable for multiple workplace tenants.
Biophilic Design | Jul 20, 2023
Transform your work environment with biophilic design
Lauren Elliott, Director of Interior Design, Design Collaborative, shares various ways biophilic design elements can be incorporated into the office space.
Office Buildings | Jul 20, 2023
The co-worker as the new office amenity
Incentivizing, rather than mandating the return to the office, is the key to bringing back happy employees that want to work from the office. Spaces that are designed and curated for human-centric experiences will attract employees back into the workplace, and in turn, make office buildings thrive once again. Perkins&Will’s Wyatt Frantom offers a macro to micro view of the office market and the impact of employees on the future of work.
Codes and Standards | Jul 19, 2023
Office leasing in major markets by financial services firms rebounds to pre-pandemic norms
Though the pandemic led to reductions in office leasing by financial services firms in gateway markets, a recent report by JLL found a notable leasing resurgence by those firms.
Sustainability | Jul 13, 2023
Deep green retrofits: Updating old buildings to new sustainability standards
HOK’s David Weatherhead and Atenor’s Eoin Conroy discuss the challenges and opportunities of refurbishing old buildings to meet modern-day sustainability standards.
Government Buildings | Jul 13, 2023
The recently opened U.S. Embassy in Ankara reflects U.S. values while honoring Turkish architecture
The U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Overseas Buildings Operations (OBO) has recently opened the U.S. Embassy in Ankara, Turkey. The design by Ennead Architects aims to balance transparency and openness with security, according to a press statement. The design also seeks both to honor Turkey’s architectural traditions and to meet OBO’s goals of sustainability, resiliency, and stewardship.
Sponsored | Fire and Life Safety | Jul 12, 2023
Fire safety considerations for cantilevered buildings [AIA course]
Bold cantilevered designs are prevalent today, as developers and architects strive to maximize space, views, and natural light in buildings. Cantilevered structures, however, present a host of challenges for building teams, according to José R. Rivera, PE, Associate Principal and Director of Plumbing and Fire Protection with Lilker.
Mass Timber | Jul 11, 2023
5 solutions to acoustic issues in mass timber buildings
For all its advantages, mass timber also has a less-heralded quality: its acoustic challenges. Exposed wood ceilings and floors have led to issues with excessive noise. Mass timber experts offer practical solutions to the top five acoustic issues in mass timber buildings.