Barrington Plaza

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Barrington Plaza
Barrington Plaza.jpg
General information
Address11740 Wilshire Boulevard
Town or cityLos Angeles
CountryUnited States
Coordinates34°02′56″N 118°27′37″W / 34.048785°N 118.460392°W / 34.048785; -118.460392Coordinates: 34°02′56″N 118°27′37″W / 34.048785°N 118.460392°W / 34.048785; -118.460392
Construction started1958
Completed1962
Website
https://www.douglasemmett.com/barrington-plaza

Barrington Plaza is an apartment complex in Los Angeles, California, located at 11740 Wilshire Boulevard in the Sawtelle community of Los Angeles, California . At the time of its completion, in 1962, it was described as the largest privately built apartment development in the western United States.

Design[]

As originally constructed, the plaza consisted of three high-rise buildings which contained 712 apartments. It also included retail and restaurant space, a 330,000-square-foot (31,000 m2) parking garage and a recreational building.[1]

It was designated a fallout shelter, with 40,000-square-foot (3,700 m2) of its garage space and hallways being expected to be able to shelter ten times the resident population.[2]

It was both the largest,[1] and the tallest,[3] privately built apartment complex west of Chicago.

History[]

Planning for Barrington Plaza began in 1958, when it was initially envisaged to cost $14 million.[4] It was originally conceived and developed by the B.C. Deane Company, based in Van Nuys, and designed by architect Phillip Daniel of DMJM,[5] which later became AECOM. Louis Lesser Enterprises were brought in as partners at the beginning of 1959, subsequently becoming the sole sponsor and buying out Deane in June 1961.[6] Construction started in 1960;[7] it was completed in 1962 and cost about $20 million.[1] A year after completion, around 50% of the units had been sold.[8][9]

In 1961, Barrington Plaza and its developer, Ben Deane, were selected for an award by the National Association of Home Builders.[10]

The original application for a $14 million Federal Housing Administration loan was described as the largest single application for an insurance commitment under the urban renewal program ever filed in the United States;[11] the actual initial loan was $15.2 million towards the end of 1959.[12] This was reported to have increased to $16.7 million on completion in 1962,[1] and then to $18.6 by the end of Louis Lesser Enterprises' ownership in 1965.[13] In that year, Barrington Plaza was sold to a group from Ohio.[13][14] In 1966, following foreclosure on the loan after it reached $21 million, the US Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations held hearings into investments secured by the FHA, with Barrington Plaza being the first they addressed.[12]

In 1998, the property was purchased by Douglas Emmett, Inc.[15][16][17]

On January 29, 2020, a multiple alarm fire occurred at 8:30 am at Barrington Plaza causing 11 reported injuries and extensive damage to the 6th floor. Some residents were rescued by helicopter from the roof.[18]

References[]

  1. ^ a b c d "712-UNIT PROJECT FINISHED ON COAST". The New York Times. 23 September 1962.
  2. ^ "Apartment Approved as Official Fallout Shelter". Los Angeles Times. 15 October 1961.
  3. ^ "Everything Is 'Go' at Barrington Plaza". Los Angeles Times. 16 September 1962.
  4. ^ "14 Million Rebuilding Job Planned". Los Angeles Times. 19 June 1958.
  5. ^ "Barrington Plaza, luxury apartment project under construction, West Los Angeles, 1960". Los Angeles Examiner. USC Digital Library. 27 March 1960.
  6. ^ Investigation into FHA multiple dwelling projects: Hearings, Eighty-ninth Congress, second session. U.S. Senate Committee on Government Operations: Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations. 1966. p. 99.
  7. ^ "Work to Start on Huge Urban Renewal Project". Los Angeles Times. 10 July 1960.
  8. ^ "'THE ONLY WAY TO GO---UP': High Rise Developer Defends Loss of View to Convenience". Los Angeles Times. 25 June 1963.
  9. ^ "Personality: Boom Is Loud for Lesser". The New York Times. 16 March 1963.
  10. ^ "L.A. Project Selected for NAHB Award". Los Angeles Times. 15 January 1961.
  11. ^ "$14 Million Loan Application for West Side Project Filed". Los Angeles Times. 5 April 1959.
  12. ^ a b "Senate Panel to Investigate U.S.-Insured Housing Units". The New York Times. 23 August 1966.
  13. ^ a b "HOUSING DEFAULT TRACED IN SENATE". The New York Times. 26 August 1966.
  14. ^ "470 F. 2d 669 - National Labor Relations Board v. Tragniew Inc Tragniew Inc". United States Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit. OpenJurist. 8 September 1972.
  15. ^ "Emmett Buys 712-Unit Barrington Plaza". Los Angeles Times. 27 February 1998. Retrieved 2020-01-12.
  16. ^ "Emmett Buys 712-Unit Barrington Plaza". Los Angeles Business Journal. 12 March 1998. Retrieved 2020-01-12.
  17. ^ "Welcome To Barrington Plaza". Douglas Emmett. Archived from the original on 2015-01-09. Retrieved 2015-01-22.
  18. ^ Munoz, Anabel; staff, ABC7 com (January 30, 2020). "'Suspicious' fire at high-rise apartment building in West Los Angeles leaves 11 injured, including baby, LAFD says". ABC7 Los Angeles.
Retrieved from ""