Sunday, January 10, 2016

The Wilshire Grand, Los Angeles' New Tallest Building


The post Recession recovery has brought about a construction boom in downtown Los Angeles. Prior to 2010, much of downtown’s landscape consisted of empty parking lots. For the second largest city in America, this always seemed strange to me. Fast forward to 2016 and the skyline is filled with cranes building up from the sites the parking lots once occupied. While most of the construction is low and mid-rise residential condos and apartment buildings, one project that sticks out from the rest and will certainly reshape the skyline is the Wilshire Grand project.

Until now, the US Bank building was the tallest and most recognizable building in LA. When the Wilshire Grand, a 73 story tower with office space and a hotel owned by Korean Air and operated by the InterContinental Hotels Group, is completed it will be the largest building West of the Mississippi.

Here are some interesting facts to know about Los Angeles soon to be new tallest building:

  • Workers set a record by pouring more than 21,000 cubic feet of concrete in one continuous, 18 hour pour
  • The Wilshire Grand will stand 82 feet taller than the US Bank building
  • The hotel will feature more than 900 four-star rooms
  • The 70th floor will have a public observation deck and rooftop pool
  • The project will create 11,500 construction jobs
  • Materials include 640,000,000 pounds of concrete and 20,000 tons of steel

Construction of the Wilshire Grand is set to be complete in 2017 and will definitely be something to check out.