New Rendering for Development Plans Around Sunkist Building in Sherman Oaks
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| Image courtesy Daily News |
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| Image courtesy Wikipedia |
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| Image courtesy Fruit Growers Supply Company |
Anyone who has driven on the 101 in Sherman Oaks, has definitely recognized this iconic structure which is now about to change. The Daily News and LA Curbed both broke the news of the new development plans for the Sunkist Building headquarters in Sherman Oaks called ICON Sherman Oaks, a $100 million project.
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| Image courtesy Building Los Angeles |
Fortunately, this building is not going to be demolished. I would normally rant about another significant building being demolished or altered (like the Lautner in Woodland Hills) but this one will be saved with 360,000 feet of new construction for retail, 298 apartment units, and 7,241 retail commercial tenants. So just have to be appreciative that this building was saved. But I just have one question, what is the traffic going to be like especially next to the already crowded Westfield Fashion Square which can be nightmarish on the weekends?
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| Above images courtesy Google Maps |
The Sunkist Growers, Inc which first occupied the building in 1969 is in the process of moving to Santa Clarita by September. The building was purchased by IMT Capital which owns and develops apartment building in multiple states with a good number in the SFV.
You can also check out the 81+ page Initial Study by the City of LA and the Sunkist Building Expansion website which also is accepting comments.
The LA Conservancy has a good description of the historic building:
The Sunkist Headquarters building is a symphony in concrete, declaring its presence on Riverside Drive to all who drive past on the 101 Freeway.
When citrus marketing company Sunkist moved into its new building in 1969, it left an Art Deco office tower in downtown Los Angeles for a homecoming of sorts; the San Fernando Valley was once partially covered with citrus groves, which were removed to make way for housing tracts after World War II. No matter that the orange trees were no more at the time of its construction—the building looks a little bit like an orange crate, inverted and set upon angled concrete columns.
It was designed by A. C. Martin and Associates, a firm with a long and storied history in Los Angeles. In the late 1960s, the firm was busy changing the look of downtown with its Corporate International-style skyscrapers. For Sunkist, A. C. Martin created a low-rise but unquestionably monumental Late Modern-style building of reinforced concrete with recessed windows. It is shaped somewhat like an inverted pyramid, colossally wide at the top and tapering in at the base so it appears to balance on concrete legs.
The office building has a Brutalist feel, with its extensive use of concrete and impassive façades, but its off-white color imparts a certain lightness, almost an airy quality. It is a contrast that works—this building is definitely remembered by anyone who has passed by it.
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Marty Mcfly
Anything and everything about the San Fernando Valley. This blog will take you back in time when the valley was covered with dirt and orange groves to a leader in the space race to its current status as America's suburb. Come along and join me on this adventure, I guarantee you have been influenced/impacted by the San Fernando Valley in one form or another even if you have never visited or heard of the SFV.
This is a win win situation for the community, saving the Sunkist building is fantastic, and $100 Million dollar investment in the community is great and much needed with plenty of jobs leaving the city.
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