Downtown guru calls Zell's L.A. holdings 'virtually worthless'

Cara Mia DiMassa, who covers downtown L.A. for The Times, talked to Tom Gilmore today. He's the developer whose vision for L.A.'s center (yes, we do have one) sparked the renaissance in the city's Historic Core district, located mere blocks from the Times buildings now for sale (or lease, depending on terms) by Sam Zell. Here's Cara:

Downtown guru Tom Gilmore flippantly suggested that the building could be used "as a mausoleum for Sam Zell, or maybe a theme park. Call it 'the times of our lives.' "

Then, he got serious: "It is virtually worthless as a piece of real estate, other than the L.A. Times ... Maybe in 20 years, when downtown is so overbuilt, and we are really dying for space. But we are still building out buildings in downtown. Someday, it will be a lovely shopping mall or something ... or maybe it could be sold to the government. .... The federal, state and local governments are constantly complaining about space."

The Times building, he said, was unsuitable for lofts or live/work spaces -- the choice du moment for building conversions in the city center, mostly because of the way the windows work "unless you tear the middle of it out. It’s got great parking, though."

The suggestion box is now open.

--Veronique de Turenne

Photo: Gary Friedman / Los Angeles Times