One-and-a-half years after purchasing a 1920s office building on Broadway, Onni Group is moving forward with plans to upgrade the mid-rise structure into a creative office complex.

The Western Pacific, located at 1023 S. Broadway, was designed in the Beaux Arts style by the architecture firm Walker & Elsen.  Onni intends to improve the upper floors of the structure with over 200,000 square feet of creative office space, while retaining and upgrading existing ground-level commercial space.

According to Andrew Tashjian of Cushman Wakefield, the building’s broker, the property's H-shaped floor plan lends itself nicely to an open creative office layout, with opportunities for natural lighting and views in multiple.  Onni will also add built-in features through the addition of on-site amenities such as a tenant lounge, a fitness center, conferencing facility and potentially outdoor space.  Tenants will also receive discounts and special access to LEVEL Furnished Living, a 33-story extended stay and nightly hotel tower also developed by Onni just a few blocks away.

Though currently empty, the Western Pacific finds itself at the heart of an increasingly vibrant section of Broadway.  Three boutique hotels - the Ace Hotel, the Proper Hotel and the Hoxton - are either open or under construction within a one block radius.  Just south, the historic Herald Examiner Building is also midway through its own mixed-use renovation.

The surroundings make the property well suited for lifestyle office tenants, particularly companies from the technology, media and fashion industries, according to Tashijian.  Although Onni is hoping for larger, multi-floor tenants, the Vancouver-based developer is also open to subdividing space, especially on lower floors.

Currently, crews are upgrading the Western Pacific's structural, window, electrical, elevator and air conditioning systems.  An exact timeline has not been set, although the full suite of upgrades could allow for occupancy as early as mid-2018.

Onni has been one of the most ambitious landlords and developers in Downtown Los Angeles over the past few years, buying a host of existing office buildings and constructing a handful or residential towers.  Their upcoming pipeline also includes a revamp of the Times Mirror Square complex, as well as a potential 48-story mixed-use tower on Olympic Boulevard.