ASU expanding into old newspaper building in downtown Los Angeles
Aug 21, 2018, 4:04 PM | Updated: 5:04 pm
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PHOENIX — Arizona State University is expanding its footprint in Los Angeles.
The ornate former headquarters of the defunct Los Angeles Herald Examiner will be renovated for an expansion by the Tempe-based school.
The university has announced plans to lease the century-old building in a part of downtown L.A. undergoing a sweeping resurgence.
“Not only does the building illuminate the city’s rich history dating back more than a century, we look forward to our presence there to play an important role in adding to the downtown’s intellectual, cultural and economic vibrancy,” ASU President Michael Crow said in a statement.
The university said the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communications and Herberger Institute for Design and the Arts will hold classes at the building, which ASU expects to occupy in 2020.
ASU already offers programs at a facility in nearby Santa Monica.
Media mogul William Randolph Hearst founded the Los Angeles Examiner in 1903 and the building was completed in 1914. The newspaper, which ultimately became the Herald Examiner, shut down in 1989.
Renovation will include a mix of restaurants and retail on the first floor with classroom and office space on the upper floors.
According to the Los Angeles Times, ASU’s new landlords include movie star/politician Arnold Schwarzenegger and NBA superstar LeBron James, who joined the Lakers this year.
The Times said they are investors in a firm, Main Street Advisors, that is part-owner of the shuttered property.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.