Regular readers of Franklin Avenue know that I have an unusual fascination with the Sunset-Vine Tower, which has been uninhabited (well, except for some squatters) since an electrical fire back on Dec. 6, 2001. (One of my early posts in 2003 was a round-up of L.A.'s Ghost Towers, you may remember).
The skinny tower -- currently naked, as heavy winds earlier this year blew off a white covering -- has a storied history. Built in 1963. it's believed to be the first skyscraper built in the city after Los Angeles repealed its 14-story building height limits. The Sunset-Vine is best known as the collapsing skyscraper in the cheesy 1974 disaster flick "Earthquake" -- of its protective cover, and was also the secret home to the transmitter for legendary pirate radio station KBLT. I remember it most as home to the restaurant/bar 360, where I used to enjoy taking in the views while sipping on some girly drink.
The L.A. Times' Bob Pool checks in on the building in today's paper, and is assured that the building is no longer belching asbestos -- a concern to neighbors after that white protective cover came off:
Developers, who have gutted the high-rise to turn it into luxury apartments, say there was no public health hazard when winds ripped away a plastic shroud that encased the tower to stop the escape of asbestos particles, which can cause cancer.
The removal of asbestos fireproofing material from the building had been completed by late December when high winds began tearing the plastic covering loose and blowing through the skeletonized structure, say officials of the CIM Group, which owns the building and is converting it to 63 residential units.
"There's basically no asbestos left in the building," said Ryan Harter, vice president of investments for CIM. "The abatement was complete in the third quarter of last year. I want people to know we haven't put any people in danger."
When the white plastic was first wrapped last year around the 306-foot-high scaffolding that surrounds the building, locals nicknamed it "the condom."
After residents complained of the large cellphone company ads that popped up on the plastic, CIM executives in late October explained that the exterior wrap was not there for advertising purposes but to prevent asbestos from escaping.
That prompted some to worry that with the plastic covering gone, the wind was sending asbestos raining down on Hollywood neighborhoods near the tower.
Harter said the outer plastic shell had only been a secondary asbestos barrier. There were other containment "envelopes" inside the high-rise, where asbestos-laden fireproofing material was being scraped away from steel beams. Air sampling was done before those containment barriers were taken down.
New plastic covering will be attached to the exterior scaffolding next month to protect workers who will begin installing a sleek new fa–ade — an all-glass curtain wall that features space for nine-story, Sunset Strip-style super graphics on the building's sides.
CIM Group, meanwhile, continues to "work through" issues surrounding the Dec. 6, 2001, electrical fire that caused so much trouble for the Sunset-Vine Tower, Harter said.
Check out all of our past posts on the Sunset-Vine Tower here.
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