LA's Historic Pickle Works Building Strong Candidate for Adaptive Reuse
The Pickle Works Building, one of DTLA’s oldest surviving Victorian-era industrial buildings, may undergo a bit of renovation soon. The City of Los Angeles recently released a request for proposals for its redevelopment, and it will receive responses by this spring. The two-story building is located at 1001 E. 1st St. in the Arts District, and it sits on a 27,683-square-foot lot.
Built in 1888, this isn’t the first time the Pickle Works Building has gone through changes. Several tenants have occupied parts of the complex over the past century, ranging from factory workers to contemporary artists. The building is currently owned by the California Department of Transportation and the City of Los Angeles. It was purchased for $11 million from KOR Group back in 2007.
If the request is approved, developers with a background in historic restoration would start working on renderings for adaptive reuse by this summer.
The potential buyer should be prepared to face a few obstacles with the building — including structural issues. On top of fixing up the building’s exterior while preserving its historic integrity, the buyer would also need to bring it back to code compliance. They would be required to provide community space and benefits during the building’s revamp.