LA's Abandoned "Tagger Towers": A Graffiti Canvas Born from Financial Ruin and Construction Woes

LOS ANGELES (November 3, 2025) – Perched like skeletal sentinels amid the glittering skyline of downtown Los Angeles, the three unfinished towers of Oceanwide Plaza have become an unlikely monument to urban decay, street art rebellion, and bureaucratic limbo.

Dubbed "Tagger Towers" by locals and social media alike, the complex – once envisioned as a $1 billion beacon of luxury living – now stands as a vibrant, if illicit, canvas for graffiti artists, drawing thrill-seekers, tourists, and city officials in equal measure. But its story is one of stalled dreams, not structural catastrophe, a far cry from high-profile building failures like the infamous Ocean Tower in Texas.

As the site continues to attract vandals and daredevils, questions swirl about its future: Will it rise again, or fade into a permanent eyesore?

The Oceanwide Plaza project broke ground in 2015, spearheaded by Beijing-based developer China Oceanwide Holdings.

Spanning three towers – rising 40, 49, and 53 stories respectively – the development promised 500 luxury condominiums, a 160-room hotel, 40,000 square feet of retail space, and sweeping views of Crypto.com Arena and the Staples Center (now the arena's home to the Lakers and Clippers).

Positioned at the corner of Figueroa and 11th streets, across from L.A. Live, it was poised to revitalize the South Park neighborhood with high-end residences and public amenities. But by early 2019, construction ground to a halt, leaving the towers half-clad in concrete and glass, their interiors exposed to the elements.

Why Did the Project Fail? A Cascade of Financial and Global Headwinds

Unlike dramatic structural collapses seen elsewhere, Oceanwide's downfall was rooted in economics, not engineering. The primary culprit: acute cash shortages for the Chinese developer, exacerbated by a perfect storm of international pressures. China Oceanwide had already poured over $1.1 billion into the site, completing much of the foundational work and lower levels, but faltered amid China's tightening capital controls and a broader crackdown on overseas real estate investments. Beijing's government, wary of capital flight, imposed strict limits on foreign currency outflows starting in 2016, squeezing developers like Oceanwide who relied on repatriating funds from abroad.

The timing couldn't have been worse. The U.S.-China trade war, escalating under the Trump administration, further strained cross-border financing. Oceanwide's parent company, already overextended with projects in New York and elsewhere, filed for bankruptcy protection in China in 2021, leaving subsidiaries like the L.A. venture in legal purgatory. "It was a victim of geopolitical chess," said urban planning expert Elizabeth Moule in a recent interview with the Los Angeles Times. "The towers were structurally sound – no buckling foundations or leaning spires – but the money dried up overnight."

The failure echoes other stalled megaprojects, like the nearby Figueroa Street developments, but Oceanwide's scale – and visibility – amplified its infamy. No lives were lost, no evacuations ordered; it simply froze in time, a concrete ghost amid L.A.'s boom.

From Eyesore to Canvas: The Rise – and Risks – of "Tagger Towers"

What began as a forgotten construction zone transformed into a global phenomenon in late 2023, when a trio of local taggers – Akua, Sour, and Castle – scaled the tallest tower and spray-painted their monikers across floor-to-ceiling windows, one floor per artist. Word spread via Instagram and TikTok, inviting crews from across the U.S. and beyond. By January 2024, at least 27 floors of one tower – and swaths of the others – were blanketed in multicolored tags, murals, and stencils, visible from the Grammys red carpet across the street. "It was like a gift from the graffiti gods," one anonymous artist told CNN, describing the site's "lax security" as an open invitation.

The spectacle escalated: BASE jumpers parachuted from upper ledges, capturing vertigo-inducing videos that racked up millions of views. Out-of-state taggers flocked to L.A., turning the plaza into a de facto "Art Basel of vandalism," as one photographer quipped to KTLA. LAPD responded with round-the-clock patrols, logging over 3,000 officer hours and 18 arrests by February 2024 for trespassing and vandalism. Yet, the allure persisted; as one tagger shrugged post-arrest, "We're just moving spots, hitting different walls."

City leaders, however, saw less art and more liability. In February 2024, the L.A. City Council mandated Oceanwide Holdings to clean the towers by February 17, citing public safety risks from falling debris and unstable climbers. Non-compliance loomed, but partial cleanups occurred sporadically. By March 2025, ABC7 investigations revealed the graffiti largely intact, with taggers undeterred despite 23 criminal charges filed by the City Attorney. "It's an embarrassment," fumed Los Angeles Urban Policy Roundtable President Earl Ofari Hutchinson, calling for a mayoral disaster declaration to fund abatement.

Current Status: Stalled Revival Amid Ongoing Vandalism

As of November 2025, the towers remain unfinished and unrestored, a persistent thorn in Mayor Karen Bass's side. Oceanwide Holdings, still entangled in bankruptcy proceedings, has floated partial sales – including a rumored $300 million bid from a U.S. consortium in mid-2025 – but no deal has closed. The city has ramped up fencing and surveillance, but vandalism continues, with fresh tags spotted as recently as October. Business leaders report a 300% spike in downtown graffiti, blaming the towers' visibility for inspiring copycats.

Advocates like the Historic Core of Downtown push for demolition or repurposing into affordable housing, while developers eye it as prime real estate. "It's structurally viable – just waiting for the right investor," said a city planning official anonymously. For now, "Tagger Towers" endures as L.A.'s most colorful cautionary tale: a reminder that in the City of Angels, even failed fortunes can inspire a masterpiece – or a mess.