KFA to Convert 1970s Brutalist Sunkist Office in LA into 95 Apartments

Architecture studio KFA has unveiled plans to transform a 1970s brutalist office building in Los Angeles into 95 apartments. The building, designed by AC Martin & Associates as the corporate headquarters for Sunkist Growers, has been vacant since 2015. It is owned by IMT Residential, which acquired it in 2013. The conversion will utilize the city's recently updated Adaptive Reuse Ordinance (ARO), which expands eligibility beyond downtown and grants zoning exemptions. The building recently achieved Historic-Cultural Monument status from the City of Los Angeles. KFA was selected partly due to its role in advancing LA's first ARO in 1999. The project is part of the larger Citrus Commons masterplan, designed by Johnson Fain, which includes new buildings on the 8.3-acre site. The conversion will feature residential units ranging from studios to three-bedroom apartments, with the smallest at 516 square feet. The design will integrate mezzanines on the podium floor. IMT Residential stated that the project demonstrates how adaptive reuse can preserve iconic architecture while serving future generations. Construction is slated to begin once city approval is secured. Other notable brutalist conversions include Becker + Becker's Hotel Marcel in Connecticut and OFIS Arhitekti's conversion of a Slovenian printworks.