Chris Martin, the architect and project manager for the 70-story redevelopment of the Wilshire Grand, acknowledges that “People like explosions,” but that’s not the way the old 15-story (asbestos-packed) Wilshire Grand is going out.
Rather, the hotel will be mostly covered up while crews carry out a three-stage deconstruction: soft demo is already underway, with the removal of interior walls and utilities; next up, heavy machinery and cranes will come in to take apart the floors (starting at the top); and then in the spring, excavation begins on the old foundation. The crew expects to start pouring a foundation for the new tower at the end of 2013.
