Spring Arts Tower

I was interested in renting at this building as it seemed cheaper than other ones in the neighborhood. Friends have had bad experiences at this building (withheld deposits, equipment being stolen) but I wanted to try it out anyway because it was so cheap. I found the right space and proceeded with paperwork, until — after some weeks of negotiation, and agreement, I found the management had been intentionally lying about the square footage of the office. In other words, they have lower rates per sq.ft. but they DRASTICALLY increase the actual size of each office. I was about to pay almost twice what I should have! The management’s reaction to this was to insist on the higher rent and jack up the rates more. Since this I met another person they tried this scam on. They wasted 3 weeks of my life fumbling, pretending it didn’t happen and insisting on their lies. LuLu, the manager, was spectacularly unprofessional. I recommend looking elsewhere!

The company I work for has been in the building since before DTLA was cool
(is it cool now? It’s cool now, right?) I’ve only been here for a couple of
years, but the company moved into the building in 2005. We moved to a bigger
office space a couple of years ago and the building was great about working
with us to build the best place for our team.
Almost everyone falls in the art/​production/​post production/​design pool, so
the creative vibe in the building is pretty great, too. Here are my general
pros and cons.
Pros:
— Sweet old building
— Location (close to transit, restaurants, bars, Art Walk, etc.)
— Common area on the 3^rd floor
— Green screen on the 2^nd floor
— Café Nine on the 9^th floor (recommended for emergencies only, though)
— Great shooting spaces that can be rented
— Nice management
— A team of handymen on payroll (we don’t have to wait forever to get
something fixed)
Cons:
— Old building means that the hots are HOT and colds are COLD. Heaters/​ACs
are provided, and they help, but be forewarned that going to the restroom
feels like peeing in the Alaskan backcountry.
— Fighting the connotation that downtown is badtown from less-​educated folk
— Probable earthquake death
All in all, we love the folks at the Spring Arts Tower. We’ll probably be
around for a while.

After hearing great things about the Spring Arts Tower, I decided to move my office into the building and couldn’t be happier! Great location. Super friendly managers. Delicious food at Café 9. Creative environment. You gotta check it out :)

I have been a tenant in the Spring Arts Tower for over two years. It is a classic downtown bank building, lots of marble and dark wood trim. I have a good working relationship with building management and would ignore any reviews that focus on a single person there. This is a clean, well-​managed building in the heart of Gallery Row which offers a variety of studios/​offices to creative folks — photography, fashion, art, video, music — it’s a good central location and I’m glad to be there.

The management at this building is horrible.
The current manager is ANDREA WAND. Don’t be fooled with her kindness at first. She is very unprofessional, rude, and is not personable at all. She doesn’t even give eye contact when she speaks to you. She looks above your head and speaks to you like you are her 7 year old child.
There have been over a dozen complaint letters written about her unprofessionalism but none of these constant issues have been addressed so needless to say, many tenants have moved out because of her.
Anyone who is a photographer should think twice before moving into this building because she will make your life a living hell.
If you think I’m lying. Ask the people who work there. They’ll tell you.

Usually people scoff at the idea that Downtown L.A. isn’t much of a city and that it doesn’t hold the same caliber of architecture as other cities. I say those people are utterly out of their mind.
Th Spring Arts tower just disproves that all in itself. The way it was constructed, the beautiful windows. there’s a reason why this place is always showing up in films. I’ve worked on location shoots here at least four times this past year alone.
This one time home of the Citizens National bank and then the Crocker bank is just as it was in the beginning with its Art Deco designs and beautiful Batcheldor tile. The wood alone used in this place is just a thing of beauty.
This building is really a sight to be seen and should be included in any walking tour of the beautiful things found in Downtown Los Angeles. The vaults alone, while I’ve only been around 3 of the 10, are something to be seen. Utterly amazing and awe inspiring.

Formerly the Crocker Bank [before it merged with Wells Fargo], I love the vaults! I didn’t see a bar in the basement. i was here for the Calarts MFA closing party. I walked around trying to imagine it as a downtown loft like in (500) Days of Summer. It was wired for track lighting.
The interior has great crown moulding, nice windows, and was featured as a house in the commercial that inspired The Carpenters’ hit «We’ve Only Just Begun». The original architects designed City Hall, the Pentagon, and Union Station. The side facing the alley has fire escapes. There is $ 3 – 8 lot parking within walking distance. This is located in Gallery Row near Pershing Square and the Fashion District.

Spring Arts Tower is a special office building. It’s filled with awesome tenants (including myself) and has a really cool friendly vibe to it. They are also opening a bar in the basement in an old bank vault which I’m looking forward to. I’m not sure what’s available right now, but when looking for and office downtown LA you’d be insane not to try the Spring Arts Tower.