Historic Herald-Examiner building to become offices. (Up Front).

THIRTEEN years after Hearst Corp. folded the Los Angeles Herald-Examiner, the newspaper's historic downtown building will be converted into creative office space to capitalize on the development resurgence in and around nearby Staples Center.

Sunical Land, the San Francisco-based real estate division of Hearst that owns the building at 11th Street and Broadway, has selected Los Angeles-based Urban Partners LLC, headed by Ira Yellin, Dan Rosenfeld and Paul Keller, to develop and market the 90-year-old structure. The space may be available as early as late 2003.

The ornate Mission Revival-style building, is considered an architectural gem, became a popular movie location after the newspaper shut down in 1989. Several areas inside the old newspaper building were converted to mini studios that have been home to more than 400 productions, including TV shows "X Files" and "Angel?'

"The Hearst Corp. sensed there is a resurgence in the south side of Los Angeles, and the Staples Center is the dominant change that has occurred," said Rosenfeld. A retail/entertainment complex is being planned next to Staples, as is a hotel.

Officials from Sunical Land did not return phone calls.

Search for uses

Urban Partners considered converting the building into artist live/work lofts, but found that the 150,000-square-foot structure worked better for creative office space.

Already, architectural firms and art institutions are looking at the building, where up to four or five tenants could be housed. "An architect's office is a natural because just about every major architectural firm has moved downtown," Rosenfeld said.

The building first housed William Randolph Hearst's Los Angeles Examiner, which was started in 1903. The Examiner later merged with the Los Angeles Herald.

The main building was designed by California architect Julia Morgan, who went on to design legendary San Simeon Castle, a Hearst retreat, and the Hearst building in San Francisco.

The exterior is distinguished by two mosaic tile towers. The front lobby is a palatial room adorned with ornate marble walls and intricately carved wooden ceilings. An adjacent press building was completed in 1949.

"Right now it's a little eerie going in there. There are old desks and old computers. But with a little imagination, you can envision what it can become' said Yellin, who bought and restored the historic Bradbury Building, the Grand Central Market and the Million Dollar Theater, all on Broadway downtown.

The second-floor newsroom now doubles as a police station set. A police line-up room is in another area. An East Coast-style bar that resembles the "Cheers" set is located on the first floor.

Hollywood Locations, which manages filming at several other commercial sites, set up its headquarters inside the old newspaper building in 1989. While the company still maintains some offices there, it moved its headquarters last year to the downtown Los Angeles Center Studios.

The complex is on the list of Los Angeles historic buildings, a designation determined by the city's Cultural Affairs Department. As such, the developers must have their plans reviewed by the Cultural Heritage Commission.

Urban Partners will do some seismic retrofitting by installing sheer walls in some areas. But the building is well built, Rosenfeld said, and Hearst has had maintenance people at the site since the newspaper closed.