Neighbors Of Downtown L.A.'s Wilshire Grand Tower Complain Of Being Blinded By Glare From Glass

LOS ANGELES (CBSLA.com) — The Wilshire Grand now under construction is being touted as the tallest building on the West Coast. It is 73 stories tall and covered in glass, which is the subject of complaints from neighbors.

Pat Frias works across the street in the EYP Realty building at 725 S. Figueroa St. in Downtown Los Angeles.

"When the sun is going down, it hits the glass, and we get all the glare in the north side of the building. It's really, really bad," Frias said. "They've tried moving computers around or facing their back toward the building, the glare, and it's not helping."

The building's owners recently filed a protest with the city, claiming the glass is causing a dramatic glare that is annoying and dangerous.

They want the developer to remove all of the glass covering the $1.2 billion tower.

A spokesperson said the developer of the Wilshire Grand has gone above and beyond to minimize the impact of the glass and even hired a consultant to identify any potential problems.

The spokesperson released this statement: "The glass installed on the Wilshire Grand is the same type of high-performance glass used in thousands of modern buildings all over the world, including the World Trade Center in New York City and the Comcast Center in Philadelphia. To date, we have been unable to determine any specific impacts and have received no other complaints."

"I think you can put the blinds down. And if there is a glare, it's not too intense where you can't do your work. Once the sun moves, and you're OK," said Dwight Elmore, who also works in the building across the street.

So far, the city is siding with the Wilshire Grand, and neighbors plan to appeal.