Johnson Fine to transform the former Sunkist headquarters

In 2014, the popular Westcoast company, Sunkist Growers, Inc. Headquartered in Sherman Oaks, California, they headed north to make Valencia their new home. Since 1893, Sunkist has been a household name across the United States, known for its fresh, sweet and tangy citrus fruits. In the 1950s, the fruit was popularized as a Christmas dessert, and later in the 1970s and 1980s, the new soft drink range was the star of several commercials promoted by The Beach Boys.

No matter how you join the brand, the historic 8.3-acre campus, formerly known as the Sunkist headquarters, will be transformed into the new Citrus Commons: a mixed-use property, among a new park extending from Riverside Drive to the Los Angeles River. Johnson Fine Architecture and Interior Design Planning is the force behind this major transformation to preserve the original bones of the Sunkist headquarters office building, which will also include new structures on campus.

Concrete and wooden building on a sunny street
Three new buildings will be added to the campus. (Johnson Fine)

Last February, the Los Angeles City Council applauded the new Citrus Commons project because, as Sherman Oaks president Jeffrey Clappen said, “a great example of a developer… [IMT Residential] and the community working together for a very special and exceptional project.” Three new apartment buildings and a new parking garage will surround the pre-existing Brutalist Sunkist headquarters to form the Citrus Commons project. The headquarters was originally designed in 1971 by AC Martin & Partners.

The 126,674 square foot prime office property will be upgraded to a first-class creative work environment. R. Along with the upgraded office building, 249 luxury units will occupy part of the three new residential buildings with 27,000 square feet of community-serving commercial space. Adjacent to the wood and concrete mixed-use buildings, there will be a low-rise parking garage for up to 1,095 cars. Among the project, 165,000 square feet is expected to be woven through the project, which includes open spaces, gardens and a plaza.

Palm trees in a large square surrounded by concrete and wooden buildings
An interstitial landscape will be woven throughout the site. (Johnson Fine)

The three new buildings on Citrus Commons will relate to the already brutalist, heavy design of the former Sunkist headquarters building by incorporating a great deal of concrete and impressive geometric shapes throughout. Johnson Fain also considers the agricultural landscape surrounding the campus, so there will also be touches of timber added to the new structures. To take local connectivity a step further, Johnson Fain has taken inspiration from local barns and farms and will design a new parking garage with shingle cladding. These uneven horizontal strips of timber on the parking garage facade will add an interesting compositional element to the already built-in timber squares visible in the new Citrus Commons buildings.

Glass lounge furnished with seating and trees
Large glass lobby in the former Sunkist residence, brutalist building. (Johnson Fine)

In the middle space of the new and old buildings, there will be a diverse landscape rich in gardens that will provide outdoor gathering spaces along the Sunkist’s historic central atrium. Johnson Fain is taking steps to design Citrus Commons to be as warm and inviting as it can be for local communities. . With these internal and external developments, the new development will fulfill Sunkist’s intimidating motto of “good vibrations”.