The Ratkovich Co. has already completed first phase of refurbishing the office tower and recently began the second phase of the $34 million renovation, which began in 2005. Final stages of the renovation are nearly complete, with the building scheduled to debut its new look in the second quarter of 2008.

Passenger has signed for an entire floor of 15,000 sf at the office tower, where it plans to double its staff over the next year. It is scheduled to move into the space in April.

Edelman has signed a lease for 30,032 sf to move its Los Angeles office from its current location on the Miracle Mile to 5900 in May. The law firm of Abrams Garfinkel Margolis Bergson and the mid -Wilshire office of Keller Williams Realty have both committed to 6,500 sf of space, and Luxottica Group has signed for 4,143 sf.

The revitalization of the 5900 office tower, which is across from the L.A. County Museum of Art, will include a new lobby opening onto Wilshire Boulevard that will be designed by Johnson Fain. The goal in this next phase of the renovation is "to create a more natural connection between what's going on in and outside the building," according to comments by the Ratkovich Co.'s Wayne Ratkovich in a previous report on GlobeSt.com.

The transformed building is scheduled to debut in the second quarter of this year with the unveiling of the completed lobby. In addition to the extensive work under way on the existing 5900 Wilshire tower, construction is expected to start in late 2008 on a new pavilion and café designed by architect Greg Lynn.

The Ratkovich Co. and Prudential Real Estate Investors acquired the 5900 Wilshire Building for approximately $102.5 million in December 2005. The 30-story office tower, along with its two, two-story satellite buildings, comprises just under 500,000 sf of office and retail.

The 5900 building, the tallest office building along the Miracle Mile, was designed by architect William Pereira as a companion to and across the street from the L.A. County Museum of Art. It was built in 1971 for Mutual Benefit Life by the Shorenstein Co. of San Francisco and was renovated in 1993.