LOS ANGELES, CA — Stop the presses, and the bulldozer: The Los Angeles Cultural Heritage Commission Thursday recommended historic-cultural monument status to the downtown Times Mirror Square complex in a move that could alter a developer's plans to demolish a 1970s addition.

The complex was vacated by Los Angeles Times staff over the summer as the newspaper moved its operations to El Segundo. The Times had been located at the complex since 1935, although the paper had been renting its space there since 2016 when its former owner, Tribune Media Co., sold it to Canadian developer Omni Group.

Omni's development plan would preserve the older buildings and bulldoze the 1970s addition, but the commission sided with preservationists and others who have argued the entire complex is worthy of preservation. The commission even added its own recommendation that the '70s portion be preserved for its architectural contributions even though staff had recommended it was only noteworthy for historical reasons. "This is a family enterprise. There are a lot of architects, there are a lot of people involved in it," historic preservation consultant Christy McAvoy told the commission. "It does not deserve to be reduced to parts. Holistically speaking, this is probably one of the most important sites in the history of Los Angeles and one of the most important families, and I would urge you to consider it today as a whole and give both the family, the architects and the people -- the newspaper family, the people who worked there -- their due in presenting Los Angeles' history."

The developers cannot tear down any buildings while the complex's application for monument status is being considered, and a monument recommendation from the commission would have to be approved by a vote of the City Council. The commission also has the power to delay the demolition of a designated property for up to one year while other preservation options are considered.

The Times Mirror application was submitted by a preservationist organization called Esotouric.

The complex consists of five buildings constructed between 1935 and 1973, according to a report by the Department of City Planning:

-- the 1935 eight-story Los Angeles Times Building designed in the art deco/moderne architectural style by Los Angeles architect Gordon B. Kaufmann; -- the four-story Plant Building completed in 1935 that is an original two-story art deco/moderne-style building by Kaufmann, with two one-story additions designed by Los Angeles architect Rowland H. Crawford in 1946 and 1955;