Tom Gilmore
© Sister Cities of Los Angeles
Tom Gilmore is a downtown Los Angeles-based developer of residential and commercial properties whose early projects in the city's historic core led to the largest resurgence of real estate investment and development the city has experienced in nearly a century.
Gilmore began his career by building a small architectural firm in New York and eventually relocated to Los Angeles, leading to his partnership with Jerri Perrone. In 1998, Gilmore and Perrone formed an independent development firm, Gilmore Associates, to embark upon the redevelopment of the Historic Core of Downtown Los Angeles.
His vision for Downtown Los Angeles as a thriving, self-sustaining urban community led him to purchase four abandoned historic buildings: the Continental, the Hellman, the San Fernando, and the Farmers and Merchants National Bank—all of which are located in Downtown Los Angeles and collectively renamed by Gilmore and Perrone as the “Old Bank District.” Gilmore was the first developer to utilize the newly minted Adaptive Reuse Ordinance of 1999, which enabled him to convert historic commercial buildings into mixed- use residences, ultimately catalyzing the widespread redevelopment and revival of Downtown.
His ingenuity and tenacity has been recognized through major projects he has spearheaded— notably— Vibiana, a development of the former St. Vibiana’s Cathedral as a performing arts center and event facility that also houses the renowned restaurant, Redbird. Gilmore’s most recent ongoing projects include mixed-use redevelopment in Los Angeles' Chinatown and the transformation of the historic spaces within the Hellman Building and the former Farmers and Merchants National Bank into a contemporary museum showcasing Los Angeles based art on S Main St in Downtown, aptly named the Main Museum.
Since Gilmore's first historic building opened to residents in 2000, more than 60,000 new residents now call downtown Los Angeles home and more than $5 billion in residential, business, entertainment and arts projects have been introduced to the city center.
Tom Gilmore's commitment to the civic identity of Los Angeles is evident in his roles as the former Commissioner Chair for the LA Homeless Services Authority, Chairman of Southern California Institute of Architecture (SCI-Arc), Mayoral- appointee as Chairman of Sister Cities of Los Angeles, Executive Committee member of Central City Association, Executive Committee member of Los Angeles Tourism and Convention Bureau, and Board member of Los Angeles Parks Foundation.