BuzzFeed is lining up a 1913 former Ford factory in Los Angeles as its West Coast base, according to the Wall Street Journal.

The viral site is in talks with building owner Shorenstein Properties to lease all of the five-storey, 250,000 sq ft structure – originally designed by architects Parkinson & Bergstrom.

‘Character-defining features include expansive floor plates, mushroom-cap columns, factory-style windows and skylights, and a rooftop water tower,’ Shorenstein Properties describes the property.

‘While preserving the authentic character of its early 20th-century architecture, the former Ford Motor Company facility is ideal for today’s creative and knowledge sharing companies.’

The listed building was used to assemble Ford Model Ts between 1913 and 1929, before later becoming a toy factory.

Shorenstein Properties has been working on the adaptive reuse of the structure – masterminded by Rockefeller Partners Architects – into offices and shops since 2014. Plans include exposing the factory’s original brick exterior and retaining its rooftop water tower.

Landscape designers Meléndrez have been tasked with creating the site’s outdoor communal space, which will feature basketball courts.

If the deal goes ahead, BuzzFeed will have one of the biggest office spaces in the city among tech and media companies, surpassing the size of Snapchat and Amazon’s LA bases.