[Damien]

If the push for to remove the buildings is to open access to the park, the same direct relationship is true for the development on the South Side of First Street where the buildings will be located. If it's a blank wall along First Street, even with the removal of the courthouse, there will still create these separate zoned entities that creates much of the seclusion of our urban areas in the first place.

Completely agree. I thought street-facing retail was a major requirement of new developments in almost all rezoned areas. Yet the city's most ambitious development project ever(?) attempts to create a roof-less mall? :gaah:

Security concerns??? Do you think someone would actually rob a 7-11 that is within the Police headquarters when 9/10 cops will be over there on a constant basis getting a cup of coffee or Gatorarde. This would be the safest 7-11 in the country if you ask me.

I think the concern is jihadists not thieves. A pretty legitimate concern actually. I would think any large scale multi-faceted terrorist attack on our city would want to debilitate our emergency response system as best it could. Since the ERS will be located in this building, I argue that its the most important building in the city in the event of a terrorist attack. Putting a 7-11 at it's base makes it easy for a little bastard Osama worshiper to walk in and implode the building.

Well I feel very strongly about this, and I'll tell you why. It's because of all the noise the city made about integrating the neighborhoods together via First Street and the now-doomed Park, all the plans they made, all the money they spent and time they wasted.

When you involve people to that extent, design a master plan for the area, then decide at the last minute that it was all for nothing, it tends to piss people off.

I completely sympathize and agree that the system is royally screwed up. But 1st Street will now feature a much larger, prominent and supported park. A park that begins adjacent to this parcel of land.

[Wright Concept]

I think the concern is jihadists not thieves. A pretty legitimate concern actually. I would think any large scale multi-faceted terrorist attack on our city would want to debilitate our emergency response system as best it could. Since the ERS will be located in this building, I argue that its the most important building in the city in the event of a terrorist attack. Putting a 7-11 at it's base makes it easy for a little bastard Osama worshiper to walk in and implode the building.

That's why there's redunancy in these cases. I'm sure the space in City Hall East will be served for this purpose as well. Just like jet-planes are built with multiple back-up systems, in case one fails. I'm sure the city has those set-up in other locations within Downtown and the Civic Center.

[danny1100]

For those of you that are deeply involved/interested in the shaping and future of downtown, you won't want to miss this one. If this beast gets put in, LA will be one of the only "great" cities in the world without an immediate public park to anchor its community presence.

This Friday morning the Board of Public Works will consider the EIR on the police headquarters. The 5-member board will take public comment before deciding whether or not to recommend that the City Council accept the report--including the traffic, noise and other negative impacts. This is one of the final opportunities to give input on a project that will dramatically change both the Caltrans and St. Vibiana's blocks.

The board report on the EIR is online at
http://eng.lacity.org/dpw/ebreports/(click on the April 7 agenda, scroll to the police HQ agenda item (#3) and
click on the blue type to see the document)

Board of Public Works
Friday, April 7
9:30 am
City Hall, Room 350
200 N. Spring St., LA


Be there to support and educate yourself about the issue. Bring as many people as you can, interested parties, friends, loved ones. With so much revitalization happening, the people are the ones that have to inject a sense of community. Unfortunately, so far the city has missed this point.

To learn more please visit www.lacivicpark.org

[colemonkee]

That's why there's redunancy in these cases. I'm sure the space in City Hall East will be served for this purpose as well. Just like jet-planes are built with multiple back-up systems, in case one fails. I'm sure the city has those set-up in other locations within Downtown and the Civic Center.

Redundencies are there in case of an emergency, but the City Council isn't going to create a system that invites or enables that emergency in the first place. I've been to several meetings on the HQ building. They're not setting the building back a minumum of 75 feet from the sidewalk on all sides (150 feet along 2nd) as gesture to the community. They're doing it for "security" concerns, specifically security against a terrorist attack. Because of this perceived (or real, depending on your level of belief) threat, there will never be ground floor retail in the HQ building. I know it sounds a bit unreasonable, but that's the thinking that has occurred thus far with this development, and there is little chance that will change.

[Steve2726]

From the L.A. Times:
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-lapd29jun29,1,6143068.story?coll=la-headlines-california

Only 1 Firm Bids to Build New LAPD Headquarters
Only one firm submits a bid to build the police headquarters and the price is over budget.
By Patrick McGreevy, Times Staff Writer
June 29, 2006

Fresh concerns were raised Wednesday about construction of a new Los Angeles Police Department headquarters after the project drew only one bid, from a builder with a controversial record. And the price was $43 million higher than the city's $200 million estimated cost.

The bid was from Sylmar-based Tutor-Saliba, which has had the quality and cost of its work challenged on other government projects.

Some city officials questioned whether to seek new bids, which could delay by months a project already behind schedule.

"It's something that has to be considered," said Councilman Jack Weiss regarding new bidding. "This is the second-largest city in the nation and this is a signature building that we want to be proud of in 20 to 30 years. You want to get it right."

The bid process, in which 400 firms were invited to participate, was scheduled to take two months, but was extended by a month to accommodate design changes. The budget, including design and project management, is $340 million. The 11-story, 500,000-square-foot police building is to be built at 1st and Spring streets, across from City Hall, a site some residents wanted for a park.

Company owner Ronald Tutor defended the bid and his firm Wednesday.

"We've had a 40-year track record that is very good," he said.

In speculating why there was only one bid, Tutor blamed government agencies other than the city of Los Angeles for making it hard on construction contractors, micromanaging the work and holding up payments.

As for the higher-than-expected cost, "material costs have risen dramatically in recent years," Tutor said.

[citywatch]

Costs of New LAPD Headquarters Grow Again

The City Council will be asked to approve a new budget of close to $400 million. Some parts of the project will be scaled back.

By Patrick McGreevy, Times Staff Writer
September 14, 2006

Two Los Angeles city managers have recommended the City Council again increase the budget for the new police headquarters complex but also scale back the project, at least temporarily, to contain costs. City Administrative Officer William T. Fujioka and Chief Legislative Analyst Gerry F. Miller called for bumping to $396.8 million the budget for the project, which was approved two years ago at $302.7 million. They also outlined several other measures to rein in costs.

Their recommendations are expected to be closely scrutinized by members of the City Council, who must decide whether to approve the new budget. Councilman Jack Weiss said "caution is called for," but that the city desperately needs a new police headquarters, and delaying the project, rather than taking the advice of the managers, would probably add to its cost. "I am concerned that any failure to proceed will result in more costs down the line," said Weiss, chairman of the council's Public Safety Committee.

The project includes an 11-story, 500,000-square-foot police headquarters building to be constructed at 1st and Spring streets, south of City Hall, as well as a new Motor Transport Division facility, an LAPD employee parking garage and a public parking structure.

In March, the City Council boosted the budget to $340.9 million, citing higher than expected costs. But Miller and Fujioka, in a council memo made public Wednesday, said that amount still would not be enough. One problem: Only one bid was submitted for the headquarters portion of the project, and it came it at $243.7 million, or $43.7 million over what that city engineer had estimated the project would cost.

Since then, the city engineer has negotiated with bidder Tutor-Saliba Corp. to reduce the cost to $231.3 million, in part by eliminating work by the firm to widen Temple Street and provide metal lockers, trashcans, benches and planters. The city managers said Tutor-Saliba proposed the widening and furnishings for $3.7 million, but the city engineer said the work can be provided by another contractor for $1.47 million. Meanwhile, the price tag of the overall project continues to grow because of higher than expected design, land acquisition, materials and debt costs, city officials said.

The city engineer did not recommend re-bidding the project, because doing so usually results in higher bids or no bids at all, according to Fujioka and Miller. As a result, the mayor's office joined Fujioka and Miller in recommending that the city proceed only with the headquarters building, putting on hold for now the two parking structures and the Motor Transport Division facility until all the needed land can be acquired. They would like to have the landscaping and other aspects of the remaining project redesigned.

The latest budget increase is not likely to be the last one, the two administrators warned. The $55 million allocated for the parking structures and motor facility probably will not be enough as costs for materials rise.

[Wright Concept]

^ Folks might get a park by default since the costs of the LAPD building go up. They'd have better luck building something in Skid Row to back up the existing facility.

[colemonkee]

They would like to have the landscaping and other aspects of the remaining project redesigned.
Fuck that. Part of the "negotiations" with the neighboring residents was to make this thing more pedestrian friendly by landscaping the areas along 2nd Street and Spring Street where the building is set back from the street. If they create concrete "plazas" there, Jan Perry is going to hear it from a lot of people.

They also promised a street level cafe on Main Street, which will probably be scaled down or eliminated. I know construction costs are rising, but the city can't bait and switch it's residents like this. If Jan Perry wants a continuing political career, she better make sure the city delivers on its promises here.

[BrighamYen]

^ I think you and your building (and everyone else in Downtown, including myself) should really address this issue before the plans are set in concrete. I am astounded that they would "scale down" the project in the areas that will matter the most to the neighborhood. They had better include those pedestrian improvements. Instead of squandering more $$$ by widening 2nd St., they should use that to pay for the Main St. cafe, etc.

[Wright Concept]

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/los_angeles_metro/la-me-cophouse19sep19,1,5676739.story?coll=la-commun-los_angeles_metro

Budget for New LAPD Headquarters Jumps Sharply
A City Council panel reluctantly agrees to a $396.8-million price tag on a project originally proposed to cost $302.7 million.
By Patrick McGreevy
Times Staff Writer

September 19, 2006

A City Council panel reluctantly agreed Monday to significantly increase the budget for a new Los Angeles Police Department headquarters complex amid warnings that the cost of the project is expected to jump much more before it is done.

Originally proposed to cost $302.7 million and later increased to $340 million, the police complex's budget was boosted Monday by the council's Budget and Finance Committee to $396.8 million even as project managers warned that the final price tag probably would be close to $420 million.

The five council members on the panel asked city staff to make sure that costs are held in check. "How do you assure us" that the $420 million "is a cap and ain't going to bust it out" by another $50 million to $100 million? asked Councilman Bill Rosendahl.

City Administrative Officer Bill Fujioka assured the panel that he and the mayor's office would provide "strong oversight" on the construction project to keep costs from increasing. "It will have a huge spotlight on it," Fujioka told the panel.

The 11-story police headquarters is proposed for a downtown property bounded by 1st, Main, 2nd and Spring streets. The project includes a new Motor Transport Division facility, a parking garage for police workers and a public parking structure to be built a block away.

One reason for the budget increase is that the headquarters portion drew only one bidder, and the price tag was $43 million more than budgeted. That cost has been negotiated down some; city officials agreed to forgo specially made glazed windows in favor of off-the-shelf models and to reduce the speed of the elevators, but the building will still cost about $31 million more than expected. "It is surprising we only got one bid and very disappointing," Fujioka said.

He said the Los Angeles school district, community college district and other local government entities have billions of dollars of construction bonds to spend, offering contractors so much work that they can pick and choose where to bid.

The approval of the larger budget paves the way for the Public Works Board and City Council to vote in the next week to accept the one bid, from Tutor-Saliba, rather than seek other competitive offers. Chief Legislative Analyst Gerry Miller said rebidding the project was not likely to improve the bid, and could result in higher costs. Other factors involved in the larger budget include higher construction, design, debt and land acquisition costs, officials said.

The council panel agreed to postpone work on the motor yard and parking garages until land acquisition is completed, electing to go ahead for now with just the headquarters building. The additional $25 million in costs predicted for the future include escalating expenses for the supporting facilities.

Council members also raised questions about using TutorSaliba, given that it has had disputes with other government agencies in the past. "We know there are some concerns with the contractor," Fujioka said, adding that is another reason to have strong oversight of the project.

*

[BrighamYen]

^ HMM, specially glazed windows? How will installing generic versions affect the design of the entire project? And more importantly, I want to know if the pocket park will still be included in its "full" scale. What about the cafe? Even though I remain wary, I do think they will include those features since there was such a HUGE brouhaha involving this project's replacement of the planned city park.

[ReDSPork02]

Pact to Build L.A. Police Facility Approved
Panel OKs the $231.3-million contract with Tutor-Saliba despite concerns about cost and few minority subcontractors.
By Patrick McGreevy, Times Staff Writer
September 28, 2006

The Los Angeles Public Works Board approved a $231.3-million contract Wednesday for construction of a police headquarters, despite complaints that the cost was far above budget and that the winning bidder is using few minority and no women subcontractors.

The board was left with little choice, given that Tutor-Saliba Corp. was the only company to bid on the massive project, to be built downtown at 100 W. 1st St.

Before seeking bids, City Engineer Gary Moore estimated that the 11-story project would cost $200 million, but the firm's offer was $243 million.

Moore said his office negotiated the price to $225 million, but then added $6 million for landscaping on the site, across from City Hall.

"It's very important this be a very attractive area around the new police headquarters. There will be a substantial amount of trees," Moore told the board, adding that the building is "very needed."

Board Chairwoman Cynthia Ruiz said the project's higher-than-expected price was not her only concern.

Ruiz and board member Valerie Shaw said they were bothered that Tutor-Saliba was providing only 3.48% of the project to minority subcontractors and that none of the project was going to a woman-owned subcontracting company.

"Obviously the numbers concern me, especially with the women business enterprises at zero participation," Ruiz said. "At a project this size, it's just kind of mind-boggling to me that we have no women businesses participating at all and very low participation by the minority businesses."

Shaw said she would like to see the minority business participation at 10%.

Moore said the city tried to include minority- and women- owned businesses, sending notices to 600 subcontractors, and said Tutor-Saliba received a high score on its bid for making a good-faith effort.

Jack Frost, a senior vice president for the bidder, told the board that his firm tried to get more involvement, but speculated that such subcontractors were busy with other projects.

"I don't believe the percentage is an indicator of effort on the bid," he said. "I think it's an indicator more of how much work is going on in the city. There is a tremendous amount of work going on."

That didn't wash with John W. Murray Jr., a former board member now on the Metropolitan Water District board.

Murray said Tutor-Saliba should have recruited and worked more with minority-and women-owned firms years ago.

"Tutor-Saliba has been in this business and feeding at the public trough for decades," Murray told the board. "It's not about outreach. What it's about is Tutor-Saliba could have identified and home-grown minority contractors … years ago."

Murray also predicted that any future changes in the project probably would drive the cost up.

[danny1100]

Glad to see that posts are still popping up about the park, or police headquarters I should say ... so it looks like they're really going ahead with this. I hate to see that block turned into anything other than a huge beautiful park but let's just hope that they don't "scale down" the pedestrian zones. It is a shame how disconnected the neighborhood and residents are with the city's decision making. From the looks of things, it seems like the new building is going to be a triangular version of the existing parker center. What's worse, is that they plan on tearing down the existing parker center only to build another government office building. They should have torn down parker center, resituated the staff in another building temporarily and built the damn headquarters at the same location. Does anyone have updates or info about the semi-park stretch on 2nd or the cafeteria plans at this point in the development?
D -

[colemonkee]

^ As far as we know, the pedestrian "green space" along 2nd Street and the cafe are still part of the plan.

[colemonkee]

There were notices posted in my building by Tutor-Saliba stating that they had been given the go-ahead to start construction on the LAPD Headquarters Building. Construction will start Nov. 13th and go through April 2009. That's almost 2 1/2 years to build a 11-story building. Government work at it's finest!!

Since I live right there, expect regular photo updates.

[Wright Concept]

^ That's nothing it took 4 1/2 years to build a one-story campus center for IIT in Chicago. BTW IIT is a private university.

[danny1100]

Cole,

What are the rules in terms of construction times ... I recall from the demo that there were start and finish times required by law. Any idea, I'm guessing 7am to 6pm? Hopefully not earlier or later than that.

Danny -

There were notices posted in my building by Tutor-Saliba stating that they had been given the go-ahead to start construction on the LAPD Headquarters Building. Construction will start Nov. 13th and go through April 2009. That's almost 2 1/2 years to build a 11-story building. Government work at it's finest!!

Since I live right there, expect regular photo updates.

[colemonkee]

They posted times on the notice, if I remember correctly. I'll have to check.

[Steve2726]

Here is a good editorial from Los Angeles Magazine talking about this project:

http://www.lamag.com/ME2/dirmod.asp?sid=14D5B253DB1D499F9AD38F459D8E926A&nm=&type=Publishing&mod=Publications%3A%3AArticle&mid=8F3A7027421841978F18BE895F87F791&tier=4&id=766EC81073F548899CFFA3E39B4EA4B2


Issue Date: December 2006

The New Cop On the Block
How a promised park became the LAPD headquarters
By Greg Goldin

Right about now, one of downtown’s innumerable, typically enervating blank spots is the kind of empty canvas city planners dream about. The entire block bounded by 1st and 2nd streets and Main and Spring has been leveled into a dirt field that impresses the eye with a sense of freewheeling possibility. It’s the sort of vision you can perceive in one of those 1920s postcards of Los Angeles. Across from one side of the lot is City Hall, A.C. Martin’s husky, pyramid-capped tower, the recent restoration demonstrating the power of a building to embody the faith we have in civic affairs. The art deco facade of the Los Angeles Times is, for the first time in decades, on full display, its formidable bulk a reminder that the paper once ruled the city. As the sun dips onto the horizon, Thom Mayne’s pewter Caltrans shimmers, its clamorous exterior bittersweet evidence of Los Angeles’s unsteady ranking among the world’s great cities. And the Higgins Building, a loft conversion of a ten-story 1910 office building, signals the residential resurgence that might make downtown downtown again. The block-square void, in short, brings into focus the actual crossroads of Los Angeles, the meeting of 1st and Main streets.

Click on the link above to read the rest of the article.