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Thanks to fridayinla via flickr, we see that the State Office Building at First and Broadway in the Civic Center is being demolished level by level and should be completely demolished within a couple weeks at most.

The above artist’s rendering of the project as it was proposed in 1956 is a lot different than what we actually got, and that’s not saying much. For years this building has sat empty and underused, its loading bays used as a restroom for the homeless and a home for pigeons.

Though the demolition shows that there’s some progress on this site, the fate of the new federal courthouse replacement project is up in the air.

From the Downtown News’s quarterly development update:

Bidding has been postponed for the second phase of a 1 million-square-foot courthouse at First Street and Broadway in the Civic Center. Designs to hold 41 courtrooms, 40 judges’ chambers and office space for federal agencies on the 3.6-acre site that was purchased from the state of California for $2.5 million will be changed. General Services Administration Regional Public Affairs Officer Gene Gibson said budget constraints have forced the court to explore alternatives, including asking Congress for more funds, after bids came in well over estimates. The project, next to City Hall, originally budgeted at $314 million, will need to be repackaged, Gibson said.

What we seem to be stuck with now is an empty lot in the Civic Center that may or may not be the site of a much-needed new federal courthouse for Los Angeles. My question is: What happens between the completion of demolition and the beginning of construction, if that ever happens? Are we stuck with an empty lot surrounded by a chain-link fence, or will the site be paved over and leased out to a parking operator temporarily?

Also, as I pass by the site every day on my way home from work, it’s been interesting to see the huge amounts of steel rebar and concrete the demolition has piled up. I wonder if that’s being recycled.

Check out these related posts:

1. junipero serra state office building not quite finished
2. demolition of the state building complete
3. a ‘hole’ lot of nothing: civic center project’s price tag rises
4. state funds boost civic park budget