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Earlier this week, LA City Controller Laura Chick released an audit faulting the City’s Bureau of Engineering (BOE) for soaring construction costs related to the Los Angeles Police Department’s new headquarters underway on the corner of 1st and Spring.

This publicly-funded project has become one of the most expensive and visible projects the City has undertaken in recent years. When first budgeted in June 2004, the 500,000 square foot, ten-story building was priced out at $303 million, with a projected completion date of March 2009.

Project costs have now soared to $437 million, while the finish date for the main structure has been bumped back to May 2009. The audit also points out there is a 2008 budget request for an additional $16 million in General Fund dollars— not included in the $437 million budget— to purchase furniture, appliances and other equipment for the center.

The development has been plagued by various problems contributing to the budget hikes, including land acquisition issues, construction cost escalation, local construction market conditions and changes to the overall project scope.

“As I have found in several other audits, the City must do a much better job at the front end of the negotiation process,” Chick stated.

Included in the audit are a series of recommendations for getting the project back on budget. A spokesperson for the Board of Public Works (which oversees the BOE) said the department is reviewing the report and implementing her recommendations.