state funds boost civic park budget
Financial resources dedicated to revamp the four-block civic space between the Music Center and City Hall continue to build.
In a unanimous vote today, the State Assembly authorized the disbursement of another $150 million in Proposition 1C funds, $26.4 million of which will be applied towards Downtown’s Civic Park project. The allocation will be finalized once Governor Schwarzenegger signs the bill tomorrow or Friday.
“With these new funds, the park will have approximately $82 million in the bank when construction is ready to start next summer,” noted Supervisor Gloria Molina of the Grand Avenue Authority in a press release issued this afternoon.
That total includes $970,000 from State Proposition 40 funds and interest earned on Related Co.’s $50 million contribution, who is developing the public park as part of the larger Grand Avenue Project expected to break ground in February 2009.
Officials maintain the completion of the 16-acre Civic Park is mandatory before Related can receive Certificates of Occupancy for The Grand - phase one of the massive $3 billion development.
-Report: Last Night’s Grand Avenue Civic Park Meeting (Curbed LA)
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11 comments
Oh God! It’s so awful- where’s the green? I know, you want to conserve water by applying CONCRETE! Concrete doesn’t need water, does it- but the poor people plodding across the acres of concrete will! Can I design a better version, Hell Yes! It would also include the sorely missed opportunity of replacing the County structures and erecting them at the northeast and southeast corners of the immediate vicinity. Grass and trees on the perimeter- THAT’S IT! Stupid , stupid designers. Oh well, at least you’ll save on water. Wasted money, though…
Oh, those aren’t renderings - they’re just models using cardboard as placeholders. The park will be very, very green and the designs will change as it is refined.
Good. What would be even better is if they tore down the County Admin and County courthouse buildings. Those two are hideous.
I don’t believe there is anybody from the designers, to city officials, to city dwellers that doesn’t believe tearing down the county buildings will greatly enhance the park on so many levels. It’s completely a budget matter that doesn’t have an easy fix. Same goes for the streets that cross through the park. I actually believe the two lower levels work really well as two different areas that will easily transform into one rally/concert space.
The developer has said the park is being designed in such a way that if and when those buildings come down, there will be a seamless integration of the new land into the park.
So I have yet to see any proposal that I believe will serve downtowners well, let alone provide $82 million in value. Go back to the drawing board. Simple is better. What’s needed is a place to 1. walk 2. sit. 3. assemble to share entertainment. (This from the Sage of Seventh Street).
My five-year old daughter wants to know if this park will include playground equipment. She is adamant on this point. She refers to the Cornfields as the park without toys. Hopefully, the needs of these downtowners will be addressed.
I would strongly oppose tearing down any county building that is part of the civic center development. These buildings are a perfect snapshot of their time, and should be preserved. Sure, they could use some exterior cleaning, better maintenance, and interior upgrades to suit the times, but tear them down … no way. Los Angeles has a history of tearing down it’s past. That has got to stop.
There is sooooo much undeveloped space in-and-around downtown … plenty in fact to maintain the past and build for the future.
Lazlo, everyone I’ve ever come across on ANY board has stated emphatically that the county buildings need to go. It’s true this city has a habit of tearing down, but these structures are roadblocks that effectively hide the area from the rest of the core- and I don’t consider them architecturally significant. They are HUGE speedbumps in the way of the progress of this idea!
Milque,
Appears your statement is no longer true.
Lazlo, Los Angeles also has a history of bad planning. Leaving these county building would only continue this trend by hemming in a potentially great green space away from view, thereby hindering it’s access. There is a time and place for historic preservation - this is not one of them IMO. I agree with preserving the past as much as the next person, but not when it hinders what could be great progress.
Of course you might be thinking its that type of attitude that led to the destruction of downtown to begin with, however progressive urban planning as defined 50 years ago has proven to be a failure. Civic Leaders thought an auto centric city was the wave of the future, yet time and time again, cities built for people have proven to be timeless. Downtown now has a chance to make up for what I consider 50 years of lost progress. Let’s not stop it now by saving these behemoth structures that prevent a good urban green space from being a potentially great one!
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