Civic Park Work Well Underway
Eric Richardson
[Flickr]
Excavation work is underway on the former parking lot across Spring Street from City Hall.
DOWNTOWN LOS ANGELES — One month after groundbreaking, work on the Civic Park's $56-million renovation is well underway.
Project staff last week told the Grand Avenue Authority that the process was currently centered around removing features of the existing park that will be returned and starting demolition on those that will not.
Approximately 100 tress will be removed, maintained off-site, and then brought back for re-installation in the completed park. Others will be maintained on-site, fenced off from the work going on around them. The park's monuments and statues are also being removed and stored for re-installation.
Excavation work has also begun on the former surface parking between Broadway and Spring Street, where the park will be extended to meet City Hall.
Most importantly, though, access to the park's Starbucks has been preserved for county and court workers during construction. From the Hall of Administration, workers must walk through the underground parking garage to access escalators to ground level.
The park is planned for completion in June of 2012, though phases may open earlier.
Steve Marks on August 27, 2010, at 02:09PM – #1
The new park design looks way better than the concrete jungle that it started out as. the huge, green, grassy field looks especially nice.
Guest on August 27, 2010, at 02:27PM – #2
The idea of having a clear pedestrian friendly pathway from the City Hall to the Music Center is really exciting. The goverment buildings on either side should go away when the economy improves. Replacement buildings could be taller, more energy efficient, and could have a smaller footprint. That way the park could have paseos to the north and south also... I can dream right?
Bert Green (@bgfa) on August 27, 2010, at 04:07PM – #3
I would have preferred to see Broadway and Hill through the park closed and that space incorporated in to the park footprint, and the existing street around the new park made into a one way loop. Traffic and transit would then just go around the park, and not through it. Maybe in some future Phase 2?
Russell Brown on August 27, 2010, at 08:12PM – #4
Remember that there is significnat grade changes as you descend down the hill. In some places the steps actually can be used as viewing area seating.
A large part of the costs were just changing the obtrusive ramps, fight of ways and numerous obstacle course of court yards and memorials. I agree that it would be better to have the streets integrate into the park, but that was out of budget for this phase.
For special events the streets can be closed. The streets can also be integrated with linear landscaping and trees. Maybe even stamped and decorative pavement treatments.
Guest on August 28, 2010, at 02:29PM – #5
Guest #2: some of those buildings were already built as pretty energy-efficient.
Bert: closing off those streets permanently would lead to major traffic problems for the whole district and lead to safety issues for park users. Parks are nice, but when they are so large and isolated from the surrounding urban fabric they tend to amplify public safety issues. The current crossings are signalized, and the streets provide both car- and pedestrian foot-traffic to promote "eyes on the street (park)."
What I would encourage as part of a Phase 2, however, would be a study of wide (NOT small/narrow) pedestrian bridges over the traffic, or a tunneling of auto traffic under the park. Even NYC Central Park has limited thru-access.
Guest on August 28, 2010, at 03:14PM – #6
I'd like to see the public entrance to City Hall moved back to Spring Street. It would be a more fitting front yard for the park rather than the "Go Away!" signs there now. (I know, they don't literally say "Go Away!"...}
Greensmark on August 28, 2010, at 04:16PM – #7
It is super exciting to see the progress one month into the process. And with the Broad Museum days from final approval, it really feels as though we are making headway. I just wish that banks could see their way to freeing up some $$ to get the entire Grand Avenue project started.
Grnsmrk
Guest on August 28, 2010, at 05:21PM – #8
Has the foundation of the old State Building across from the Times been removed?
Now THAT would be progress....
Once upon a time, there was an architectural design competition for that site. I drew in an earthquake fault in the pavement, leading directly towards the City Council Chamber over across Spring.
No, we didn't win; as they always say in L.A., "let's not get real."
Bert Green (@bgfa) on August 28, 2010, at 06:08PM – #9
To guest #5: I disagree. We are only talking about 2 streets: Broadway and Hill. Central Park in NYC is about the size of all of downtown LA. Not a good comparison.
The incessant fear of "major 'traffic problems" is what prevents us from having a livable city.
Tim Quinn on August 29, 2010, at 11:03AM – #10
I think that first pic is the former site of the old state building. The parking structure looks to have been removed. It is not part of the park. I heard this was in the works.
BobbyD on October 21, 2010, at 06:06PM – #11
Walkways were there,east and west, but blocked off by whoever? I had a slight thought that the chain link fencing and other things were done some time ago to make it look bad so a new project had to to be designed.
BobbyD on December 07, 2010, at 07:54PM – #12
53 years ago the Nature Conservancy demanded that they receive a contract in which they would receive $500,000 a year for operating a nature conservancy on the part that was just torn up, them saying they would go to court if they had to get a judge to give them the conservancy of the property. At that time I objected to two attorneys of the Nature Conservancy,with the City of Police of the City of Los Angeles as my witness, saying those trees are my personal property and they may not control them. Considering that I had stopped them cold every time they had gone to court(61 times including Los Angeles Senior High School on Olympic when they tried get $125,000 a year out of the school district)they gave up trying to get money on the then Los Angeles Civic Center property, so $26.5 million has been saved. Now that the trees are taken out I do not have the basis to stop the Nature Conservancy. Considering the dealing the Mayor of Los Angeles has been doing with the Nature Conservancy, I wonder why the Honorable(?) Mayor supported this plan of removing the trees, bearing in mind that putting any or all back in makes the trees of THEIR actions,not mine;so, I cannot stop the Nature Conservamcy in this instance. Something smells.
Jerell Ordonio on January 28, 2011, at 05:49PM – #13
I LOVE IT!!! CANT WAIT TO SEE IT FINISHED!!! =D
BobbyD on April 10, 2011, at 10:23AM – #14
What was the vote on it by the county supervisors? Who for and who against?