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L..A. The county is planning to pay more to upgrade the gas company tower than to buy the downtown skyscraper in the first place.
County officials agreed to pay $200 million last November for the 52-storey tower.
Estimated tag for rooting towers: over $230 million. County Chief Executive spokesman Renee Ragwar said the tower was already safe and the upgrade was “active.”
County officials said improvements to the tower may be necessary, but the costs and scope so far have been vague.
This week, the county received a final proposal from a company seeking to secure a “voluntary earthquake upgrade” contract with Gas Company Tower, located at 555 W. 5th Street.
The CEO who negotiated the purchase stressed in a statement that seismic activity is expected and much cheaper than the estimated $1 billion it would cost to remodel the county’s current downtown headquarters, the Kenneth Hahn Hall of Fame.
The Gas Company Tower “does not require seismic activity to provide safe and up-to-date workplaces for county employees. The county will choose to take this task proactively with an eye on the future, ensuring that the building functions best decades ahead,” Laguaire said. “The cost of this work, combined with the costs of the building, is only a small portion of the cost of becoming an administrator to improve urgent earthquakes and life safety.”
The $200 million sale was considered a bargain compared to the valuation of a $600 million building several years ago. This is a symptom of downtown office values.
Director Janice Hahn, the only board member who opposed the purchase, said Friday that county officials should not take part in real estate transactions before “having all the facts” about the costs.
“It turns out to be a bigger boodoggle than originally sold in the public,” Hearn said. “We believe it would be better to remodel the historic management hall of fame and maintain the centre of the county government at the civic centre.”
At the time of sale, Hearn claimed the purchase was a fatal blow to downtown Civic Heart and would abolish the Kenneth Haaren Hall of Fame. The building is named after his father, who served a record ten terms as a supervisor.
The Management Hall of Fame is one of several county-owned property considered vulnerable in earthquakes. The gas company’s tower, built in 1991, was considered much safer, but it was unclear if the county would have a complete earthquake.
The tower is one of many LA high-rise buildings that incorporate “steel moment frames” as part of its structure. The 1994 Northridge earthquake did not collapse the framed buildings, but some were severely damaged.
Following the request for the $234.5 million project proposal, most of the earthquake strengthening at Gas Company Tower will include “strengthening the connections of welded steel moment frames.”
According to the bid documents, the contract will be awarded in October and the tower may be occupied during construction. County officials said they are beginning to move employees to the tower.
Times staff writers Roger Vincent and Longgonlin II contributed to this report.
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