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Now that Los Angeles County’s plan to buy the downtown Gas Company Tower office building for $200 million is finalized, a battle has erupted over what to do with the 1960s-vintage headquarters it plans to keep.
Supervisor Janice Hahn and preservationists moved workers into the newly purchased skyscraper on Bunker Hill, named after Mr. Hahn’s father and the centerpiece of the government-centered Civic Center District. – Opposed to the plan to demolish the Hahn Administration Hall.
“I was shocked when I realized what was going on,” she said, adding that she was planning to move the county’s seat of power and thousands of workers and then overthrow the local government. accused county administrators of quietly pushing forward with what they called a secret plan. A prominent public building.
“I thought it was a bit of a secret process. They knew a little bit about what they were doing, but they didn’t reveal it exactly,” she said.
But next summer, county officials plan to begin relocating employees from administrative offices and other county buildings to downtown skyscrapers, a process that could take three to four years to begin. be.
Los Angeles County’s $200 million purchase of a gas company tower in downtown Los Angeles is complete, and county employees will begin moving in next summer.
(Myung Jae-chun/Los Angeles Times)
The county’s preliminary plan calls for demolishing the administrative building but retaining the building where the Board of Supervisors convenes for public meetings. That building is connected to the administration hall, but is a separate building that can stand alone.
Plans to demolish the administrative building have not been finalized, county officials said. Formal planning for the future of the site is expected to begin in early 2025, with a master plan expected to be completed within about a year, after which an environmental review of the plan could continue until 2027. But maintaining the building would pose budgetary challenges. Part of the money used to purchase the gas company tower came from funds earmarked for seismic retrofits and other necessary improvements to government offices and other county buildings.
Hahn cast the only “no” vote on the county’s purchase of the gas company tower last month. When she first learned of the proposal to buy the 52-story building, which was on the verge of foreclosure, she saw it as an opportunity for the county to make a profitable investment in a depressed market. The county could consolidate some of its many offices into the county and then sell them for a profit when the office real estate market recovers.
She said it then “became clear” that the plan was to move the Board of Supervisors offices and county services to the gas company’s tower and eventually demolish the administrative building.
“It’s still really disturbing and a little shocking that this was their plan all along,” Hahn said. “I think the public is still a little in the dark about what this plan is.”
The Executive Building was a source of civic pride when the Civic Center’s other major buildings, including the Los Angeles County Superior Court and Stanley Mosque Courthouse, were under construction starting in the 1950s.
The Times wrote in 1957, “Like the acropolis of ancient Greece’s Golden Age, the new civic center now carved out of the desolate slopes of Bunker Hill will belong to Los Angeles.”
It is reported that the administration hall was built with the intention of lasting 100 years. The Times reported that capital projects analysts in the county’s Office of the Chief Executive are “prepared to bet that the administrative building will remain in use by 2059.”
The building was renamed the Kenneth Hahn Government Hall in 1992, after Hahn’s father, a former Los Angeles City Council member who was the county’s longest-serving supervisor.
Hahn said he is not motivated by his legacy of preserving the building.
She said, “Hey, if you want to get rid of the name, if you feel better about keeping it, I’m fine with that.”
The head of the Los Angeles Conservancy, which advocates for the preservation of significant local structures, said Administration Hall is “undoubtedly historic” and important. The building was designed by a team of prominent midcentury architects, including Paul R. Williams, the first licensed black architect west of the Mississippi River, who designed movie star mansions and famous public buildings. It was done.
Destroying the administration building is “a mistake for many reasons,” said Adrian Scott Fine, president of the conservation group.
One reason to preserve it, he said, is that it is located across Gloria Molina Grand Park from the Mosque Courthouse. The two are part of a park that connects City Hall and the Music Center.
“These two buildings are essential to the Civic Center,” Fine said. “It cannot be lost without losing its original function.”
The public spaces of the administration hall are filled with light brown marble and terrazzo, giving the hall an institutional feel. There are areas within the building that may require painting, repair, or other maintenance.
“It’s a bit of a dark place,” admitted Will Wright, director of government and communications for the Los Angeles chapter of the American Institute of Architects, a frequent visitor. “So you know you really need to invest in maintaining it.”
With the investment, he said, the county will be able to “renovate and uplift” the interior and make it more attractive to employees and visitors.
Ideally, the county would own both the gas company tower and the restored administration building, Wright said, a position Hahn said he supports.
“I think the amount of money needed to renovate this is still easily found in a $50 billion budget,” Hahn said in an interview in his office. “I don’t think it’s that big a question to ask what this has meant to the people of Los Angeles County over the decades.”
Los Angeles County oversaw the renovation of the courthouse 10 years ago. This historic building was severely damaged in the 1994 Northridge earthquake.
(Myung Jae-chun/Los Angeles Times)
Administration Hall is less flashy than other downtown landmarks such as the Walt Disney Concert Hall, City Hall and LADWP headquarters, but it doesn’t need to draw attention to be important, said the real estate developer. said preservationist Dan Rosenfeld.
“Not every public building needs to scream for attention,” he said. “If we did that, we would have a very disharmonious city.”
Rosenfeld worked to preserve other important historic buildings downtown that were seismically unsafe and at risk from the wrecking ball, such as City Hall and the Judiciary Hall. Both were built in the 1920s and are still in use after renovations.
“It would be relatively easy to strengthen the building’s lateral seismic strength and modernize the interior,” Rosenfeld said of the administration hall. “The building can and should be saved.”
He said the administration building is part of a civic center with public spaces and state, local and federal buildings that “define Los Angeles” and should not be abandoned by the county. Civic centers are “symbols of our democracy” and places where citizens gather to celebrate, protest and mourn, he said.
“The Civic Center is more than just a collection of buildings,” Rosenfeld said. “It’s a symbol of what the community believes in.”
Executive Fecia Davenport said the county does not intend to ignore the civic center.
“We understand the importance of a vibrant, well-functioning civic center and are committed to maintaining the county’s presence in this important public space,” Davenport said in a statement. Ta. “Next year, as we begin the Civic Center master planning process, we hope to help determine recommendations to the Board of Supervisors on how best to reimagine the Civic Center building to optimize public amenities.” We will solicit extensive public input.”
The 52-story gas company tower at 555 W. 5th St. was widely considered one of the city’s most famous office buildings when it was completed in 1991. At the foot of Bunker Hill.
Just over half of the building is leased to a variety of tenants, including law firm Latham & Watkins and accounting firm Deloitte, according to real estate brokerage JLL. Its namesake tenant, Southern California Gas Co., announced in September that it would be moving to another skyscraper at 350 S. Grand Avenue, one block north of the tower, which had been the main tenant since the building’s completion. announced that it would be moving to
Times staff writer Rebecca Ellis contributed to this report.
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