Location: 1st Street and Broadway
Function: Governmental Office | 41 Courtrooms
Developer: N/A
Architect: Perkins+Will (http://www.perkinswill.com/)
Completion: N/A

Federal Courthouse

The second phase of a 1 million-square-foot courthouse at First Street and Broadway in the Civic Center is still awaiting bidding, said Gene Gibson, regional public affairs officer of the General Services Administration. The new facility would hold 41 courtrooms, judges' chambers and office space for federal agencies. The project on a 3.6-acre site will need to make adjustments for budget constraints; initial bids came in well over appropriations, forcing officials to explore new alternatives, including asking Congress for more funds, said Gibson. The project, next to City Hall, originally budgeted at $314 million, will need to be repackaged, Gibson said. The old state office building on the site has been demolished. - Los Angeles Downtown News

http://www.archpaper.com/images/features/feature2006_10/civics_02.jpg

http://www.perkinswill.com/images/projects/lg/lg-77a.jpg

http://www.b2hk.com/images/projects/lg/lg-77b.jpg

That is going to be one nice looking court house! ;)

That is going to be one nice looking court house! ;)

Hey, if you're lucky... maybe they'll contact you for jury duty! :banana:

Hey, if you're lucky... maybe they'll contact you for jury duty! :banana:


... or when you go to divorce court! :carrot:

where'd u get that first render from? is it a newer or older design?

... or when you go to divorce court! :carrot:

Dude, I'll have to screw up pretty bad to end up in a Federal Courthouse!

Dude, I'll have to screw up pretty bad to end up in a Federal Courthouse!



^^ Let's hope not! (knock on wood) :hilarious

December 31, 2007

The new Federal Court House.

http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b340/TheGhostlyGreatDunn/DSC_0049web.jpg

http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b340/TheGhostlyGreatDunn/DSC_0050web.jpg

http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b340/TheGhostlyGreatDunn/DSC_0048web.jpg

Unable to Raise Funds for Courthouse, Feds Shift Course

By Eric Richardson
January 12, 2008

Downtown's green space will be expanding in the upcoming year, but it won't be the city's Parks and Rec doing the planning. With the upcoming 2009 U.S. budget unlikely to include funds needed for construction of a new Downtown Courthouse, the federal government has decided to shift course on the land it holds at 1st and Broadway and create Downtown's first lake.

Master plans released in the 1960s and 1970s showed a lake as part of South Park (http://blogdowntown.com/blog/2680), but this new federal plan instead sites the body of water on the block encompassed by 1st, Broadway, 2nd and Hill. While the land has already been dug out, budget issues and a tight water situation in Southern California have forced the Feds to rely on seasonal rainfall to fill the as-yet unnamed lake. Once filled, operation will be handled by the National Park Service.

Officials from Related Companies were unavailable for comment on how the new space would integrate into plans for their $2 billion Grand Avenue Project. The project sits on two blocks just north of the lake site.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Source: blogdowntown (http://www.blogdowntown.com/blog/3057)

ha ha h.hahaa ha this is joke, right? Right? Let me read that again-----it's a joke, I get it.:lol:

Unable to Raise Funds for Courthouse, Feds Shift Course

By Eric Richardson
January 12, 2008

Downtown's green space will be expanding in the upcoming year, but it won't be the city's Parks and Rec doing the planning. With the upcoming 2009 U.S. budget unlikely to include funds needed for construction of a new Downtown Courthouse, the federal government has decided to shift course on the land it holds at 1st and Broadway and create Downtown's first lake.

Master plans released in the 1960s and 1970s showed a lake as part of South Park (http://blogdowntown.com/blog/2680), but this new federal plan instead sites the body of water on the block encompassed by 1st, Broadway, 2nd and Hill. While the land has already been dug out, budget issues and a tight water situation in Southern California have forced the Feds to rely on seasonal rainfall to fill the as-yet unnamed lake. Once filled, operation will be handled by the National Park Service.

Officials from Related Companies were unavailable for comment on how the new space would integrate into plans for their $2 billion Grand Avenue Project. The project sits on two blocks just north of the lake site.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Source: blogdowntown (http://www.blogdowntown.com/blog/3057)

Wow, another fuck up. :ohno:
so a small, tiny, pathetic, un-natural looking lake will make downtown much more beautiful?
:bash:

Im pretty sure it IS a joke.

I say repave and open up a parking lot. If a park is already on it's way for the Grand Av. Project, might as well just add a lake to the park and let another project come to this site.

I like the lake idea....hope it has paddle boats!

Hope it doesn't turn to a homeless hub, or a smaller version of McArthur...

VERY sad, the feds need to invest in the City of L.A. and stop denying Federal TAx dollars it clearly deserves, maybe not in the form of a new COurthouse but in Infrastructure (Extension of the Purple line).

This is another wake up sign for ANgelinos to rise up and demand the needed services to live a long and happy life in the most awesome city in the west coast!!

Nice - looks very much like the Federal Courthouse currently under construction in Buffalo.

Hope it doesn't turn to a homeless hub, or a smaller version of McArthur...

Exactly!
It seems like a nice idea...but look at what would surround it. Nothing but old buildings. Little McArthur is what it will turn out to be.

I find it 'curious' that redspork02 and FROM LOS ANGELES both sport NY centric avatars. :angel1:

Well the ESB is and always will be the greatest building of all times no matter what and that is more than enough to make it my avatar, that's all.

That's nice :)

I find it 'curious' that redspork02 and FROM LOS ANGELES both sport NY centric avatars. :angel1:

Well, and im just very Patriotic. USA, USA, USA!!

Costs for Federal Courthouse in Downtown L.A. Soar to $1.1 Billion (http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-courthouse13-2008sep13,0,6263952.story)

The price tag for the planned landmark building has tripled, according to an audit that suggests considering alternatives.

By Cara Mia DiMassa, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer
September 13, 2008

Costs for a much-touted federal courthouse in downtown Los Angeles -- which would have been the largest in the nation -- have tripled to $1.1 billion, according to an audit that said the grand plans might need to be scaled back dramatically.

The audit, released this month by the General Accounting Office, raised questions about the elaborate courthouse federal judges want built -- a landmark building that L.A. officials hoped would be part of the revitalization of the tired civic center area.

The courthouse would rise at Broadway and 1st Street -- on a corner that until recently housed a long-vacant state building. The building was demolished last year amid hopes that the project would finally move forward.

But the audit said that the current costs are far too expensive and that other alternatives must be considered. Right now, the federal government has set aside about $366 million for the project -- only a third of what's needed.

Now..how in the f*ck can the cost go from 300 million to over 1 billion in a couple of years? I find it hard to believe.

Is it suppose to look like the LAPD HQ?

It better be more than 16 floors! See, there's plenty of money out there. Could have had a competitive stadium with that kind of dough.... almost :)

It will be 16 floors but the height is 400 feet.

$1.1 billion for a 16 floor/400ft. tall courthouse??..WOW! hard to believe.. the cost is just ridiculous for a building this size...:ohno:

Something's going on here. I'll bet we could get a building twice that size for half the money :)

I thought that this was going to be a man-made lake now because of cost overruns?

They could get the cost down if they leave out the expensive marble floors and walls, the big screen HDTV's, hardwood floors, solid gold restroom fixtures, diamond doorknobs etc.

Big Project, Little Progress (http://downtownnews.com/articles/2008/11/10/news/11-10-08-news04.txt)

Federal Courthouse Effort Stalls As City Begins to Eye Vacant Site in Civic Center

By Richard Guzman

DOWNTOWN LOS ANGELES - With talks on a proposed courthouse in the Civic Center having effectively collapsed, a Downtown official has signaled an intent to begin looking at plans to acquire the land set aside for the project, which is currently a 3.6-acre vacant eyesore.

"It may be an opportunity for us and that's something I would like to investigate," said City Councilwoman Jan Perry, whose Ninth District includes much of Downtown Los Angeles.

Perry is meeting with the city's Chief Legislative Analyst to discuss approaching the federal government, which owns the land at the southwest corner of First Street and Broadway, and inquire about purchasing the property. An effort to build a new courthouse there stalled after estimates soared to $1.1 billion.

"I'm not sure what the best use of that land is," she said. "[I want] to see if there is any way we can approach the feds to see what their intentions are and whether or not they want to offload that property, or perhaps work in coordination with us to get that piece of land developed in some way."

The federal government purchased the land from the state of California for $2.5 million in 2003. It once held a state office building, which was demolished last year.

In 2000, Congress appropriated $400 million to build a 41-room courthouse on the site. Since then the General Services Administration, which acts as a landlord for federal agencies, spent $16.9 million to acquire and prepare the site, and another $16.3 million on designs for a 41-room courthouse.

The project ground to a halt this year when a report by the Government Accountability Office, the investigative office for Congress, found that due to delays and design changes, estimated costs had tripled to more than $1.1 billion, making a 41-room courthouse unachievable.

Since then, the Federal Court Committee overseeing the project and the GSA have tried to come up with a scaled-down plan. However, negotiations between the two have also stopped as they argue about designs.

Despite the stall, some federal officials say it is too soon to start making other plans for the land.

"I think that is premature," said Victor Castillo, legislative director for Congresswoman Lucille Roybal-Allard, who led the way in securing $400 million for the project, which was originally slated to open in 2006.

"Neither [Roybal-Allard] nor the judiciary is ready to give up on the project," Castillo said.


Not Enough Space

Negotiations stopped late last month after it became clear neither side would budge from its preference on a scaled-back courthouse, said Gene Gibson, regional public affairs officer for the GSA.

"We continue to want to work out details. The courts of course have some different ideas, and right now we're not getting very far," she said.

Los Angeles federal courthouse operations currently are split between two buildings Downtown: the Spring Street Courthouse, built in 1938, which holds 32 courtrooms, 11 of which do not meet the judiciary's minimum standard for size; and the Roybal Federal Building, erected in 1992, which holds 34 courtrooms. Together they do not offer enough space to meet the growing demand for courtrooms.

The GSA is recommending a 20-courtroom, 20-chamber building at the vacant site and adding 12 courtrooms to the Roybal edifice. That would cost about $700 million, or about $300 million more than what Congress already appropriated.

Meanwhile, Margaret Morrow, a judge at the federal district court and chief of the Federal Court Committee overseeing the project, said they are pushing for a 36-courtroom, 45-chamber building at the vacant site.

"It's the best option because it could put all district judges in one building and all of the magistrate judges in another building," she said. "Because those two different types of judges do different functions and they handle different types of hearings, it would make it easier to organize work and have the public understand where they should go for a particular proceeding."

However, estimates by the GSA put that option about $733 million more than what Congress already appropriated, again bringing the price tag for the project to over $1.1 billion.

Morrow said it is unlikely progress can be made on the project until a new presidential administration takes office next year and a new Congress can decide how much more it is willing to spend.

Meanwhile, as Perry continues to eyeball the property, she acknowledged that the need for a courthouse is a priority.

"My first hope is they are able to work it out," she said. "The need for a courthouse is quite well-documented and very necessary. The facilities have been outgrown by all accounts."

But if that cannot happen, she wants more than a hole in the ground.

That site is large enough for two structures. A developer could purchase the property then build a structure on the north end and lease it out to the government for use as a courthouse building and on the south end the developer could build a hotel or residential building. In between the two buildings could be a park. The advantage is both structures are across the street from a metro subway station and the residential building is walking distance to the music center performing arts complex as well as Grand Central Market and Angels Flight.

^^ great. after court go get fruit, see a music performance, and ride a railroad for a block :)

That site is large enough for two structures. A developer could purchase the property then build a structure on the north end and lease it out to the government for use as a courthouse building and on the south end the developer could build a hotel or residential building. In between the two buildings could be a park. The advantage is both structures are across the street from a metro subway station and the residential building is walking distance to the music center performing arts complex as well as Grand Central Market and Angels Flight.

The U.S. government could then furnish it for their use.