Big Project, Little Progress
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.
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I totally agree about the GSA being out of control on this project. However, there surely are big differences with this project and the one you mention in Portland. The L.A. courthouse will require extensive earthquake systems and much higher security and anti-terrorist type improvements that previous courthouses don't have.
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