Background

Parker Center was previously threatened with demolition for a new police facilities building in the early 2000s before an alternate site was found. Since then, appreciation for the building’s historic and architectural significance had become more firmly established and its mid-century modern architecture recognized.

The former LAPD headquarters in downtown’s Civic Center stood mostly vacant since the LAPD moved to its new headquarters in 2009. The public process for deciding what to do with it did not begin until 2012, when the City’s Bureau of Engineering (BOE) released an initial study of ways to provide office space for nearly 5,500 City staff near City Hall. In that study, and ever since, the BOE continued to advocate for Parker Center’s demolition.

In early September 2013, the City of Los Angeles released a Draft Environmental Impact Report (DEIR) for a project called the “Los Angeles Street Civic Building Project.” At that time, the DEIR evaluated three options for the Parker Center property: 1) rehabilitation of the 1955 building; 2) partial demolition, rehabilitation and addition to the building; and 3) full demolition and construction of a new building.

Under all three options, the City’s stated project goals were to house city staff at this central location (those currently located elsewhere throughout the city), address the need for approximately 1.1 million square feet of office space, and provide greater connectivity and services to adjacent Little Tokyo. The City states that 3,865 employees are currently off-site and a project objective is to locate City staff closer to City Hall.

In June 2014, through the release of the Final Environmental Impact Report (FEIR), the BOE announced its preference for the third option, B3, calling for the complete demolition of Parker Center and building in its place one or two towers that would be up to 27-stories and 450-feet in height. At an estimated cost of $475 million, this project would have provided a net of 588,240 square feet and would have housed 2,945 employees.

B2, the second option provided by the City — and what the Conservancy suggested has the best opportunity for a “win-win” outcome — would have retained and rehabilitated the main portion of Parker Center. It called for the addition of an 11-story building to the rear and 200-feet in height. At an estimated cost of $325 million, this option would have provided a net of 354,499 square feet and would have housed 1,775 employees.

Preservation Would Have Been More Cost Effective than Demolition and New Construction

Based on a convening by the Conservancy of a panel of preservation experts (comprised of highly experienced developers, architects, cost estimator, and seismic engineer), we strongly believed the reuse of Parker Center could  have resulted in a savings of nearly $50 million as opposed to new construction.

This directly contradicted claims made by the City stating preservation will be $107 million more (as part of a preservation alternative known as “B4”) than new construction.

Of the three original alternatives considered by the City (as part of the environmental review process), only alternatives B1 (rehabilitation) and B2 (rehabilitation, partial demolition and new addition) had the greatest potential for complying with the Standards and avoiding adverse impacts, while maintaining Parker Center as an eligible historic resource. Alternative B3 — the preferred project — called for the complete demolition and redevelopment of the Parker Center site.

A fourth alternative known as Alternative B4 was studied outside of the environmental review process, and calls for a larger addition to Parker Center. We strongly believed cost estimates were severely inflated by the City, whereas an independent review by a panel of preservation experts instead concludes there is a savings of nearly $50 million. This directly contradicted claims made by the City stating preservation will be $107 million more for Alternative B4.

Historic-Cultural Monument Nomination

In 2014, the Cultural Heritage Commission initiated designation of Parker Center as a Historic-Cultural Monument. The Conservancy spoke in favor of the Cultural Heritage Commission‘s Historic-Cultural Monument nomination at hearings in November 2014, January 2015, and May 2015.

While separate from the redevelopment project, the HCM designation would have protected Parker Center from imminent demolition, as well as from preemptive demolition if the redevelopment project doesn’t move forward.

On February 7, 2017, the Los Angeles City Council’s Planning and Land Use Management (PLUM) Committee voted unanimously against recommending the Historic-Cultural Monument designation of Parker Center.