New Civic Park For Downtown Unveiled

Last night's Grand Avenue Civic Park meeting was a first look into a Downtown LA version of Chicago's Millennium Park. The 16-acre park, which will lie between City Hall and the Music Center in Downtown's Civic Center, will be surrounded by County administrative buildings to the north and south and the abandoned footprint of the old State Office Building to the southeast. The budget of this park is $56 million ($50 million being funded by Related Cos., the developer of the Grand Avenue Project to the south). This amazing park will include:

1) Fountain Plaza: Two new terraced stairways will cover the existing spiral parking ramps on Grand Avenue, dramatically increasing access to the park from the west. The politically untouchable fountain will nonetheless be reworked as a "more interactive, programmed" piece with upgraded infrastructure and a new pedestrian bridge over the water. Walls will be removed and a restaurant/cafe option is being explored.

2) Civic Garden: Parking ramps will be covered by a "vine trellis," giving the park a larger presence on Hill Street. Barrier walls will be removed and a performance lawn will be created. Despite all these changes, the JPA says this will be where they will use their "lightest hand" in the redesign.

3) Community Terrace: More usable space will be made available at the Court of Flags, with the flags being moved to the edges of the parcel. The current stairway is slated for demolition and will become a broader terraced staircase with improved accessibility. Multi-colored movable shaders would frame views of City Hall, creating an "outdoor living room" for public dinners, galas, fundraisers and so forth.

4) The Green: Award for most dramatically changed parcel goes to the Green, a large events lawn at the foot of City Hall that's replacing a parking lot. A "viewing bridge" will span Broadway, leading to a multi-use marketplace for more farmers' markets and a restaurant at the end of the Green. If more funding is secured, the old State Building footprint will be integrated as more open space.