DOWNTOWN'S $3 BILLION PLAN: THE SECRET'S OUT : SUPPORTERS SAY:.

Byline: Beth Barrett Daily News Staff Writer

The ``diamond'' plan for downtown Los Angeles envisions a massive government and cultural complex stretching 10 minutes' walking distance in any direction from City Hall.

Central to the plan is creation of a Main Street government mall from the Hollywood Freeway south to about Fifth Street.

Government complexes on the hilly land to the north are envisioned to be relocated to that Pennsylvania Avenue-like stretch, freeing the knolls for housing around the Catholic archdiocese's new cathedral.

``All these things are going to have a ripple effect,'' said retired developer and downtown booster Jerry Epstein. ``There will be attractions. People will want to go to restaurants, then on to the Music Center. They'll go to the Museum of Modern Art. They'll go to the Mexican-American area for the delight of history. We'll have a square, we'll put in some outdoor cafes, and people will be encouraged to enter private enterprise.''

Dan Rosenfeld, the city's point man for the plan, says the goal is to make downtown friendly and desirable to everyone.

``The civic center is one piece of property everyone shares,'' he said. ``In a city that is so much divided, this is common ground.''

The diamond is divided into four quarters, each with a historic theme and a variety of uses, attractions, amenities and walkways.

Hillside Quarter to the west would include gardens terraced from the steps of City Hall to the Music Center, providing a more expansive and lush border to the new residential neighborhoods that are penciled onto the plan where county buildings and the Los Angeles Unified School District headquarters now stand. The archdiocese's cathedral and Disney Hall would be nearby.

New Town Quarter, named after the original streets laid out in 1848 to the south of City Hall, would include a Spanish-style plaza instead of pawnshops, fast-food joints and parking lots.

Along Main and Spring streets, the plan envisions a new federal Immigration and Naturalization Service facility, and state, county and city offices in new or renovated buildings.

The state is remodeling the old Broadway department store for offices, and the state and city are looking to lease the historic Washington Building, owned by actor Richard Dreyfuss, his father and uncle, which is across from the Reagan building.

Other proposed projects include replacing the county Hall of Administration and Superior Court on the hill with offices just north of the Reagan building.

``Why not?'' asked Los Angeles County Supervisor Gloria Molina, adding that the county complex is old and will someday have to be replaced.

``Believe me, it will be a tough, hard sell. But let's talk about it, about what it will take to make the city work.''

The state has signed an option with the LAUSD under which the district could acquire 107 S. Broadway - one of several alternatives for new headquarters office space.

Riverbed Quarter, in the flood plain of the Los Angeles River to the east, would have pedestrian passageways leading to Little Tokyo and a couple of museums.

The LAPD's Parker Center is to be torn down, and a new emergency center built to include police headquarters, a fire station and an emergency communications nerve center.

An $8.5 million city underground parking lot with a park on top is planned near the Geffen Contemporary at MOCA and Japanese American National museums, and Union Center for the Arts between Temple and First streets.

Councilwoman Rita Walters plans to use parking meter revenue from her district to build the garage, which would be an addition to the 12,000 parking spaces in the civic center and the more than 68,000 downtown.

Old Pueblo, the heart of the historic city along Olvera Street to the north, would include covered passageways that would guide shoppers past a refurbished Los Angeles Mall on to Union Station.

The city is exploring leasing the county's Hall of Justice, which would be renovated.

Governments share energy and space costs.

Regional cultural hub will be created

Metro rail and bus systems will get more use

Private investment will be spurred

World-class downtown will increase tourism, prestige

Opponents say:

Too expensive vs. other citywide needs.

The public doesn't want to go downtown

Satellite centers will be deprived of investment

Government will be concentrated, far removed from people.

Similar efforts failed in the past

CAPTION(S):

Box, Map

Box: Supporters say (see text)

Map: (color) 10-Minute Diamond

The `10-minute diamond' is billed by government officials and downtown boosters as the best hope to revitalize the city's core. Starting in 1993, Mayor Richard Riordan began assembling a team that has quietly and mainly behind the scenes developed a $3 billion, 51-project plan that literally recreates the heart of downtown.

Centered on City Hall and the 10 minutes it takes to walk to any of the diamond's four corners, the plan envisions a downtown of gardened walkways, cultural centers, museums, shopping malls and a massive concentration of all levels of government - city, county, schools, state and federal.

Some buildings would be torn down like the police, school district and county headquarters and rebuilt in different locations. Historical buildings would be restored. Housing would be added.

It would be a sparkling new downtown and people would come in droves to enjoy its amenities. That is the dream.