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DOWNTOWN PARK GETS GO-AHEAD ART-DOTTED SWATH OF GREEN FORESEEN ON 16 TO 26 ACRES.


Byline: Troy Anderson Staff Writer

The Grand Avenue Authority approved an agreement Monday to begin the design of a $51 million downtown civic park that officials envision as a smaller Los Angeles Los Angeles (lôs ăn`jələs, lŏs, ăn`jəlēz'), city (1990 pop. 3,485,398), seat of Los Angeles co., S Calif.; inc. 1850.  version of New York's Central Park.

``I think the original charge of something that is uniquely L.A., that speaks to L.A., that you won't see if you go to any other city, that the public can access, that is exciting and has an impact that goes beyond just that lot - I think we are very confident that those objectives can be achieved,'' said Bill Witte, president of The Related Companies, which won the development contract.

Authority members said the funding might pay for only basic park infrastructure, landscaping, gardens and replacements of parking garage ramps. At recent hearings, members of the public asked that the park include a band shell, pavilion, water features and other amenities.

``It's important the public know, so we don't start behind the eight ball again with an expectation that we are supposed to deliver something we can't afford to deliver,'' county Supervisor Gloria Molina Gloria Molina is a member of the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors, and the current chairwoman of the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority.[1] Molina grew up as one of ten children in the Los Angeles suburb of Pico Rivera, California, U.S. , who chairs the authority, said.

The agreement released Monday allocates $38 million for construction, landscaping and artwork for the park between City Hall and the Music Center. An additional $9 million is allocated for design and public outreach, with $4 million for contingencies.

The park is not envisioned on the scale of New York's Central Park, with its 843 acres. The L.A. version, ranging from 16 acres to 26 acres if the county Hall of Administration and Stanley Mosk Stanley Mosk (September 12, 1912–June 19, 2001) was an associate justice of the California Supreme Court for 37 years (1964-2001), and holds the record for the longest-serving justice on that court.  Courthouse are relocated re·lo·cate  
v. re·lo·cat·ed, re·lo·cat·ing, re·lo·cates

v.tr.
To move to or establish in a new place: relocated the business.

v.intr.
, is part of the proposed $1.8 billion Grand Avenue redevelopment project.

That project - 2,600 condos and apartments, 400,000 square feet of retail space, a 275-room hotel and a 50-story tower designed by architect Frank Gehry Frank Owen Gehry, CC (born Ephraim Owen Goldberg, February 28, 1929) is a Pritzker Prize winning architect based in Los Angeles, California.

His buildings, including his private residence, have become tourist attractions.
 - would be the centerpiece of $10 billion worth of development proposed for downtown Los Angeles Downtown Los Angeles is the central business district of Los Angeles, California, located close to the geographic center of the metropolitan area. The sprawling, multi-centered megacity is such that its downtown core is often considered just another district like Hollywood or .

The authority is expected to introduce preliminary schematic A graphical representation of a system. It often refers to electronic circuits on a printed circuit board or in an integrated circuit (chip). See logic gate and HDL.  designs of the park April 24. Then several hearings will allow the public to comment on the proposal before development starts at the end of the year.

At the meeting Monday, the president of the Downtown Neighborhood Council, Brady Westwater, said he was concerned that downtown parking lots would be eliminated to make way for the civic park, creating a crunch for motorists.

``Virtually every surface parking lot in the area is being replaced,'' Westwater said. ``Suddenly, we are going to have a deficit of 4,000 to 5,000 spaces within a block of the park. Well, where are the people coming to the park going to park?''

Authority member and county Chief Administrative Officer A chief administrative officer (CAO) is responsible for administrative management of private, public or governmental corporations. The CAO is one of the highest ranking members of an organization, managing daily operations and usually reporting directly to the chief executive  David Janssen said county government can replace the lost parking spaces in front of City Hall by spending $2 million to $3 million to repair the now-closed parking garage under the Court of Flags.

``But on the bigger issue, he's probably right,'' Janssen said. ``All of the development downtown is going to take place on parking lots. As this moves forward in the next 10 to 15 years, people need to be paying attention Noun 1. paying attention - paying particular notice (as to children or helpless people); "his attentiveness to her wishes"; "he spends without heed to the consequences"
attentiveness, heed, regard
 to replacement parking.''

Troy Anderson, (213) 974-8985

troy.anderson(at)dailynews.com
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Publication:Daily News (Los Angeles, CA)
Date:Mar 21, 2006
Words:529
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