LEASING EMPTY FLOORS AN OPTION MTA CONSIDERS RENTING OFFICE SPACE AT HEADQUARTERS.

Byline: Lisa Mascaro Staff writer

The MTA's grandiose headquarters building - often dubbed the Taj Mahal - isn't as busy or crowded as it used to be.

Gone are the subway contractors who built the Metro Red Line. Missing are the employees whose jobs have been lost to budget cuts or reassigned to local offices in the communities.

Now, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority is considering whether it could make money by leasing out empty floors of the 26-story office building.

"We're looking at what we can do to restack the building, said MTA chief Roger Snoble. "If there's an opportunity for us to take advantage of it, we'll take advantage of it. It hasn't happened yet."

Those who protested when the $145 million tower was built a decade ago - with Italian granite, imported tile and massive board room - said the MTA has a chance to right its wrongs.

"Irrespective of the sins of the past, it is incumbent upon MTA to engage in rational decisions on their space utilization now," said Jon Coupal, president of the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association. "If they do indeed find themselves with available space, we would think, as taxpayer advocates, to consolidate their operations and sublease space is a good thing."

The MTA hopes to have a study on the issue completed by September.

These days, the building houses 1,600 employees, compared with 1,800 who worked there when it opened behind Union Station in 1995.

But the MTA warns consolidation might not be worth it, since it would cost as much as $400 per employee to relocate computers, phone lines and other office equipment.

Downtown commercial real estate broker Mark Tarczynski said office buildings are commanding $16 to $22 a square foot - roughly $500,000 for a 22,000-square-foot floor of a high-rise.

"It's great because it's in the hub of mass transit. If someone's commuting in from Orange County or Riverside, they can just take the train and, bingo, they're there," said Tarcsynski, senior vice president of CBRE's downtown urban redevelopment group.

On the other hand, there's not much else in the neighborhood.

"Typical amenities, they're just not there. Where do you go eat for lunch?"

Meanwhile, the Exposition Construction Authority, which is building the MTA's Exposition Line, recently rented downtown office space for its crew because there wasn't a full floor available at the MTA, said Rick Thorpe, an executive for both the MTA and the Expo authority.

Supervisor Michael D. Antonovich, who questioned whether all 26 floors were needed when the MTA headquarters was built, said if there's room to spare, the MTA should try to make some money back.

"Now that it's built and paid for by the taxpayers, it's prudent for MTA to turn that asset into a profitable revenue stream," said Antonovich's transportation deputy Michael Cano.

lisa.mascaro(at)dailynews.com

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(color) MTA headquarters, sometimes referred to as the Taj Mahal because of its opulence, has also become too big ffor the agency's purposes. It is considering leasing office space.

Evan Yee/Staff Photographer