Council OKs Central Library’s Expansion
The Los Angeles City Council gave formal approval as expected Tuesday to a $1-billion downtown redevelopment project whose centerpiece will be a renovated and enlarged Central Library.
Work on the project, 15 years in the planning, is expected to begin by Labor Day, according to Councilman Gilbert Lindsay, whose district includes the redevelopment area.
Plans call for the renovation and expansion of the 60-year-old Central Library to twice its current size, an effort expected to cost more than $110 million. Surrounding the library will be two office towers--one 73 stories and the other 65 stories--as well as parks, fountains and commercial development.
Councilman Ernani Bernardi cast the only vote against the plan, voicing concern about the effect of dense development in the city’s crowded business district.
“We are creating a monument here, and it’s a monument we’re foisting on future generations with the gridlock we’re going to create,” he said.
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