5 Teams Vie for Civic Center Project : Field of Developers for Private Office Building Narrowed
State, county and city planners have narrowed the field to five potential developers seeking a go-ahead to build a $130-million commercial office complex, mall and parking facility on publicly owned land in the downtown Los Angeles Civic Center.
Eight developer teams responded by the deadline in early February, and three have since been eliminated in first-round analyses based on experience, financial capability and other factors, according to County Chief Administrative Officer Richard Dixon’s office. The county is serving as lead agency for the project.
William Wise, a CAO analyst, identified the five teams remaining in the running for the joint public-private development as:
--One Civic Center, composed of Goldrich & Kest Industries/J. H. Snyder Co.
--IDM Corp., Kajima International Inc. and Sumitomo Construction Co. Inc.
--Watt/WLCAC, composed of Ray Watt Industries and the Watts Labor Community Action Committee.
--R. C. I., Raffi Cohen.
--Civic Plaza Associates, composed of Tutor-Saliba Properties and the Paragon Group.
Under a timetable established by county officials, the five potential developers will undergo further analyses, including financial resources and architectural concept. The final choice is to be made by early July, according to Wise.
He said the state-county-city evaluation team will be assisted in this interviewing phase by private consultants with special expertise in real estate, economics and architectural design.
In their plans for the key Civic Center site, the three public agencies expect the 20-story or so office tower and other facilities to return an estimated $1 billion to the state, county and city. The plan is to lease the property, located on the north side of 1st Street between Broadway and Spring St., for 66 years.
“We’re looking for a quality development--a signature building that will be compatible with that part of the Civic Center,” Wise said.
Under the county’s timetable, he said, a lease is expected to be signed in early January, with construction starting in the fall of 1988. The goal is to complete the complex by early 1990.
The old Los Angeles State Building, damaged in the 1971 earthquake and later demolished, was located on the site, which is across Spring Street from City Hall and immediately north of Times Mirror Square.
In addition to a commercial office structure, containing 600,000 square feet and placed diagonally at the corner of 1st and Spring Streets, the complex will include the last segment of the Civic Center Mall between Broadway and Spring, underground parking for 1,600 cars and a daytime child-care center.
County officials estimated the cost of the office tower at $80 million. The parking facility will cost $30 million, and it will take $20 million to complete the mall.
