Culver City : Ivy Substation Renovation

The Culver City Redevelopment Agency approved preliminary plans to renovate a site at Culver and Venice boulevards that includes a building listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Agency members said renovating the Ivy Substation, built in 1907, and the two-acre Media Park, located within Los Angeles city limits, would provide an attractive gateway to Culver City and would reinforce other efforts to develop the downtown area.

Plans submitted by the consulting architects include a fountain, a plaza and a line of palm trees along Venice Boulevard. Plans must be approved by the city of Los Angeles, which has given Culver City a 40-year lease on the property, with a 10-year extension option. The total cost of the project is estimated at $1.6 million.

Ivy Substation was used to power electric trains that ran along Venice, Culver and National boulevards. It never served as a passenger station. The Redevelopment Agency plans to use the building as a community and recreation center. Media Park was dedicated to the city of Los Angeles by Culver City founder Harry Culver.