Culver City : City Hall Pact Reaffirmed
The Culver City Redevelopment Agency on Monday reaffirmed its authorization of a $1.7-million contract with CHCG Architects Inc. to design the new City Hall.
The 3-2 approval, with Councilmen Steven Gourley and Jim Boulgarides dissenting, was given despite a finding by the architectural consulting firm Karsten/Hutman Margolf that CHCG severely underestimated the cost of retaining the old City Hall facade to serve as a historical monument.
CHCG estimated saving the facade would cost $150,000, while the consulting firm calculated it would take $800,000 to $1.25 million because of the difficulty of keeping the unreinforced masonry wall in place during demolition.
The conceptual design called for the facade to be kept in place at the corner of Culver Boulevard and Duquesne Avenue as an entry monument to the park-like grounds of the new City Hall.
The consulting firm, which gave CHCG an overall favorable review, also disagreed with the $1.7-million limit on the redevelopment agency’s contract for the design. Karsten/Hutman Margolf estimated that the agency should limit the contract to $1.4 million. Agreeing with the consultant, Gourley and Boulgarides voted against approval.
The agency did not make a formal decision on whether the design should include the old City Hall facade or a replica, but directed CHCG to explore options to exclude it.
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