Group to Abandon Crime-Ridden Area : Urban decay: The L.A. County Medical Assn. has put its headquarters near MacArthur Park up for sale, citing drug addicts who have taken over the area.

Besieged by panhandlers and drug addicts, the Los Angeles County Medical Assn. has put its 58-year-old headquarters building near MacArthur Park up for sale.

The sprawling 130,000-square-foot facility, which houses the Regional Poison Control Center and a library of rare medical books, employs 85 people and covers two-thirds of a city block near the crime-plagued corner of Wilshire Boulevard and Westlake Avenue.

“Our members and employees are being attacked,” said Dr. Gary Krieger, chairman of the board of trustees for the nonprofit organization of 10,000 physicians. “We’ve already literally turned our parking facility into a fortress and have armed guards on duty at all times.

“In talking to growth experts about the future of development in this area,” added Krieger, “there is no reason to believe it will change appreciably any time soon.”

The loss of the association, one of the last major employers left in the vicinity of MacArthur Park, is a further erosion of the economic base in the Westlake community.

In July, the owners of a MacArthur Park landmark restaurant, Edward’s Steak House, closed the establishment, driven out, they said, by crime and drug trafficking.

The medical organization’s decision to move comes two weeks after a personal plea from Councilwoman Gloria Molina to forestall the sale until city policies to upgrade the community with new street lights and street and alley maintenance, among other things, can begin to take effect.

But officials of the association said the three buildings that make up the outdated facility are in desperate need of at least $4 million in repairs.

Beyond that, the officials fear that Molina wants to maintain the area as a low-income refuge for immigrants and small shop owners, which could stymie any plans to redevelop the property to attract high-end businesses and tenants.

As it stands, the streets and alleys surrounding MacArthur Park have become a haven for up to 600 crack cocaine addicts driven out of the 30-acre park grounds by law enforcement officials on horses, bicycles and on foot.

Dr. Richard Corlin, a trustee for the association, said the decision to leave was not an easy one.

“I’m as concerned about low-income housing and restoring the business element as she (Molina) is,” Corlin said. “But unfortunately, her policies overlook certain economic realities.”

Molina could not be reached for comment.

Gutierrez said that despite some business problems in the area, there are many improvements, ranging from a community task force to identify and remedy neighborhood ailments to beefed-up police patrols. These, and other efforts, however, will take time, she said.

The trustees of the association voted May 9 to put the property up for sale but held off on going public with the plan until now.

“Nearly every building on our street is up for sale,” said association staff member Brad Kuiper. “Heck, we may not even be able to sell this place.”

Added association spokesman Bob Calverley: “There are a lot of people in this neighborhood who can’t leave and I feel sorry for them. The vast majority of those who live here, however, are not crack addicts; they are working people who just can’t afford to move.”