Transit Agency Settles on Union Station Office

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority ended a longstanding controversy Wednesday and decided to consolidate operations in a single $133-million headquarters building at Union Station.

In a specially scheduled meeting, after being unable to reach a decision last week, MTA board members decided by a 7-1 vote to go forward with work on the Union Station building, which originally had been authorized by the now-defunct Southern California Rapid Transit District. The construction contract was awarded to Catellus Corp. of Los Angeles.

The vote killed a competing $110-million bid by developer Ray Watt, who had been negotiating a deal with the Los Angeles County Transportation Commission to build a separate facility.

The MTA was formed April 1 by merging the RTD and the Transportation Commission, but for a time it appeared both of the buildings might be constructed and the staff of the new authority divided between the two. That prospect resulted in accusations of waste and duplication by, among others, Assemblyman Richard Katz (D-Los Angeles), who authored the legislation creating the MTA.

“I’m just happy we made a decision,” MTA Chairman Richard Alatorre said Wednesday. “It’s the right decision from a political standpoint and from an economical standpoint.”

With the criticism, the headquarters fight took on added significance as a test of whether the MTA board would be able to resolve the internal competition and reduce costs.

For Mayor Tom Bradley, who favored obtaining additional bids from other developers, Wednesday’s action was a defeat signaling his lame-duck status.

“I sought fairness,” said Bradley, who cast the sole dissenting vote Wednesday. “I was not satisfied that we had been fair to all parties.”

Board members were unable to agree last week on a single construction bid. Only eight of the 13 board members were eligible to vote Wednesday because five had received campaign contributions from developers competing for the multimillion-dollar project and were not permitted to participate. At least seven votes were needed to award the bid, and last week’s tally was 5-3.

Duarte City Councilman John Fasana, one of those who switched sides Wednesday, said he changed his position because he thinks it is time for the agency to press forward with its mission: transit. “I’m concerned that we’ve been focused on office buildings and not transportation.”

In January, the Transportation Commission launched negotiations with Watt to build a separate headquarters even though the RTD had begun construction of a 21-story facility at Union Station. The RTD already has spent $12 million for the facility, where work was halted last week when board members were stalemated.

When MTA chief Franklin White first examined the issue, he recommended that the Union Station project be expanded to 26 stories--at a cost of $133-million--to accommodate the agency’s staff.

In a last-ditch effort to win the project, Watt officials announced Wednesday that their building would cost $110 million. But White said the proposal could not be considered because the agency had an agreement with Catellus.

“We are obviously a little incredulous,” said Jeff Allen, vice president for development with Watt City Center. “They obviously don’t want to be anywhere but the Union Station project and they are in a position to make sure their conclusion came to that end.”

As part of the agreement to proceed with the Union Station project, MTA board members asked Catellus Corp. to absorb expenses associated with construction cost overruns. Catellus officials also agreed to provide a day-care center in the transit facility, housing loans to residents in South-Central and East Los Angeles, and provide 2,500 jobs.