Bids OKd for Former Plant for Police Academy

The Los Angeles City Council dealt a serious blow Friday to plans to build a new Police Academy in Sylmar when it voted to pursue an empty electronics plant in Westchester for the new facility.

The vote, which was taken behind closed doors, gives city and police officials the authority to enter the bidding war for a 13.8-acre former Hewlett-Packard facility near the San Diego Freeway and Manchester Boulevard.

If the city’s bid is accepted, the matter will be returned to the City Council for a decision--most likely next week--on whether to buy the land and kill longstanding plans to build the academy in Sylmar near the Olive View Medical Center.

Proponents of the purchase of the Westchester site hail it as an opportunity to save about $50 million and speed up plans to expand the Los Angeles Police Department.

“We are now very optimistic,” said Councilwoman Ruth Galanter, whose district includes the Westchester land. “Now it’s just up to the negotiators.”

The expected savings, police officials said, would be used to build a parking structure at the Van Nuys police station and expand the detective squad rooms at the West Valley and Harbor stations.

The Westchester site includes a building formerly occupied by the Hewlett-Packard electronics firm and is big enough to house a new LAPD communications facility on its second floor.

Because previous plans called for construction of a building for the communications center, purchasing the Westchester site would cut five years from the development of that center, police officials said.

And because the Hewlett-Packard building can be used for the academy with few modifications, its purchase would cut 2 1/2 years off the time needed to open a new academy, police said.