Los Angeles County plans to invest more in upgrading the Gas Company Tower than it initially paid to acquire the downtown skyscraper.
Last November, county officials agreed to a purchase price of $200 million for the 52-story tower, intended to serve as the new headquarters for county employees.
However, the projected cost to perform earthquake upgrades on the building exceeds $230 million.
Lennie LaGuire, a spokesperson for the county’s Chief Executive Office, reassured that the tower is already structurally sound, describing the upgrades as “proactive” measures.
Until recently, the exact costs and necessary scope of these improvements had been unclear to county officials.
This week, the county received final proposals from various firms bidding to secure a contract for the “voluntary seismic upgrades” at the Gas Company Tower, located at 555 W. 5th Street.
County representatives, who negotiated the purchase, emphasized that the seismic enhancements were anticipated and will be significantly less expensive compared to the staggering $1 billion required to retrofit the current downtown headquarters, Kenneth Hahn Hall of Administration, which is at risk of collapsing in the event of a major earthquake.
According to LaGuire, the Gas Company Tower does not necessitate seismic work for it to serve as a safe, up-to-code workplace for county employees.
“The County is choosing to perform this work proactively with an eye to the future, to ensure that the building performs optimally in the decades ahead,” LaGuire stated.
The combined expenditure of $200 million for the building and the estimated upgrade costs is still a fraction of what it would cost to address urgently needed seismic and safety upgrades to the historic Hall of Administration.
The $200 million acquisition was viewed as a bargain, particularly when compared to the tower’s appraised value of over $600 million just a few years ago, reflecting a decline in downtown office values.
Supervisor Janice Hahn, who was the sole board member to oppose the original purchase, expressed her dissatisfaction with the current situation on Friday. She criticized county officials for proceeding with the real estate purchase without all the relevant information about the associated costs.
“This is turning out to be a bigger boondoggle than was originally sold to the public,” Hahn remarked, stating she was unaware of the proposed upgrade costs during discussions.
She reiterated her belief that the county would be better off retrofitting the historic Hall of Administration, preserving the county’s civic heart within the Civic Center.
At the time of the purchase, Hahn had voiced concerns that acquiring the Gas Company Tower would undermine the significance of the Kenneth Hahn Hall of Administration, which holds sentimental value as it is named in honor of her father, who served a record 10 terms as a supervisor.
The Hall of Administration is among several county-owned properties identified as vulnerable in the event of an earthquake, while the Gas Company Tower, built in 1991, was generally deemed safer. However, at the time of the county purchase, it remained unclear whether the building was fully earthquake-ready.
The tower features a “steel moment frame” in its structural design, which proved resilient during the 1994 Northridge earthquake; none of the buildings with this framework collapsed, although several sustained damage.
Most of the planned seismic strengthening will focus on enhancing connections within the welded steel moment frame, as outlined in the request for proposals for the total estimated project cost of $234.5 million.
The contract for the seismic upgrades is set to be awarded in October, according to the bidding documents, and officials stated that the tower could remain occupied during the construction phase.
County representatives have already started relocating employees to the Gas Company Tower.
image source from：latimes
