A Much Needed Facility

Caltrans (California Department of Transportation) District 7 is proposing to develop a new headquarters on the state-owned parking lot that encompasses most of the block bordered by First, Second, Main and Los Angeles Streets in the downtown civic center.

The current Caltrans building was completed in 1949. An adjoining annex was built in 1959. Beginning in 1992, a series of studies were conducted that concluded that a substantial investment would be needed to upgrade the facility to a basic level of code compliance, safety and performance. Severe infrastructure deficiencies make the current headquarters functionally obsolete and cost prohibitive to renovate.

The proposed new headquarters will consolidate Caltrans - District 7 operations from the existing buildings and from leased office facilities at various locations throughout downtown.

The Draft Environmental Impact Report (Draft EIR)

The State of California Department of General Services has prepared a Draft Environmental Impact Report (Draft EIR) that has analyzed potential project alternatives and identified measures to minimize or eliminate (mitigate) those impacts determined to be significant. A Draft EIR public review and comment period extending from July 5, 2001 to August 20, 2001 has been established. All comments received on the Draft EIR during the public review period along with responses to those comments will be included in a Final EIR.

The Project Alternatives

There are three project alternatives evaluated in the Draft EIR. Below is a brief outline of each project alternative. Please note that the drawings shown are massing schemes only and do not reflect the final design of the facility. For further details on each alternative, please refer to the Draft EIR

Project
Alternative 1

This alternative would confine the proposed project to the existing 2.3-acre
Caltrans parking lot. (The yellow area on the site map.) This plan includes:

· A 603,500 gross-square-foot, 16-story (maximum) office building to accommodate 1,837 Caltrans workers.
· A 10-level (maximum) parking structure located along Los Angeles Street, with space for up to 932 vehicles.

Project Alternative 2

Under this alternative, the entire block bounded by 1st, Los Angeles, 2nd, and Main Streets would be used to develop the new facility (the yellow and orange sections in the map above.) Project Alternative 2 is contingent upon the City and State reaching agreement on a land exchange whereby the City would acquire privately owned parcels on that block and exchange those properties for the existing Caltrans headquarters building property. If this project alternative is selected, some existing commercial properties along the northern portion of the property will be displaced. Under Alternative 2, the project includes:

· A 603,500-gsf, 12-story (maximum) office building to house 1,837 Caltrans employees.
· A 6-level (maximum) parking structure, possibly located along 2nd Street, with space for approximately 932 vehicles.

Project
Alternative 3

Like alternative 2, this plan will also use the entire city block for the new facility. Unique to this alternative is the addition of building space to accommodate approximately 564 employees of the City of Los Angeles Department of Transportation (LADOT). The alternative includes the following:

· A 716,200-gsf (includes 112, 700-gsf for the LADOT staff), 16-story (maximum) office building.
· An 8-level (maximum) parking structure to accommodate up to 1,142 vehicles.

Under Alternatives 2 and 3, the City would also acquire the privately owned properties on the south side of 1st Street between Spring and Main Streets.

Components Common to All Proposed Alternatives

Below is a partial list of the components common to all three alternatives. For a complete list, please refer to the DEIR.

· Cafeteria
· Child Care Facility
· Caltrans Museum and Library
· Retail Facilities
· Heliport
· Public Art Program

The Design/Build Process

The new headquarters will be developed in a two-phase process. Phase I generated concept documents, performance specifications, project scope, program and the environmental impact report.

Phase II will commence with the selection of a design/build team and conclude with occupancy of the new building in mid-year of 2004. The project will adhere to the States goals of "Design Excellence" and "Sustainability". The project has been selected to be part of the State's Excellence in Public Buildings Program that seeks to establish conditions for the planning, design, and construction of public buildings that will attain the highest degree of merit. The project will also comply with Executive Order D-16-00 issued by the Governor of California in August of 2000, which requires projects built with state funds be "models of energy, water, and materials efficiency; while providing healthy, productive and comfortable indoor environments and long-term benefits to Californians."

A Public Project

It is the intent of the project team to develop a new Caltrans District 7 Headquarters Building that works for the community and is uniquely representative of the diversity of the greater Los Angeles area. Public involvement will be a continuous component of the project's planning and construction process.

Lilian De Loza, Sr. Project Manager
Public Outreach Consultant
Consensus Planning Group, Inc.
444 S. Flower Street, Suite 1300
Los Angeles, CA 90071
(213) 438-1755
(213) 438-1764
ldeloza@consensusp.com

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