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The City of Los Angeles’ Municipal Facilities Committee has recommended a public-private partnership (PPP) for the development of a new civic centre in the city, which is located in Southern California, south-west USA.

The centre is planned to be a 27- to 29-story tower offering over 70,000 square metres of office space, street-fronting retail and restaurant space and underground parking for 1,100 vehicles.  

It would be built on the site of the Parker Center, the Los Angeles Police Department headquarters until October 2009, vacant since January 2013. The capital cost of demolishing the Parker Centre and constructing the new building is estimated to be over US$700 million. 

The Committee has recommended that a private partner undertake these works, as well as the financing, operation and maintenance of the new centre for a 30-year period. The cost of construction, operation and maintenance of the proposed building for the duration of the contract is projected to range from US$915 million to US$945 million.

After 30 years, control of the building would be transferred to the City.

The proposal for the PPP project approved by the Committee calls for demolition to be completed by December 2019, and the new building to open in 2023.

This project is the first phase of Los Angeles’ Civic Center Master Plan, approved by the City council in March, which aims to rejuvenate and modernise the outdated area of downtown Los Angeles surrounding City Hall. The six phases of the plan entail the demolition of key structures and creation of over 100,000 square metres of office space, as well as new residential, retail and open space. The final phases are not expected to go into development until the 2030s.