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04
Sep 2009
New LAPD headquarters almost ready

For now, the new Los Angeles Police Department headquarters has that new-house feel -- the smell of fresh paint, static electricity off the carpets, walls absent of any handprints.


The new Los Angeles Police Department headquarters in Los Angeles. (Hans Gutknecht/Daily News)

Yet, in about two months, it will be teeming with life from police officers, politicians and the public taking advantage of its new park, a planned restaurant and the first public meeting space in more than three decades.

"We fought a lot of pressure and were able to prevent this from looking like a fortress," Councilwoman Jan Perry said Thursday during a tour of the 10-story, 500,000-square-foot complex.

Along with two nearby parking structures, $437 million went into the facility to replace the 40-year-old Parker Center.

"This was a time when all the shouting from the community paid dividends," Perry said. "We listened to their concerns, and I think we have a better building for it."

Formal opening ceremonies are planned for late October, but LAPD staff will begin moving in within the next two weeks. The new building will have space for about 2,300 workers, allowing the LAPD to consolidate many downtown activities that are now spread around other buildings.

It will be wired for computers -- including Wi-Fi access for officers -- with several large conference rooms to be outfitted with big-screen televisions and systems to upload digital presentations.

One of the key public features is a more than 400-seat civic auditorium, named after former Chief Legislative Analyst Ron Deaton, that will be used as overflow space for the Police Commission and a public gathering place for meetings.

To the south is a wide expanse of green space -- requested by the community -- adjacent to a new Police Foundation memorial and a restaurant to be called L.A. Reflections.

Within the structure there are security measures. Rows of giant palm trees at one end with large planters at another serve as effective barricades.

Off the First Street entrance a lattice work of planters, linking up to a waterfall using recycled water, serves to protect the front of the building. All plants are drought resistant, requiring a minimum amount of water "yet providing us with a palette of colors," Perry said.

The office of the chief of police, which current Chief William Bratton will surrender before he even moves in, is about the same space as he has now. But it has an open-air patio that allows views across the downtown area. The only thing above the chief's office is a helipad.

Inside the building is a utilitarian office space with gray, hard-plastic cubicles and desks being installed. Most of the computers now in use at Parker Center will be moved over to the new building until they reach their replacement cycle.

Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa said through an aide that the new building "represents the modern, progressive, state-of-the-art department the LAPD has become."

Nick Patsaouras, who headed the oversight committee on the project for several years, said the goal was to construct an attractive building while staying on budget.

"I see this imposing edifice as a reward to Chief Bratton and his troops for repairing the image of the department," Patsaouras said.

Patsaouras said the oversight committee also wanted to ensure the building would be welcoming to the public.

"That's the reason for having a plaza in front of it, so it can serve as a gathering place of open space for different occasions," Patsaouras said.

City Engineer Gary Lee Moore said he was proud the building was opening on schedule and under budget. Also, he said, the city was able to save about $70 million from the Proposition Q bond measure to enable remodeling of the former Rampart Station, as well as a new headquarters for SWAT and additional work on other police stations.

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