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.........
Replacing
. . . the leaning tower of Parker
. . .
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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Replacing
LAPD Headquarters
. . . the leaning tower of Parker
. . .
Since the 1994 Northridge quake, Parker Center has been "yellow
tagged" and should have received immediate attention and retrofitting.
There is a perceptible lean to the structure, and it could easily
topple with the next "big one."
Not only that, but cost of renovations even it this weren't
the case would exceed the cost of temporarily moving out of the facility,
tearing the building down and putting a new state-of-the-art Parker
Center on the same valuable piece of downtown real estate.
At least that's the independent conclusions drawn by two of the most
respected real estate firms in the country, both of them working for
years pro bono (free) to help out the LAPD.
Until now their arguments have fallen on deaf ears. The City has neither
fixed what's wrong, and there's a lot wrong, nor has it committed
to finding a solution.
At a recent Police Commission meeting Larry
Kosmont, President and CEO of the Kosmont
Companies, and Whitley
Collins, Senior Vice President of CB
Richard Ellis, made back-to-back presentations, laying out
the complete case for the immediate need to take action.
Afterwards LAPD Police Commission President Rick Caruso, a commercial
real estate developer himself, asked for and received unanimous consent
from the five members of the Commission to begin the move within 90
days.
Why? Because it's a no-brainer, easily understood by those
who were present for the presentations. But unfortunately very few
in the community can be accommodated at Police Commission meetings
and the press, as per usual, devoted little space to the actual facts
and figures in the arguments.
We'll fix that here ...
Los Angeles Community Policing was on hand to see and hear these presentations.
At LACP we know the community, once it understands the whole picture,
will want to support the Department and its officers in wasting no
time establishing a new work environment that's safe, secure, and
can accommodate 21st Century needs.
Eight years is long enough to wait ... the building is in a terrible
state of disrepair, has dozens of safety code violations (any one
of which would require immediate renovation by any other landlord),
and it's woefully inadequate for the current needs of the Department
... plus, it could come down with the next big tremor.
If it did, not only would the officers, staff and visitors in the
building at the time be in jeopardy but so would the entire City,
because LA's brand new Emergency Communications Center (911), vital
in the event of an earthquake, sits immediately next door. Parker
Center could easily come down on top of it, destroying the ability
for the LA Police and Fire Departments to respond at all.
The repercussions would be immense.
Here is the complete picture, the overview presentation by Larry Kosmont,
followed by the financial particulars explained in detail by Whitley
Collins:
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City
of Los Angeles
Police Commission
|
. |
The
Future of Parker Center
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Presented by:
Larry J. Kosmont, CRE, President and CEO
Kosmont Companies
Tuesday, November 26, 2002
601 S. Figueroa St., Suite 3550
Los Angeles, California 90017
213 / 623-8484, 213 / 623-8288 fax
.
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| ...Police
Facilities Study |
A comprehensive look at the existing condition of LAPD
facilities, with recommendations for accommodating current
space shortages, future growth and the expansion of community
policing programs.
. |
|
...LAPD
Facilities Study: Description of Work Program |
Establishment of LAPD facilities objectives based on operational
priorities
Review and evaluation of existing facilities
Preparation of facilities needs assessment
Development of Master Facilities Program and schedule
Analysis of program costs and financing approaches
Creation of facilities management and program implementation
strategies
. |
|
...LAPD
Facilities Study: Primary Findings |
Significant
facilities overcrowding
Substandard
conditions and numerous code violations at facilities
Facilities
maintenance and management problems
Inconsistent
facilities planning and decision support systems
Inability
to accommodate Public Safety Plan (PSP) deployment and
community policing
LAPD
is underserved and hampered by its facilities. Thirty
years of neglect has resulted in facilities that require
extensive and costly replacement and/or rehabilitation
programs.
The
preferred Master Facilities Program addresses so many
deferred needs that an unrealistic number of projects
(70) should be done within 10 years, at a possible cost
of over $1 billion.
Parker
center should not be rehabilitated. It should be replaced.
. |
| ...Parker
Center & Central Entities |
|
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| ...Parker
Center & Central Entities: Centralized Functions |
Centralized
functions, which are located in Downtown and support operations
on a citywide basis, are generally referred to as “Central
Entities”
Parker
Center is the main Central Entity facility
It
is home to headquarters, administration, support and operations
functions
. |
| ...Parker
Center & Central Entities: Work Program |
In
order to arrive at recommendations, the Kosmont Partners:
Toured
facilities and conducted field interviews
Evaluated
staffing and space requirements
Assessed
physical conditions of Parker Center
Looked
at issues of operational adjacencies and cost of maintenance
Studied
interim and long-term alternatives for Parker Center
. |
| ...Parker
Center: Existing Conditions |
Parker
Center serves as the principal facility for centralized
LAPD functions
It
houses a combination of administrative, support, and operations
functions
Facilities
at Parker Center are severely overcrowded and in bad repair
These
facilities are 47 years old and have never been renovated
. |
| ...Results
of Kosmont Team Inspection: |
Inefficient
floor plan configuration
Deteriorated
building systems
Lack
of modern life-safety systems
Needed
replacement of exterior wall panels, glazing systems and
roof
Required
renovation of interior to meet current codes
Required
replacement of interior partitions, ceilings, floor materials,
lighting, electrical and communication systems, plumbing
systems, elevators and mechanical systems
Needed
abatement of asbestos and seismic conditions
Detectable
lean in the north/south direction due to foundation settling
and earthquake movement
Evident
seismic damage
Need
to replace heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems
. |
| ...Parker
Center: Kosmont Team Conclusions |
Parker
Center must be replaced
Based
on a building conditions survey and space needs assessment,
it was determined that Parker Center cannot be renovated
cost-effectively
A
major renovation would not correct the facility’s functional
obsolescence
Cost
of renovation would likely exceed the cost of new construction
and existing building acquisition
The
cost of replacing and upgrading major building systems
would be roughly equivalent to the cost of new construction
Cost
of expanding and rehabilitating Parker Center is about
$283 per square foot
Cost
of new development could be less
. |
| ...Parker
Center: Additional Observations |
Combined
cost of maintenance and required or emergency short-term
capital improvements could exceed occupancy cost at a
temporary facility
Downtown
facilities are not co-located efficiently or cost-effectively.
Could be consolidated while long-term solution for Parker
Center and Central Entities is resolved
In
the long-term (year 2025) LAPD Parker Center and Central
Entities need more space with improved adjacencies and
co-location solutions
. |
| ...Parker
Center & Central Entities: Recommendations |
Interim
location for Police Administration Building
Eventually
house Parker Center in new location with 290,000 GSF in
Civic Center area
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In case you missed it, Parker Center has an asbestos problem, contaminated
air conditioning systems and no fire sprinklers at all. Now
47 years old, it's never been renovated. The entire infrastructure
is an abomination.
It is consistently being cited for these and many other California
State and LA City building code violations. Any one of them, were
the landlord not the City, might well have resulted in tremendous
fines and / or the ordering of the building's abandonment until costly
repairs were accomplished.
While City Hall itself went through a complete renovation, LAPD's
Parker Center has apparently been considered a lower priority. It
was removed from the recently passed Proposition Q, which does
fund renovations and replacement of several Police and Fire facilities.
But there's been no one presenting a plan for Police Headquarters.
That's why the Commission decided to declare ownership. It's charged
with running the best Department it can, and now that the new Chief
is in place, the Board can turn its attention to the deplorable conditions
at the facility.
Here's an overview of the case presenting the financial particulars,
explained in detail by Whitley Collins, who presented the Police Commission
with a comparative cost analysis:
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Police Commission Presentation
Replacing Parker Center
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presented by:
Whitley Collins, Senior Vice President
CB Richard Ellis
Tuesday, November 26, 2002
355 S. Grand Avenue, Suite 3100
Los Angeles, CA 90071
213 / 613-3196, 213 / 613-3538 fax
CB
Richard Ellis
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 Police
Commission Presentation: |
|
current situation |
analysis |
next steps |
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| Solve
the first two: |
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While
LAPD can not easily get out of the commitment
for the "non-flexable" leases, the Parker
Center floor space, along with the floor space
currently occupied by 12 other LAPD units (month-to-month
leases) can be combined to create a significant
number of square feet needed:
227,000
+ 199,472 = 471,472 square feet
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But
actually 471,000 square feet would not be required
to duplicate what's being occupied at the present.
Combining the facilities means things like lobbies,
front desks, security needs, lunchrooms and even
hallways and lavatories is not a factor.
The estimated floor space needed to house what's
currently being occupied in Parker Center and
the 12 other units is:
330,000
square feet
|
LAPD will also require 1,600 parking spaces within
the facility. |
. |
| Some
financial factors: |
|
CB Ellis estimates it would cost some $44 million
to renovate Parker Center. |
The Department spends between $1.5 to $3 million
a year, just to maintain it now. |
The flexible month-to-month rents for the 12 other
units housed elsewhere run $2.7 million a year. |
The boom of the 90's resulted in many class "A"
and class "B" office buildings being constructed
downtown. |
Real estate markets are currently "soft"
because the market has changed - there are lots
of vacancies, and far too few tenants to fill them. |
A 330,000 square foot quality tenant such as the
City of Los Angeles's LAPD is a catch, guaranteeing
that a building will not sit idle. |
Landlords in this market do not wish to make a tremendous
profit, but rather are looking for a tenant that
will pay the costs of the building and stay several
years. |
A
landlord interested in securing such a long-term
tenant will be willing to contribute an estimated
$15 million as an incentive to make it happen. |
. |
| A
seven year plan: |
. |
| Additional
considerations: |
|
LAPD had a lot of staff officers (15) and civilian
employees (170) leave the Department for greener
pastures last year - better working conditions were
often cited on exit interviews. |
If only 10% were retained, there would have been
a $340,000 savings, just in that category alone. |
The property on which Parker Center now stands is
quite valuable and if it were razed a new state-of-the-art
structure could be built on the same plot without
incurring an estimated $10,000,000 replacement cost
just for the land alone. |
Conclusion:
The City should immediately take advantage of the
available high quality office space in downtown
high-rises to consolidate the administrative offices
in Parker Center and 12 other LAPD units into one
330,000 square foot space with 1,600 parking spaces. |
A long-term 5 to 7 year lease would cost about the
same as attempting to repair Parker Center, and
a repair would leave the City with an inappropriate
LAPD Headquarters. |
The City should raze Parker Center, avoiding all
renovation / retrofitting costs, and replace it
with a new building appropriate to the 21st Century. |
. |
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Time to take action
On November 29th, LA Times reported that it's been 14 years since
Los Angeles first required fire sprinklers in high-rise buildings,
and police headquarters has repeatedly been cited for failing to abide
by the law.
The Mayor and the City Council have refused to pay for mandated improvements.
During the same period, the owners of almost 400 privately owned high-rise
buildings have been forced to spend millions of dollars to install
sprinklers and alarms, or to vacate portions of their buildings under
threat of being heavily fined.
Yet, according to the Times, no such fines have been levied against
the General Services Department, which is responsible for maintaining
Parker Center, now almost half a century old.
On this one safety issue alone, the City has shown it's lack of respect
for the officers and employees of the LAPD. And yet there are so many
more considerations, including the very survival of huge portions
the City if another 7-point-something earthquake should strike and
Parker Center fell down.
"I can't understand how this has gone on this long," Commission President
Rick Caruso is quoted as saying. "The irony is you have people who
you are asking to protect the public and you have housed them in one
of the most dangerous buildings downtown."
Caruso blames the problem on a lack of political will by city leaders.
"It never was important to anybody because you cannot garner any votes,"
he says. "If this had been a private building, it would have been
closed and vacated by now."
We couldn't agree more.
The Department deserves better, and it deserves it right away. |
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