LA County supervisors want answers on pricey upgrades to county-owned building. Are they really necessary?

The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday voted to immediately suspend all proposals for seismic work on a 52-story tower in downtown L.A. amid concerns about the cost of upgrades that may not be necessary.

The county got a deal when it purchased the Gas Company Tower on West 5th Street last year, paying $200 million for a building that was assessed at three times that amount before the pandemic.

The idea was to move county headquarters from the current Kenneth Hahn Hall of Administration in the Civic Center into the tower six blocks south. The aging hall is badly in need of seismic retrofitting that could cost more than $700 million, according to county officials.

Other county offices would also move to the tower, reducing rent, county officials said.

County officials say the building complies with the earthquake code as it was written when the tower was built in the late 1980s. Bringing the building up to today’s standards would be optional.

But some supervisors are balking at an estimated $297 million for voluntary seismic upgrades to the tower.

“I was surprised that we would be proceeding with…optional seismic upgrades to the Gas Company Tower,” Supervisor Lindsey Horvath said at the meeting.

The board directed the county CEO to provide a written report back in 60 days that includes the financial sources for any retrofit and an occupancy plan for the tower.

Concerns about transparency

The county faces mounting financial pressures from federal funding cuts topping $1.5 billion over five years, continuing liability from child sexual abuse cases inside county juvenile lockups and foster homes, and $2 billion in costs related to the fires.

“I want a more surgical look at how we are spending our money,” Supervisor Hilda Solis said at the meeting.

Solis and Horvath wrote in their motion that the building was acquired so that the county could consolidate its operations and save money.

“However, there has been little to no transparency into what progress, if any, the County has made in occupying spaces in the Gas Company Tower after eight months of ownership,” the motion states. “Meanwhile, it continues to lease higher priced office space elsewhere to meet the needs of County departments.”

County CEO Fesia Davenport said there were no plans to move forward with spending the money on retrofitting the tower without board approval. She said the Department of Public Works had not yet asked for proposals to analyze what exactly the building needs.

Davenport also said she has not yet recommended the county retrofit the building.

“Under the code at the time the tower was constructed, it is considered seismically compliant,” she said. “Much of that building and space is turnkey and can be occupiable with minor investments."

County officials said it would take three years to occupy the building.

Future of Hahn Hall of Administration

Supervisor Janice Hahn, who was the lone dissenter on the purchase of the tower, noted the annual cost of operating the tower would be higher than the cost to operate all of the other leased space the tower would replace.

Davenport did not confirm that assertion.

“I think this cost is just the tip of the iceberg,” Hahn said. “I think there’s been a lot hidden from us.”

Hahn has a special affection for the current county headquarters. It's named after her father, legendary Supervisor Kenneth Hahn who served for 40 years on the board.

“I still question the purchase,” she said.

Davenport also said the future of the historic county hall was unclear. She said it's possible the county could retain the cavernous auditorium where the supervisors meet weekly and tear down the rest of the complex.

She noted the Mosk Superior Court building next door was also in dire need of earthquake retrofitting.