Breathing New Life Into L.A.'s Hall of Justice

LOS ANGELES – A recent Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors vote cleared the way for Clark Construction Group - California, LP, to renovate the County's historic Hall of Justice. Clark, along with design partner A.C. Martin of Los Angeles, was awarded a $151 design-build contract for structural, architectural, and aesthetic upgrades to the 1920s-era building. The Hall of Justice, L.A.'s former county jail, has been closed since it was damaged in the 1994 Northridge earthquake. The Los Angeles Sherriff's Department and members of the Los Angeles County District Attorney's staff - both former tenants of the building - will occupy the new space.

When the 335,000 square-foot Hall of Justice re-opens in 2014, it will feature seismic upgrades, 308,000 square feet of office space, new interior shear walls and drag beams, and new MEP systems that tie into the building's existing central plant. Additional renovations include adding a museum area and kitchen and removing two floors of former jail cells to create head room for office space. Preserving the historic building's original aesthetic, the project team will pin and clean all exterior granite, restore the loggia and staircases, and refurbish all elevator cabs and entrances. In addition, the project includes a 1,000-space parking structure.

The Hall of Justice will be designed and constructed to achieve LEED^® Gold certification, exceeding the job requirement of LEED Silver at no additional cost to the County.

Design for the project will begin in August. Substantial completion is expected in late 2014.

In addition to A.C. Martin, project partners include AECOM, Los Angeles, tenant improvement architect; Englekirk & Sabol, Los Angeles, structural engineer; Syska Hennessy Group, Los Angeles, MEP engineer; VCA Engineers, Inc., Los Angeles, civil engineer; Levin & Associates Architects, Los Angeles, historical consultant, Murray Companies, Rancho Dominguez, Calif., mechanical and plumbing contractor; and Dynalectric, Los Alamitos, Calif., electrical contractor.  The Department of Public Works will be managing the project for the County.