Restored City Hall Lawn to Reopen in May

Rendering of restoration plans for City Hall lawn.

The lawn of City Hall, which was damaged by the Occupy LA encampments that were set up last fall, will undergo a $390,000 makeover and reopen in May, Recreation and Parks officials told the Los Angeles City Council today.

About $160,000 of that estimate will be paid for with funds from the Los Angeles Conservation Corp., Metropolitan Water District and a Department of Water and Power rebate. Councilwoman Jan Perry, whose district includes City Hall, also asked her colleagues to donate Quimby Funds to the budget.

The $390,000 pricetag is far less than the city’s original estimates. The cost of restoring the lawn to its original condition is $76,000.

“We assumed the worst case scenario for the irrigation systems, thinking that we might have to replace all of them,” said Michael Shull, superintendent of Rec and Parks’ Planning, Construction and Maintenance Division. ”Luckily, the irrigation systems are fairly in tact.”

The landscaping plan calls for drought-resistant plants, decomposed granite along the Spring Street transit area and on a path to the upper lawn. The north lawn will be replaced with low-water use plants and decomposed granite paths connecting the Temple and Spring Street entrances, as well as a redesigned irrigation system. It will cost $135,000 a year to maintain the new lawn.

Work on the lawn is expected to start later this week. The lawn is expected to reopen the first or second week of May.