Looks like SCI-Arc can continue to enjoy wide open space as a neighbor at its recently-purchased campus, at least for now. An official project site for the new Los Angeles County Mental Health Court is expected to be announced in upcoming weeks, but blogdowntown reports that according to Estela Lopez of the Central City East Association, a nonprofit advocacy group representing Downtown's Industrial District, it probably isn't going to be built next to the architecture school. Neighborhood chatter had previously revealed that the state was eyeing a 5 acre parcel right next to SCI-Arc for courtrooms, offices, parking structures, and hoteling work spaces for mental health staff. The county's current court compound, located just north of Dodger Stadium, was originally built in 1930 as a warehouse and has problems with overcrowding, security, and ADA compliance. The LA court is the only one in the state that focuses solely on mental health court proceedings, with a third of its cases classified as criminal. The court's construction in the neighborhood would have clashed with the city's desire to mold the area into a Cleantech Corridor.
· Fight Over Mental Health Court Averted in the Arts District? [Blogdowntown]
· Los Angeles County, New L.A. Mental Health Courthouse [California Courts]
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