Leafier redesign unveiled for Downtown LA’s First and Broadway Park

After a round of community feedback, the design for the newest park in Downtown LA’s Civic Center has evolved from a hardscape-centric one to a more lush and landscaped vision, reports the Downtown News.

The design for the park at First and Broadway comes from LA-based Mia Lehrer + Associates, which won a design competition last year with its blueprint for a park that mixed hardscape and greenery, with a two-floor restaurant, a beer garden, and photovoltaic shade structures meant to mimic California poppies.

But community feedback revealed that stakeholders really wanted to see more green.

“One of the things we heard most with the original design was ‘more trees,’ so we added more, and wanted to make sure they’re big enough to provide deep shade,” Ben Feldmann, a principal at Mia Lehrer + Associates, told the News.

So trees have been added. Nearly 10,000 square feet of a planned paved plaza has been reclaimed for “meadow” space.

Other changes include adding a rooftop deck to the two-story restaurant onsite and moving the entrances to the park to the corners of the parcel.

The $28-million park is planned to break ground in 2018, with the park’s open date scheduled for sometime in early 2020.

• A Fresh Look for First and Broadway Park [Downtown News]
• Here's the Winning Design for Downtown's Newest Park [Curbed LA]