An international competition was launched Wednesday to redesign the five-acre Pershing Square urban park in downtown Los Angeles, with a firm expected to be selected by February.
Councilman Jose Huizar helped form the nonprofit Pershing Square Renew to lead the design competition. He said the hope is to transform the concrete-paved park to make it more inviting to the downtown residential community,
with completion planned for 2020.
The 150-year-old park underwent a $14.5 million redesign in the early 1990s by Mexican architect Ricardo Legorreta and American architect Laurie Olin.
With walls that obscure some of the park from view to those on the street, the current design has been poorly received by some, with detractors describing the park as "fortress-like."
"When it's completed in 2020, Pershing Square will be a platform for civic engagement, a place of rest, play and leisure for residents, local community stakeholders and visitors alike," Huizar said.
A jury will pick 10 semi-finalists in November to present their concepts. The pool will then be whittled down to four finalists in December, with the winner picked by the end of February.
Huizar said MacFarlane Partners, a neighbor of the park, already has donated $1 million, while the developers of Metropolis, a property under construction across from Staples Center, have put in $250,000.
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Huizar said the competition costs will not come out of city operating funds, though some special city funds will likely be used.
