Advocacy - Historic Broadway Commercial Reuse Bulletin Bringing Back Broadway
Agency / Organization:
City of Los Angeles Department of Building and Safety (LADBS)
Status:
Complete
Intent:
In the early 2000's the Historic Broadway district in downtown Los Angeles had roughly 2 million square-feet of vacant upper floor space along seven blocks of Broadway. Most buildings were not suitable for adaptive reuse to housing due to lack of light and ventilation. The early downtown revitalization was not impacting Broadway, LA’s most iconic historic district and former commercial and entertainment destination.
Bringing Back Broadway was a 10-year strategic economic development plan to revitalize the corridor to incentivize economic development, encourage historic preservation, stimulate reactivation of historic theaters and underutilized commercial buildings, create a safer and more vibrant pedestrian experience, and increase transit options.
Executive Director of Bringing Back Broadway, Jessica Wethington McLean, led the effort to create a commercial reuse bulletin that would bring economic activity to Broadway in downtown Los Angeles. Commercial uses were seen as optimal for most buildings, but without incentives for redevelopment, the structures were falling into further neglect.
The resulting 33-page bulletin incorporates aspects of its predecessor Adaptive Reuse Ordinance as well as detailed interpretations from California’s Historic Building Code allowing for a clear document and guide map for building and fire plan checkers, as well as building owners, architects and engineers to follow. It allowed former historic uses to be brought back without full new code compliance and allowed flexibility for areas of the building not to be considered “change of use” in addition to many other technical compliance reductions and clarifications, including seismic, fire/ life safety, occupancy and exiting. The Bulletin, while intended for Broadway, has been expanded to be a precedent for all Citywide historic building permitting.
Omgivning’s Founder, Karin Liljegren, was the primary private-sector representative at the city’s collaboration meetings and a leader of the document’s direction.