January 10, 2006

Ambassador Hotel 'Uh-ohs'

Check out the latest news on the demolition of the Ambassador Hotel. It seems LAUSD has discovered there is more to demolishing the grand old structure than originally thought. Between hazardous materials abatement and a ripe deposit of underground methane gas, the 'rush' to break ground is being pushed back months and there is talk of the new construction project becoming even more expensive.

Perhaps this is a good time to mention that many consider historic preservation to be the greatest form of "green architecture". With the latest developments, it makes one wonder if the the abatement issues, the expedited time schedule, and our now fuller landfills could have been better served by a preservation solution...not to mention the more talked about issues of historical significance and sense of place.

Faded Star Is Slow to Leave the Stage
By Bob Pool, Times Staff Writer

Hollywood would call it The Long Goodbye. Some in the Wilshire district would simply call it long-winded.

Demolition of the landmark Ambassador Hotel to make way for a 4,200-seat campus is dragging on and on, they say, even though school officials have argued since the early 1990s that they desperately need its space for classrooms — and need it quickly.

The tear-down is in its fifth month — and to many Wilshire Boulevard passersby and neighbors, there appears to be no end in sight. In fact, there's not even not a wrecking ball in sight.

Los Angeles Unified School District planners say the demolition only appears to be going slowly because workers were forced to remove asbestos and lead from the 85-year-old hotel before knocking down its concrete walls.

Now authorities have to deal with the unexpected discovery of methane gas beneath the 24-acre hotel grounds.

Soil tests last month revealed the problem. Experts said school builders will probably be required to install an "impermeable membrane" beneath the new campus, along with a network of pipes to vent the gas.

Authorities said Thursday that could add millions to the campus' $270-million cost and could affect the planned 2008 opening of its elementary school. A middle school and a high school are also planned for the site; they are scheduled to open in 2009.

View the full article at http://www.latimes.com.



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