AKA: United States Government, Department of Justice, Federal Courthouse, Office Building #4, Los Angeles, CA

Structure Type: built works - commercial buildings - office buildings; built works - public buildings - courthouses

Designers: Becket, Welton D., and Associates, Architects (firm); Welton David Becket (architect)

Dates: constructed 1990-1992

22 stories

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255 East Temple Street
Downtown, Los Angeles, CA 90012

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Building History

This 22-story office tower opened in 01/1992, and was named for a longtime politician representing Los Angelenos, Democrat Edward Ross Roybal (1916-2005), who served on the Los Angeles, California, City Council for thirteen years (1949-1962) and the U.S. House of Representatives for thirty (1962-1992).

The Federal Government used the Roybal Building to house various departments from 1992 until 2017, with the judiciary being a principal tenant. This was until the completion of construction of the Federal Courthouse/Office Building #5 in 09/2016, which enabled the shifting and consoldation of office spaces in three buildings: the Federal Courthouse/Office Building #3 at 312 North Spirng Street, the Federal Courthouse/Office Building #5 at North 1st Street and Broadway, and the Roybal Building. The Los Angeles Downtown News summarized these shifts: The [Federal Courthouse/Office Building #5] will hold 24 U.S. District courthouses, judges’ chambers and the U.S Marshals’ service, with many workers and offices moving from the similarly named United States Courthouse and Post Office at 312 N. Spring St. Other tenants for the new Civic Center edifice are leaving the Edward R. Roybal Building and U.S. Courthouse.... While [the Roybal Building] has had a variety of tenants, it most recently housed the U.S. District courts, the Drug Enforcement Agency, the Department of Homeland Security and other federal departments. The idea is now to move more offices, including magistrate courts, the district court clerk and pretrial services, out of the U.S. Courthouse on Spring Street and into the Roybal Building. Doing so requires a total reconfiguration of its interior. The $19 million project was approved last month, with Riverside-based Stronghold Engineering winning a bid on March 25. Almost $8.7 million of the $19 million would go to reconfiguring and modernizing the workspaces. Most of the remaining money would cover replacing the HVAC and electrical systems. Moving tenants out of the Spring Street courthouse and into the Roybal Building will create room to bring the county courts into the former structure. That will fill slightly more than one-quarter of the bright terra cotta property. The county courts are currently in state-owned or leased buildings. Moving them to the Spring Street courthouse will save regional taxpayer dollars, according to the U.S. General Services Administration." (See Eddie Kim, Los Angeles Downtown News, "Roybal Building to Get $19 Million Renovation," published 04/19/2016, accessed 05/10/2017.)

Alteration

The Roybal Building was to undergo a $19 million renovation beginning in 2017 and scheduled to last between 24 and 30 months.

PCAD id: 21220