The FBI recently proposed the $400 million construction of a new
building in Westwood, arousing community activists who are worried
about safety and increased traffic congestion.
The proposed new building, at nearly 1 million square feet,
would sit adjacent to the existing Federal Building at 11000
Wilshire Blvd., and would provide extra space, easier access and
more modern facilities for the FBI.
But, community activists say the new building wouldn’t
benefit Westwood in any way, and they don’t want it
there.
“Our community is very near the Westwood intersection. We
can anticipate an enormous increase in cut-through traffic,”
said Carole Magnuson, president of Westwood Hills Property Owners
Association.
Magnuson said she is not usually a person to make drastic
remarks, but that the proposed project would add so much traffic
that it would bring the area close to a gridlock for large portions
of the day.
Some community members are also concerned the new police
building will increase the potential of a terrorist attack or
security threat.
Sandy Brown, president of the Holmby-Westwood Property Owners
Association, said the construction would make the building a
bull’s-eye for anyone who wanted to target the west side of
Los Angeles.
The existing Federal Building is outdated and inconvenient, said
Matt McLaughlin, a spokesperson for the Los Angeles division of the
FBI, and the new construction would greatly benefit the overall
workings of the bureau.
The building, which would be finished in around 10 years, would
be built along with a 1,200-space parking lot in addition to the
already-existing structure, he said.
“The explosion of computers and the like today created
power needs that the (existing) building was never designed to
support,” McLaughlin said. He added that when the building
was first built, there was one phone line for 10 people.
In his offices alone, McLaughlin said there is now a phone line
at every desk, and he has three computers on his desk and 17
computers in the office he oversees. He added that numerous
computers are needed because the FBI deals with both the Internet
and their own internal server and databases.
“Society has evolved beyond what this building can
support,” he said.
He added that the current Federal Building is also getting old
and has problems with asbestos and lead particles that were showing
up in the drinking water supply.
The existing building now houses nearly 800 employees who report
to work daily. Construction of a new building would allow those who
work in other parts of the city to join the existing employees in
the same building, McLaughlin said. He added that when construction
is complete, roughly 1,000 to 1,200 personnel would report
daily.
He added that the FBI’s evidence custody facility is not
at the existing building either, and it can take anywhere from half
an hour to over an hour and a half for an agent to look at a
particular piece of evidence that he or she has already seized.
Addressing the issues of security and traffic congestion,
McLaughlin said the new facility will be more secure because it
would provide a proper stand-off barrier, and that traffic would
not be a huge concern because many of the agents come to and leave
the office at irregular business hours.
Rep. Christopher Cox from Orange County said the building is
needed to address terrorism. Cox is the chairman of the Committee
on Homeland Security.
“Opening a larger FBI office will allow more manpower and
resources to focus on the ports of L.A. and Long Beach, the borders
and the airports, which are all potential targets and must be
protected,” Cox wrote in an e-mail statement.
While the new building may benefit the FBI, Brown said she
thought it would drive many people away from Westwood because they
would no longer be able to navigate the congested streets.
She added that she had plans for attending a meeting on May 20,
where she will ask the General Services Administration, the group
overseeing the project, to look at the project locally rather than
regionally.
Brown said the FBI and the General Services Administration may
not be thinking on a local level and not understand the concerns
that she and other Westwood residents have.
Magnuson added that many of the designs and approvals of the
project are being done by people who are foreign to Westwood.