The Flexner Report

The Clippers come to Playa Vista

• The world's leading video-game publisher, Electronic Arts, now houses more than 600 employees at its futuristic studio at Playa Vista's Water's Edge complex.
• On Concert Park in Playa Vista, a coffee Bean and Tea Leaf, Bank of America, beauty supply store, and the restaurant/bar Piknik are now open.  More retail surrounding the park will open soon.
• A Sunrise Senior Living facility opened in 2006.
• Along with the six public parks that already exist, more new parks are opening.  The interactive design firm ESI, led by Edwin Schlossberg, is designing park programs and the community's signage.
• In the Campus area, the Los Angeles Clippers are building a new training facility for its players.  Several Clippers players live in or near Playa Vista.
• The residential portion of Playa Vista's first phase- which is nearly complete- is closest to Lincoln Blvd. and the Ballona Wetlands.  This section also includes Concert Park and the Shops at Concert Park, the Playa Vista Branch of the Los Angeles Public Library, the Centerpoint Club (for residents of the development), and Los Angeles Fire Department station number 67.
• The commercial third of the development is closest to Sepulveda Blvd., the Marina Freeway and the 405 freeway, convenient for commuters.  Lincoln Properties is planning to build office building totaling more than 820,000 square feet in the eastern portion of Playa Vista community know as the "The Campus at Playa Vista."  The Clippers' training facility will also be located in the campus, as well as a basketball-themed public park.

Phase Two: The Village Town Center

The Village Town Center will connect the Phase One residential property with the Campus, and is expected to be mixed-used residential/commercial property.

The Village was approved in 2004 by the Los Angeles City Council.  Phase 2 is expected to draw more traffic to the area, since it will include offices and shops.  The village will bring 2,600 new homes and a neighborhood retail center that will offer restaurants, a grocery store, bank branch and other community-serving uses.  The Village will connect the homes now under construction on Playa Vista's west side with the Campus area on the eastern end of the property.  Rick Caruso Associates, which designed the Grove is currently in negotiations to design the Village.

Recent Developments

In 2001, former Los Angeles mayoral advisor and Parks Commissioner Steve Soboroff was hired as Playa Vista's president after finishing out of contention in that year's mayoral contest.  Soboroff, described by the Los Angeles Times as a "hard charging businessman," was a driving force behind the Staples Center arena and the Alameda Corridor below-grade rail line.  As a mayoral candidate, Soboroff proposed innovative solutions to Los Angeles' traffic problems including building light rail along major freeways.  He also proposed breaking up the Los Angeles Unified School District and recruiting kids away from gangs using after-school programs.  In 2002, signaling a significant reduction in its ultimate size and scope, Soboroff unveiled new plans for the completion of development at Playa Vista.  It is estimated that the plan will result in less than half the number of residential units, a third less office space and nearly  70 percent less retail area compared to the original Playa Vista master plan.  Perhaps more significantly, over 70 percent of 1,087-acre Playa Vista will be dedicated to either active or passive open space.  This dramatic reduction in development was made possible by Playa Vista's agreement with the Trust for Public Land that allowed the State of California to purchase the land west of Lincoln Boulevard and north of Culver Boulevard in order to restore and preserve the Ballona Wetlands in perpetuity.

Clippers Name General Contractors for Playa Vista Practice Facility

The Los Angeles Clippers today named the Turner Construction Company as the general contractor on the team’s $25 million practice facility project.  Construction is planned to begin in January, 2007.  An announcement of the specific start date is expected soon.

  In making the announcement, Clippers’ Executive Vice President Andy Roeser said, “We have been exhaustive over the course of many months in this selection process, and we’re confident that we have picked the perfect organization to undertake this project.  We look forward to working with the Turner group, and we can’t wait to get started.”

  The 104 year-old Turner Construction Company, headquartered in Dallas, Texas, is a nationally recognized company and is one of the nation’s largest builders of educational, sport, commercial, retail, hotel, multi-unit housing, industrial, pharmaceutical, medical, cultural and institutional projects. Turner has a dynamic presence in the Downtown Los Angeles city skyline, starting with the Union Bank Building in 1967, and including the US Bank Tower and the Gas Company Tower in following years.

  “Turner Construction Company is excited about the opportunity to build the Clippers Practice Facility Project and is proud to be a part of the team,” stated Rory DeJohn, Senior Vice President and General Manager of Turner Southern California.

  Turner has an extraordinary background in sports practice/training facility construction, having completed projects for the NBA’s Cleveland Cavaliers and New York Knicks, the NFL’s Cleveland Browns, Cincinnati Bengals, and Carolina Panthers, and the NHL’s Columbus Blue Jackets and Pittsburgh Penguins.

  A longtime vision of Clippers’ Owner Donald T. Sterling, the team’s new  comprehensive training center is expected to be completed in the fall of 2007, and will be situated on a two-acre parcel of land within the Playa Vista community on Los Angeles’ Westside.

  Architectural design on the facility was provided by Rossetti Architects of Los Angeles, with Tim Lambert serving as the lead designer. Rossetti’s list of sports-related facilities includes the Palace of Auburn Hills, Michigan, Detroit’s Ford Field, and the Home Depot Center, located in Dominguez Hills, California.

  A series of design refinements over the past few months has resulted in the Clippers’ structure increasing in size by 20% to 42,500 square feet. 

  In addition to two full basketball courts, the two story structure will also house a 2,600 square foot performance and strength training area featuring state of the art cardiovascular and weight training equipment, as well as a training room and an extensive hydrotherapy area.  Full locker room facilities for Clippers’ players and coaches as well as offices for all members of the Clippers’ Basketball Operations Department will also be on-site.

  The facility will be located within close proximity to both the San Diego and the Marina Freeways.  About two thirds of the team’s current players live within ten minutes of the site.

  Playa Vista, the facility’s locale, is the first new community to be established on the Westside of Los Angeles in more than 50 years.  The community balances residential, commercial and retail space.  Situated about one mile from the ocean, Playa Vista is nestled below the bluffs of Westchester, adjacent to the newly-restored Ballona Freshwater Marsh and within easy reach of Santa Monica, Venice, Century City and the Los Angeles International Airport.