A vacant lot in the Los Angeles Civic Center long-slated for redevelopment with a public park could see temporary reuse in the run-up to the 2026 World Cup and the 2028 Summer Olympics, according to an item scheduled for review by the Board of Recreation and Parks Commissioners.

The 1st & Broadway Civic Center Park site, named for its location and the open space that was slated to be built there, occupies a prominent intersection, adjacent to Gloria Molina Grand Park and across the street from Los Angeles City Hall. In 2023, Parks officials put decade-old plans to convert the two-acre lot into green space on hold, as a ballooning budget left a groundbreaking date persistently out of reach.

View of the Civic Center Park from City HallStudio MLA

With little chance of building a park on the property in the near-term future, the Parks officials have now recommended partnering with the AltaMed Museum of Chicano and Mexican Art on bringing arts, cultural, and sports programming to the site. Potential offerings would include sports mental health services, sports nutrition services, wellness activities, and other art and cultural activities. The space would be open from 10 am to 5 pm from Thursday through Sunday of each week.

The proposal, which has been presented to both the Mayor's office and Council District 14, would require that AltaMed pay a $175,000 use fee for the property in quarterly installments for the term of the agreement between February 6, 2026 and February 5, 2027. No permanent structures have been proposed, allowing long-term plans to complete a park to continue.

Prior to the proposal from AltaMed, the most recent proposal to activate the site had come from then-City Councilman Kevin de Leon, who had proposed using the site as a temporary homeless shelter.

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