One year after starting construction in Downtown Los Angeles, rebar and concrete are rising above the ground for the Colburn School's $335-million expansion.

View East from Olive Street towards the entrance to the concert hallCourtesy of Frank O. Gehry & Gehry Partners, LLP

The roughly 100,000-square-foot Colburn Center, which replaces a surface parking lot at along the north side of 2nd Street between Olive and Hill Streets, will include a 1,000-seat concert hall (which will be named for primary donors Terri and Jerry Kohl) as well as new instruction and rehearsal studios and a smaller 100-seat theater.

McCarthy Building Companies, the project's general contractor, estimates that more than 30,000 hours have been worked on the project to date. Additionally, more than 10,000 cubic yards of concrete have been poured and 3 million pounds of rebar installed.

The Frank Gehry-designed building will include a rooftop garden and a publicly-accessible garden opening onto Hill Street, both of which will be used for performances, receptions, and other types of events.

Progress on the Colburn Center in Downtown Los AngelesMcCarthy Building Companies

Completion of the Colburn Center is expected in 2027.

The project, which is taking shape just north of the Colburn's existing home on Grand Avenue, is the latest in a string of additions to the Bunker Hill area within the past decade, including Grand Park, the Emerson apartment tower, The Broad contemporary art museum, and the new Conrad hotel and Grand by Gehry Residences across Olive. It will be joined in the near future by a $100-million expansion of The Broad, which is slated to begin construction in early 2025.

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