Los Angeles Union Station Master Plan*

Los Angeles, California

Gruen/Grimshaw provided the Los Angeles Union Station Master Plan, for the 42-acre site, to transform southern California’s primary transit hub into a world-class station; connecting 17 million people across five counties. Recommendations for the 1939 national historic landmark were designed to develop over time to guide immediate and longer-term operational and capital decisions. A preferred alternative was developed to respond to extensive community/stakeholder input and intensive research:

  • Accommodate variety of present and future transit modes.
  • Create iconic place of extraordinary design.
  • Enhance/protect historic station through appropriate repurposing.
  • Establish development opportunities that support transit role.
  • Ensure flexibility for adoption to change.
  • Improve access/connectivity for pedestrian and bicyclists.
  • Incorporate sustainable best practices.

Rigorously vetted through a robust outreach process, improvements and projects identified respond to program goals—transit optimization (Master Plan’s foundation), destination and connectivity. An illustrative approach accommodates a High-Speed Rail station while flexible and open to other station alignments. Specific sustainability measures were adopted for four framing characteristics—Infrastructure, Transit, Socio-economic and Identity—for the 1st LEED-ND Registered Transit Project.