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CRA recommends scaled Harrison Street redesign, board leans toward preserving royal palms
Summary
Staff presented two Harrison Street designs: a full transformation with medjool palms and extensive festoon lighting (Option B, ~$7.7M) and a less intrusive Option A (~$5.27M) that retains royal palms, adds sidewalk extensions and selective festoon lighting; the board favored Option A and asked staff to return in October with an implementing resolution.
CRA staff and consultants presented two alternative concept designs for Harrison Street on Sept. 4, and the board signaled support for the less dramatic option that preserves existing royal palms while adding targeted sidewalk extensions, intermittent shade trees and festoon lighting in select blocks.
Project manager Francisco Diaz told the board Option A would keep the existing royal palms where feasible, add roughly 27 new shade trees at intermittent locations, extend sidewalks in front of several restaurants for outdoor seating and install festoon lighting distributed along the corridor. The total estimated construction cost for Option A is about $5.27 million; the presentation allocated roughly $838,000 of that to festoon lighting and about $2.24 million to sidewalk extensions and other sidewalk work.
The alternative, Option B, would remove existing palms and install Medjool palms with a more widescale festoon lighting scheme; staff estimated that concept at about $7.73 million and said it would require significantly more poles, roadway closures and construction time. Consultant Randy Holling said Option A is intended to be complementary — not competitive — with the adjacent Hollywood Boulevard design vocabulary and to limit construction impacts while improving walkability and nighttime character.
Board members asked staff to continue outreach to property owners and downtown businesses, to ensure the plan supports a mix of uses and does not overconcentrate restaurant seating at the expense of other businesses, and to return in October with a resolution for design and construction agreements. Several members emphasized protecting private investment and limiting disruption to operations during construction.
The board gave staff direction to proceed with additional business outreach and to draft the October resolution for consideration, with staff favoring Option A as the recommended path forward.
