Yesterday, the City Council voted 11–2 to approve a $2.6 billion expansion of the Los Angeles Convention Center. I was one of the two no votes, and I want to briefly tell you why. You can watch my floor speech here for many more details and additional context. If you have a few minutes, I hope you’ll watch it.

Here’s the short version: The Convention Center Expansion we just voted on is unrealistic, unaffordable, and fiscally irresponsible. The completion timeline is tied to the 2028 Olympics with almost no room for error, and the contract makes taxpayers responsible for nearly every delay. Even small setbacks could drive up costs, leaving the City on the hook for overruns we cannot control. If we fail to deliver the project by March 2028, we’re on the hook for any additional costs associated with relocating the Olympics events now slated for the Convention Center to new locations.

The initial contract cost to taxpayers (forgetting for now about overruns) is just as troubling. This project locks the City into – at a minimum – $100 million a year in net new obligations for the next three decades. According to the City Administrative Officer’s report, it will consume ALL projected growth in the General Fund for years to come. Every new dollar of revenue will go to debt service, leaving nothing to improve city services. And that’s assuming the economy keeps growing.

If you think city services are bad now, and I think all of us would agree they are, this project guarantees they will get worse. It means no money to hire additional police officers or expand the fire department. No money to repair broken sidewalks, which are already costing the City more than $100 million a year in liability. No money to restore programs like senior meals or hire crossing guards to protect kids walking to school.

The Budget and Finance Committee recommended a different path. We called for a modernization plan that would repair and upgrade the Convention Center in time for the Olympics, while deferring any expansion until after 2028. This approach would have invested in downtown, protected the City’s finances, and given us the chance to expand responsibly. The council did not support that path.

The Council’s decision yesterday also exposes a deeper problem: Los Angeles has no in-house real estate development or finance expertise. The City owns billions of dollars in property, yet we have no entity with the skills and mandate to manage and reimagine those assets strategically. Instead, we rely on costly, one-off consultants who approach individual projects in a fragmented way. No one currently has the skill set and the authority to strategically invest our vast real estate holdings so that these assets might generate much-needed additional revenue to our general fund and spur strategic economic growth. I firmly believe that if we had the in-house expertise (or an affiliated public agency acting on the City’s behalf), we would’ve had a much better option on the Convention Center, and the City of Los Angeles would be thriving economically.

New York faced a similar challenge in the 1960s and created the New York City Economic Development Corporation to put city assets to work. Since then, it has redeveloped major sites and expanded to prioritize key sectors for strategic economic investment and growth. NYCEDC is developing transformational projects like Cornell Tech, Pier 42, Hudson Yards, and Hunter’s Point, generating tens of thousands of jobs and billions in economic activity annually, and directly investing in and supporting NY businesses and organizations.

Los Angeles desperately needs the same tool. An Economic Development Corporation here could put our properties and resources to work for housing, strategic growth sector investments, and job creation. I am working to organize a delegation of Councilmembers as well as civic and business leaders to New York this Fall to learn from their model and bring back a blueprint for Los Angeles. This isn’t a new idea: City leaders attempted something similar nearly twenty years ago, but ultimately failed to push it across the finish line. There are many lessons to learn from that effort, which we’re actively engaged in.

If you want to see what NYCEDC is up to, and get a sense of what we could be doing with our City-owned assets, take a look here.

Our city has the talent, the assets, and the creativity to succeed. What we need now is the discipline and vision to make smart, strategic choices and the courage to invest in solutions that truly serve Angelenos.

All my best,
Katy

On Tuesday, I led the City Council in adjournment in memory of Roger John Diamond, a pioneering civil rights and environmental attorney and remarkable Angeleno, who passed away on February 20, 2025. Over the course of five decades, Roger never shied away from taking on powerful interests if it meant standing up for free speech and our environment. He litigated against air pollution, fought to preserve our coastal bluffs from oil drilling, and argued fiercely for constitutional rights. His work left Los Angeles cleaner, fairer, and more just. His legacy lives on in the communities he defended, the rights he protected, and the family and friends who carry his spirit forward.