Los Angeles River Taylor Yard Acquisition

Location: Los Angeles County

Project Type: Acquisition

Status: Completed

Habitat Type: Interpretive/Education, Public Access/Recreation, Riparian, Water Quality

Cost: $60,000,000

Area Affected: 43 acres

Assembly District: 51

Senate District: 24

Congressional District: 28

Project Lead/Grantee: City of Los Angeles, Katie Doherty, P.E. (katherine.doherty@lacity.org)

Project Lead Website: www.tayloryardg2.com/

This project aims to acquire the Taylor Yard property, a 42.6 acre property with direct frontage along the river for approximately one mile. It currently does not include wetland habitat, but there is potential for wetland restoration. Once acquired, plans for this site include removal of concrete walls to restore a natural river meander and creation of large-scale wetlands for natural water quality improvements.

Taylor Yard is a 247-acre former railyard with over two miles of Los Angeles River frontage located near downtown Los Angeles, opposite Elysian Park just north of the Arroyo Seco. It is the largest undeveloped parcel on the LA River, presenting extraordinary opportunities for river restoration, stormwater detention, recreational resources and economic revitalization for the densely populated, underserved adjacent communities.

After a decade of controversy, lawsuits and community activism, the passage of the statewide parks bond Prop 12 provided the means to realize a green vision of Taylor Yard. At The River Project’s urging in June 2000, the Governor and the State Legislature approved $45 Million to acquire lands at Taylor Yard and create the first new State Park in Los Angeles in a generation.