Local News in Brief : Condemnation Slated

Condemnation proceedings were approved Wednesday on downtown commercial and residential properties in the path of a $310-million, 30-acre expansion of the Los Angeles Convention Center. Over the objections of several property owners, who said they are not being offered enough for their land, the city’s Community Redevelopment Agency commission voted to begin eminent domain action to take about 25 parcels still needed to expand the facility south of Pico Boulevard near Figueroa Street.

Negotiations with property owners will continue, said commission President Jim Wood, who noted that the action carries out a plan approved in 1985 by the City Council. Under a previous agreement with legal aid lawyers and tenants living in the area, the agency is building about 600 new low-cost housing units to replace those lost.