Metro buses have a sleek, new home in downtown Los Angeles with the opening of a $120 million maintenance facility at Vignes Street and Cesar E. Chavez Avenue.
About 200 compressed natural gas buses are sheltered, maintained and cleaned at the facility, which began operating Feb. 1. Federal funds paid for $53.2 million of the total cost of the multi-level structure, which covers about 7.4 acres.
Some “green” features, such as a rainwater capture system and the strategic use of sunlight to reduce energy use, helped earn the building a Gold LEED rating from the U.S. Green Building Council, according to Metro officials.
Metro officials also took pains to make the building more palatable for the public, including commissioning exterior artwork — by German artist Christine Ulke — that depicts a 400-year-old sycamore tree that once stood near the site of the building, but was cut down in 1895 to make way for industrialization.
