It looks like a much-delayed overhaul of Century City’s Century Plaza Hotel is finally ready to get underway. According to an announcement from developer Next Century Partners, work is scheduled to start later this summer now that the company has secured $1 billion in construction financing. That’s a little later than the March 1 start date announced in December, but the project has been riddled with setbacks from the start.

Plans for the ambitious redevelopment include the addition of two 46-story residential towers, along with a sprawling outdoor garden area surrounded by shops and restaurants. The towers will be designed by Pei Cobb Freed, while Rios Clementi will handle the landscaping. The project also calls for the removal of nearly half the hotel’s 726 rooms and the addition of 63 residential units.

The crescent-shaped hotel was purchased in 2008, and Next Century initially planned to raze it to clear space for the two residential towers. Preservationists held up the project until a compromise was reached that saved the historic hotel from demolition.

Constructed in 1966 from a design by World Trade Center architect Minoru Yamasaki, the hotel has hosted multiple presidents and was a popular home away from home for Ronald Reagan during his many trips to California while in office.

Altogether, the project is expected to cost about $2.5 billion and will transform the Century Plaza into a five-star hotel with plenty of public space. Next Century is reportedly hoping the plan will help make the very pedestrian unfriendly Century City area a bit more walkable.

"When completed, it is expected to be the centerpiece of a vibrant renaissance occurring in Century City including the $800 million expansion of the Westfield Century City Mall and more than 10 million square feet of offices, residences, restaurants, retail and entertainment venues," says the Los Angeles Business Journal.

• Huge Makeover at Historic Century Plaza Hotel Begins in March [Curbed LA]
• Take a Tour Through the Majorly Overhauled Future of the Westfield Century City Mall [Curbed LA]
• Century Plaza's Two-Tower Makeover is a Go in Century City [Curbed LA]
• Century Plaza Vote Delayed, Mysterious Talks Continue [Curbed LA]
• The 38 Essential Los Angeles Hotels [Curbed LA]