City planning for new Pico-Union hotel project

A small grocery store in Pico-Union could soon be replaced with a new hotel if the LA City Council approves a motion from Councilmember Gil Cedillo.

The motion, which was OK’d by the council’s Planning and Land Use Committee Tuesday, would alter the property’s zoning requirements to allow for a hotel with 125 guest rooms.

According to the motion, an unnamed developer has proposed redeveloping the site, located at 2268 West Pico Boulevard, with “a well-known and reputable” hotel brand. The project would bring “reasonably priced” rooms, as well as a restaurant and meeting place on the ground floor.

Cedillo writes that the hotel would serve visitors to the convention center, though the project site, located on the opposite side of the 110 freeway, isn’t exactly right next door to that particular destination.

City officials have been eager to expand options for convention center visitors lately, offering enticing incentives for developers planning to construct hotel projects in the Downtown area. Last year, developers of a reasonably priced 250-room hotel in the South Park neighborhood even offered up $150,000 to study what kind of incentives the city could provide.

Cedillo also argues in his motion that the potential Pico Boulevard hotel would serve as a “catalyst for the economic development of the surrounding commercial areas.” Right now, the stretch of Pico around the hotel is dotted with a variety of retail and restaurant businesses, mainly in older, lower-slung buildings. But as denser development projects spread out of Downtown, that trend could certainly change.

• Proposed Cambria Hotel will be reasonably priced for Downtown LA [Curbed LA]
• Los Angeles May Throw Out Convention Center Redesign Plan For Something Much Bigger [Curbed LA]
• 53-story hotel would replace convention center-adjacent apartments [Curbed LA]