Downtown LA’s Morrison Hotel may get 12-story tower

The Downtown News reports that developer The Relevant Group wants to put a 12-story tower next to South Park’s Morrison Hotel at Pico and Hope.

It’s a big twist in the plans for the site, which, until today’s announcement, had only included renovating the 103-year-old Morrison Hotel, which was made famous when it appeared on the cover of The Doors’ 1970 Morrison Hotel album.

Renovations were supposed to start later this year to restore and reopen the hotel with 80 rooms, ground-floor retail space, and a lounge. Now, with the addition of the new building, the two buildings would have a combined 245 hotel rooms. The Morrison Hotel will still be renovated in the process.

Relevant—which also developed Hollywood’s Dream hotel—hasn’t yet disclosed the name of the hotel’s operator but expects rooms to run for more than $300 a night when it opens in 2020.

The Morrison Hotel has been vacant for about nine years, but prior to that it was low-income housing.

• Big Plans for Morrison Hotel [Downtown News]
• Downtown LA's old Morrison Hotel poised for a fancy makeover [Curbed LA]