Developer proposes 53-story hotel near Los Angeles Convention Center

Dive Brief:

A Los Angeles developer has filed plans with the city for a new 53-story hotel development across the street from the Los Angeles Convention Center, according to The Los Angeles Times.
Developer TriCal's proposal would see a Gensler-designed, 1,024-room, two-hotel tower replace one of the company's existing 100-unit apartment complexes already on the site.
The existing apartment development will prevent TriCal from building on the site for three to five years, Curbed Los Angeles reported. Developers have not yet announced a projected cost for the project.

Dive Insight:

The project is the second large-scale hotel proposed this year for the area around the Los Angeles Convention Center. Developer Lightstone Group submitted plans in January for a two-tower, three-hotel, mixed-use complex on an acre parcel across the street from TriCal's project. Lightstone's Fig + Pico project is scheduled to start construction as early as this year, with completion expected in 2020. Gensler designed the Fig + Pico project, in addition to the TriCal hotel proposal.

City officials are expected to approve these projects, as there has been an ongoing concern in the city about the existing nearby hotel stock's ability to support convention business, especially if a planned enlargement of the facility comes to pass.

Seattle officials are further along in the process to give the Washington State Convention Center a $1.4 billion facelift. The city reportedly was missing out on business to the tune of 300 events and $1.6 billion in revenue. Other convention center overhauls across the U.S. include a $1.4 billion project in Las Vegas and a $1.5 billion renovation and expansion of New York's Jacob K. Javits Center — all in pursuit of lucrative convention dollars.

While Los Angeles is known for typically welcoming hotel high-rises, that might not always be the case with many high-density developments in the planning and application stages. These megaprojects that pack hundreds of residential units, retail and office space into a city block or two have come under fire from critics who argue that they change the character of a neighborhood and put undue stress on infrastructure and resources. Next month, Los Angeles residents will decide whether to allow the zoning these projects require when the Neighborhood Integrity Initiative is put to a vote.