A developer will have more time to build a hotel on the former location of the Bethune Library in Exposition Parkin connection a vote by the Los Angeles City Council on August 13.
On August 13, the Council voted to extend the term of the City’s option to acquire the 33,400-square-foot project site owned by CRA/LA from the current expiration date of September 30, 2024 to September 30, 2027. This will allow the City to continue working with developers Orion Capitalwhich has proposed building a 168-room Courtyard by Marriott hotel on the property.
View of the planned Courtyard Marriott Hotel looking southwestStanton Architecture
The planned hotel, which is supported by 8th District Councilwoman Marqueece Harris-Dawson, was created as a result of a 2019 agreement with the City of Los Angeles, which selected Orion Capital to develop the site after previously submitting plans for a residential complex for people with mixed incomes was not realized. Despite the support of the city government, the project unexpectedly hit an obstacle in March 2022: the city’s zoning administrator denied approval for the hotel on the grounds that it would prevent the site from being developed for uses such as affordable housing or other community-serving functions.
While the South Los Angeles Planning Commission rejected the appeal, lifted this decision in early 2023which granted the hotel its approval. Not long after, the project was challenged by a lawsuit filed by Strategic Actions for a Just Economy, which seeks to force the city to revoke the use rights to the Bethune site.
A staff report to the council from the Department of Economic and Workforce Development describes the Bethune Library location as critical to the city because of its proximity to the USC campus. Once completed, the Courtyard by Marriott would be the only three-star hotel in the 8th Council District, which is described as having limited opportunities for economic development. The ongoing litigation could extend the development timeline by three years, according to the staff report.
3685 S. Vermont AvenueGoogle Maps
A presentation from 2023 stated that the hotel is expected to cost between $45 million and $60 million to build and will generate $1.6 million in annual tax revenue for the city of Los Angeles. It will also include commercial space and an educational center and will provide $1 million in public grants to local organizations and programs.
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