Renderings Revealed for Pico Union Hotel Development

Planning documents presented to the Los Angeles City Council have unveiled renderings for a new hotel development in Pico Union.

The low-rise Hotel Olympia would be built a one-acre property at 1700 West Olympic Boulevard, located within a half-mile of LA Live and approximately one mile from the Los Angeles Convention Center.  Plans from developer CK Hospitality call for a five-story structure containing 149 guest rooms above 8,600 square feet of street-level restaurant space.  The hotel would feature a standard array of guest amenities, including a banquet room, outdoor pool deck and a 113-car underground garage.

Designs from architecture firm PKA & Associates orient the tallest portion of the building towards Olympic Boulevard, so as to maintain better harmony with adjacent residential buildings to the south.  Hotel Olympia would feature a variety of exterior finishes, including tile, tinted glass and corrugated metal.

The project, which first began meandering through the City Planning process in 2013, requires multiple discretionary approvals to begin construction.  Most notably, CK Hospitality has requested a General Plan Amendment from the highway-oriented commercial and medium residential land use designations to a community commercial land use designation throughout the entire site.

Crane Action Hits the Sunset Strip

High above the world famous Sunset Strip, four construction cranes are hard at work on a transformative mixed-use complex from Los Angeles-based CIM Group.

The Sunset La Cienega development - designed by a team consisting of SOM, LOHA and Mia Lehrer + Associates - will create four mid-rise buildings with condominiums, hotel rooms and ground-floor commercial space.  Work on the $300 million project began in earnest nearly two years ago, with the clearing of several vacant structures at the intersection of Sunset and La Cienega Boulevards.

The mid-rise buildings, which will occupy two corners of the intersection, faced numerous hurdles prior to breaking ground in mid-2013.  Originally approved in 1999 under the name of Sunset Millennium, the project remained stalled for nearly fifteen amidst litigation and weak market conditions.  CIM Group purchased the roughly five-acre property and its development rights in 2011.

New York-Based Hotelier Setting Up Shop Near Staples

Staples Center and its surrounding environs.

Representatives of the Wilshire Grand development ended months of speculation earlier today, announcing that Intercontinental Hotels & Resorts will operate the 73-story tower's 900-room luxury inn.  Surprisingly, that's not the only hotel buzz emanating from Downtown Los Angeles at the moment.

According to an interview with HOTELS Magazine, New York-based Hampshire Hotels Management is planning to open a new location in close vicinity to Staples Center and LA Live.  CEO Eric Danziger states that the company is considering either the Time Hotel or another 3-star brand for their South Park outpost.  The as-of-yet undisclosed location would be their second in Los Angeles, following the upcoming Dream Hollywood Hotel.

One potential home could be the $1 billion Metropolis development, which will feature a 350-room hotel at the intersection of 9th and Francisco Streets.  Although city documents had previously pointed to IHG's Hotel Indigo as the likely operator of the 19-story tower, developer Greenland USA has yet to give official word.  Other proposed developments from Mack Urban and the Oceanwide Group also call for substantial hotel components, but have yet to announce operators.

• HOTELS Interview: Danziger's Dreams for Hampshire (HOTELS Magazine)