After six years of planning, the ambitious project to construct a new hotel tower in Los Angeles’ Arts District has received the green light. The Los Angeles City Council voted to approve the proposal put forth by property owners Ralph Ziman and Maria Greenshields-Ziman during their meeting on Oct. 24. The long-awaited project, known as “The Rendon,” is set to revitalize the site located at 2057 E. 7th St. with a 15-story building.
According to a report from Urbanize LA, the development is expected to bring 103 guest rooms and approximately 16,000 square feet of commercial space, including an art gallery, cafe, restaurant and bar. It also includes the proposed rehabilitation of El Sol, an aging residential hotel at 719-725 E. 5th St., transforming it into 42 units of affordable housing.
Omgivning has been entrusted with the project’s design, which is notable for preserving the historic Rendon structure, dating back to 1914 and named after its former manager, Ada Rendon. New construction will occupy the northern section of the current surface parking lot, with a striking white concrete tower soaring to a height of 172 feet. The fourth floor, upper level and rooftop of the tower are designated for amenity decks and commercial use.
Initially, both the hotel and affordable housing projects encountered appeals from Unite Here Local 11, a hotel workers’ union, and Creed LA, a coalition of building trades unions. These appeals raised concerns about unstudied environmental impacts associated with both projects. However, prior to the City Council hearing, both organizations withdrew their appeals, citing new agreements reached with the Zimans.
Despite plans for the new hotel being approved, hotel development across Southern California has stalled over the course of the past year. According to the most recent hotel development survey from Atlas Hospitality Group, a total of 20 hotels opened so far this year, which is a decline of 31 percent when compared to the same period last year, and the total number of rooms developed also declined by 24 percent.
However, the report also noted that Los Angeles County leads all of California in new openings and under-construction projects amounting to 21 hotels and just over 2,300 rooms being built. In the first six months of 2023, a total of six hotels opened in Los Angeles County, with the largest one being the 380-room Moxy Los Angeles located downtown at 1260 S Figueroa St.
