Westsidelife
October 27th, 2007, 08:55 AM
Location: Spring Street, between 4th Street and 5th Street
Function: Mixed-Use | 96 Units | 122 Hotel Rooms | 2 Floors Retail
Developer: MSGG Spring Street Realty Partners
Architect: Johnson Fain (http://www.johnsonfain.com/launch.html)
Completion: N/A
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3128/2569348720_f192625d57_o.jpg
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3265/2568523409_8d737016f4_o.jpg
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3063/2568523433_ba9d5da06e_o.jpg
Old Bank Hotel Proposed (http://www.downtownnews.com/articles/2007/10/29/news/news06.txt)
Gilmore Behind Plans for 24-Story Tower
by Evan George
A development team working on residential conversions in the Old Bank District is planning a new 287-foot luxury hotel and condo tower for Spring Street. The development, in the very early stages, would be the first high-end boutique hotel in the Historic Core.
Last week, the development team represented by Gilmore Associates unveiled designs for the building to a group of neighborhood stakeholders. It is imagined as a commercial anchor to the developer's two loft projects under construction, the El Dorado and the Rowan, on Spring between Fourth and Fifth streets.
Plans for the 24-story tower designed by architecture firm Johnson Fain would include 96 condominiums and 122 hotel rooms above two floors of retail and seven floors of parking encompassing 200 spaces. It would aim to create a series of open-air, exclusive areas such as a rooftop pool for hotel guests, multipurpose rooms for residents and a spacious, tree-lined courtyard for restaurant use. Ground-floor stores, it is hoped, would front a pedestrian alleyway.
"If it happens, the idea is that it will be the next generation of what the Old Bank District has become, which is this great mix of uses," developer Tom Gilmore said. He added that the renderings and plans are preliminary.
"This is for a tentative tract approval," said Gilmore, who launched the Old Bank District when he opened three apartment complexes at Fourth and Main streets, the first coming online in 2000. "It is the first step."
Though the project could be years from breaking ground, with approval required from various city departments, the development team involves heavy hitting investors who already hold financial stakes in the area.
Goodwin Gaw and New York-based investment firm Morgan Stanley comprise MSGG Spring St. Realty Partners. Gilmore Associates is acting as the consulting developer, said Suzanne Ekerling, who heads the project for Gilmore.
Gaw, the businessman behind Downtown Properties, has partnered with Gilmore on numerous projects, including the El Dorado and the Rowan. The new, still unnamed mixed-use hotel project would sit between the two loft buildings and have a connected entrance to the El Dorado.
That juxtaposition of homes and hotel rooms buffered with retail is not uncommon for urban in-fill in a redevelopment area, said Jeff Lugosi, senior vice president of hotel industry tracking firm PFK Consulting. He added that such a hotel could target Civic Center business travelers.
"Something like that is always a huge shot in the arm for a neighborhood like that," said Lugosi.
Speculation has already begun to swirl regarding the operator of the proposed hotel. Gaw also owns the Roosevelt Hotel in Hollywood, which is operated by Thompson, a company that runs boutique hotels.
Lugosi said Thompson could be a fit in Downtown Los Angeles. "They were brought into the Roosevelt [because] they are used to urban areas. It wouldn't be uncharacteristic," he said.
Gilmore Associates said no operators have been considered, but Ekerling did point to Thompson as an example of what they're looking for. "That type of hotel is what we've kept in mind," she said.
The project was presented to members of the Downtown Los Angeles Neighborhood Council last week, which passed a motion to support the hotel.
Function: Mixed-Use | 96 Units | 122 Hotel Rooms | 2 Floors Retail
Developer: MSGG Spring Street Realty Partners
Architect: Johnson Fain (http://www.johnsonfain.com/launch.html)
Completion: N/A
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3128/2569348720_f192625d57_o.jpg
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3265/2568523409_8d737016f4_o.jpg
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3063/2568523433_ba9d5da06e_o.jpg
Old Bank Hotel Proposed (http://www.downtownnews.com/articles/2007/10/29/news/news06.txt)
Gilmore Behind Plans for 24-Story Tower
by Evan George
A development team working on residential conversions in the Old Bank District is planning a new 287-foot luxury hotel and condo tower for Spring Street. The development, in the very early stages, would be the first high-end boutique hotel in the Historic Core.
Last week, the development team represented by Gilmore Associates unveiled designs for the building to a group of neighborhood stakeholders. It is imagined as a commercial anchor to the developer's two loft projects under construction, the El Dorado and the Rowan, on Spring between Fourth and Fifth streets.
Plans for the 24-story tower designed by architecture firm Johnson Fain would include 96 condominiums and 122 hotel rooms above two floors of retail and seven floors of parking encompassing 200 spaces. It would aim to create a series of open-air, exclusive areas such as a rooftop pool for hotel guests, multipurpose rooms for residents and a spacious, tree-lined courtyard for restaurant use. Ground-floor stores, it is hoped, would front a pedestrian alleyway.
"If it happens, the idea is that it will be the next generation of what the Old Bank District has become, which is this great mix of uses," developer Tom Gilmore said. He added that the renderings and plans are preliminary.
"This is for a tentative tract approval," said Gilmore, who launched the Old Bank District when he opened three apartment complexes at Fourth and Main streets, the first coming online in 2000. "It is the first step."
Though the project could be years from breaking ground, with approval required from various city departments, the development team involves heavy hitting investors who already hold financial stakes in the area.
Goodwin Gaw and New York-based investment firm Morgan Stanley comprise MSGG Spring St. Realty Partners. Gilmore Associates is acting as the consulting developer, said Suzanne Ekerling, who heads the project for Gilmore.
Gaw, the businessman behind Downtown Properties, has partnered with Gilmore on numerous projects, including the El Dorado and the Rowan. The new, still unnamed mixed-use hotel project would sit between the two loft buildings and have a connected entrance to the El Dorado.
That juxtaposition of homes and hotel rooms buffered with retail is not uncommon for urban in-fill in a redevelopment area, said Jeff Lugosi, senior vice president of hotel industry tracking firm PFK Consulting. He added that such a hotel could target Civic Center business travelers.
"Something like that is always a huge shot in the arm for a neighborhood like that," said Lugosi.
Speculation has already begun to swirl regarding the operator of the proposed hotel. Gaw also owns the Roosevelt Hotel in Hollywood, which is operated by Thompson, a company that runs boutique hotels.
Lugosi said Thompson could be a fit in Downtown Los Angeles. "They were brought into the Roosevelt [because] they are used to urban areas. It wouldn't be uncharacteristic," he said.
Gilmore Associates said no operators have been considered, but Ekerling did point to Thompson as an example of what they're looking for. "That type of hotel is what we've kept in mind," she said.
The project was presented to members of the Downtown Los Angeles Neighborhood Council last week, which passed a motion to support the hotel.