Century Plaza makeover taking shape

The plan is to renovate the hotel and build twin, 46-story towers (see rendering). With little fanfare, the City Planning Commissions signed off on the proposal after three years of squabbling among community groups, preservationists, and the developer, Michael Rosenfeld. The original plan, which would have razed the hotel, was pretty much a non-starter because of opposition by the Los Angeles Conservancy and the National Trust for Historic Preservation. The conservancy is apparently okay with the compromise. From the Business Journal:

Michael Eveloff, president of the Tract 7260 Homeowners Association, which abuts the project, said that the 650 homeowners he represents as well as roughly 5,000 other homeowners who are part of a large coalition support the project after years of discussion. "The opening line of my comments (to the Planning Commission) was, 'Usually when you have a homeowner here they are opposing the project, but in this case I'm here to do the opposite.' It looked like they got hit by bolt of lightning," he said of the commission members' reaction. Concerns about traffic congestion were allayed by the elimination of the office space, which had been planned for the towers, once envisioned to be as high 50 stories. The homeowners associations also received a separate community benefits agreement he wouldn't disclose, citing a confidentially agreement.

If the Council signs off on the plan, which seems likely, construction will begin in 2014 and take at least five to six years. The hotel renovation would come first, followed about a year later by the condo towers.