Questioning Hotel Tax Subsidies in Los Angeles

Desperate to build hotel capacity in the neighborhood surrounding the Los Angeles Convention Center, the city has granted hundreds of millions in tax breaks to hotel developers. Some are asking the city to rethink the subsidies.

2 minute read

April 21, 2014, 11:00 AM PDT

By James Brasuell @CasualBrasuell


David Zahniser reports on Los Angeles’ ongoing practice of granting tax breaks to developers of hotels. The city, which first started granting tax breaks for hotel developers in 2005, has granted as much as $508 million in tax benefits over the coming decades.

In question is Greenland US Holding Inc, the developers of Metropolis, a proposed 350-room hotel development adjacent to L.A. Live and the Los Angeles Convention Center. The developers are asking for $92 million in tax subsidies to make the deal pencil out.

“Convention Center Executive Director Robert ‘Bud’ Ovrom, although a longtime champion of city subsidies, questioned whether L.A. should provide the taxpayer support in this case. Greenland is planning only 350 hotel rooms, even though the city has granted permission to develop nearly five times that amount, he said,” writes Zahniser.

“Financial help might make sense, Ovrom said, if Metropolis offered 900 rooms, a number that would help the city attract more national conventions and mean more local jobs.”

The hotel tax issues, especially with reference to the Metropolis development, speaks to Los Angeles' current, difficult situation in the downtown neighborhood of South Park. The city is desperate for hotel room capacity and density near the convention center and L.A. Live, but is also concerned that the once-in-a-generation opportunity to build on the neighborhood of South Park’s current surface parking lots should be built to the maximum allowance of the zoning code

Friday, April 18, 2014 in Los Angeles Times

portrait of professional woman

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching. Mary G., Urban Planner

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching.

Mary G., Urban Planner

Cover CM Credits, Earn Certificates, Push Your Career Forward

Logo for Planetizen Federal Action Tracker with black and white image of U.S. Capitol with water ripple overlay.

Planetizen Federal Action Tracker

A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.

July 9, 2025 - Diana Ionescu

Green vintage Chicago streetcar from the 1940s parked at the Illinois Railroad Museum in 1988.

Chicago’s Ghost Rails

Just beneath the surface of the modern city lie the remnants of its expansive early 20th-century streetcar system.

July 13, 2025 - WTTV

Aerial view of downtown San Antonio, Texas at night with rotating Tower of the Americas in foreground.

San Antonio and Austin are Fusing Into one Massive Megaregion

The region spanning the two central Texas cities is growing fast, posing challenges for local infrastructure and water supplies.

July 3, 2025 - Governing

White park shuttles with large Zion logo on side and red rock cliffs in background in Zion National Park.

Since Zion's Shuttles Went Electric “The Smog is Gone”

Visitors to Zion National Park can enjoy the canyon via the nation’s first fully electric park shuttle system.

5 hours ago - Reasons to Be Cheerful

Chart of federal transportation funding comparing Biden and Trump administration spending.

Trump Distributing DOT Safety Funds at 1/10 Rate of Biden

Funds for Safe Streets and other transportation safety and equity programs are being held up by administrative reviews and conflicts with the Trump administration’s priorities.

6 hours ago - Transportation for America

Close-up on yellow and black TAXI sign on top of beige car in central Munich, Germany.

German Cities Subsidize Taxis for Women Amid Wave of Violence

Free or low-cost taxi rides can help women navigate cities more safely, but critics say the programs don't address the root causes of violence against women.

7 hours ago - Bloomberg