Preservationists and developers are deep in a dispute over the Century Plaza hotel in L.A. On the drawing board are two high rise towers, but defenders of the site argue the hotel's historic value trumps the benefit the new project would bring.
At the forefront of this battle are real estate investor and developer Michael Rosenfeld and actress Diane Keaton, board member of the National Trust for Historic Preservation.
"The Century Plaza served as a home away from home for President Ronald Reagan and has been the scene of many important entertainment industry events. "We need to honor our city's history more than we need two new towers," Ms. Keaton said.
When he bought the hotel last year, Mr. Rosenfeld seemed to agree that the Century Plaza was special. 'This is a rare opportunity to buy a jewel in my hometown,' he said. 'The Century Plaza has been an L.A. icon since it opened in 1966.'
But in the wake of Ms. Keaton's news conference, his company issued a terse statement, saying it was 'disappointed to see the Century Plaza Hotel politicized in this way, particularly at a time when the city of Los Angeles is suffering from extreme economic hardship and is in dire need of new jobs.' It added, 'This is not considered one of the more significant Minoru Yamasaki buildings and is not characteristic of his style."
Read the full story: A Hotel’s Past vs. a City’s Future
LA Officials Struggle to Enforce Short-Term Rental Rules
Hundreds of rent-controlled units are being illegally rented out as short-term rentals, pushing out long-term renters and exacerbating the city’s housing crisis.
How L.A. Failed to Stop Landlords From Turning Low-Cost Housing Into Tourist Hotels
Fifteen years ago, Los Angeles passed a law to preserve residential hotels as housing of last resort. Now, amid the homelessness crisis, Capital & Main and ProPublica found some hotels may be violating that law by offering rooms to tourists.
A High-Rise Condo and Hotel Proposed for Downtown Los Angeles
A trendy new Downtown Los Angels skyscraper would be home to a 160-room hotel and 319 condominium units if an Australian developer moves forward with plans.
Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.
Amtrak, CN end decades-long dispute with eight-year agreement
The new operating agreement establishes an updated framework for the companies to work together, including processes to resolve disputes.
Nation's most wind-powered state turns to coal as data centers increase energy demand
For the first time in decades, Iowa has increased its generation of coal power.
Alabama scores up to $2.5 billion federal loan for largest infrastructure project in state’s history
The Mobile River Bridge and Bayway Project aims to ease congestion at Alabama’s worst bottleneck.
Trump is considering data centers on 6 states' public land — some state officials say they had no idea
If the administration approves the proposed projects, data center and data center-related developments will cover 17,600 acres of public land.
Despite court ruling, Trump is keeping nearly all wind projects in the US on hold
At least 110 wind energy projects have not heard from the government since a federal judge ruled that the Trump administration's freeze on wind turbine clearances was likely illegal.
FREE Course: Walkable City 1: Why Walkability?
After describing his path towards focusing on walkability as the essence of good planning, Jeff Speck marches through his five principal reasons for making more walkable places.
Reinventing Malls: Planning Alchemy—Turning Gray Fields Into Gold
The course focuses on the opportunities and imperatives that shape reinvention of mall sites.
KFH Group Inc.
Greater Baltimore Committee
Eagle County Government
The Architects Foundation
University of Cincinnati Online
The Pocatello Development Authority
The Urban Renewal Agency of the City of Pocatello