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."
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.
San Francisco's School District Spent $105M To Build Affordable Housing for Teachers — And That's Just the Beginning
SFUSD joins a growing list of school districts using their land holdings to address housing affordability challenges faced by their own employees.
The Tiny, Adorable $7,000 Car Turning Japan Onto EVs
The single seat Mibot charges from a regular plug as quickly as an iPad, and is about half the price of an average EV.
Seattle's Plan for Adopting Driverless Cars
Equity, safety, accessibility and affordability are front of mind as the city prepares for robotaxis and other autonomous vehicles.
As Trump Phases Out FEMA, Is It Time to Flee the Floodplains?
With less federal funding available for disaster relief efforts, the need to relocate at-risk communities is more urgent than ever.
With Protected Lanes, 460% More People Commute by Bike
For those needing more ammo, more data proving what we already knew is here.
Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.
Smith Gee Studio
City of Charlotte
City of Camden Redevelopment Agency
City of Astoria
Transportation Research & Education Center (TREC) at Portland State University
US High Speed Rail Association
City of Camden Redevelopment Agency
Municipality of Princeton (NJ)