Later this month, the Los Angeles City Planning Commission will review a proposal to construct a seven-story hotel north of the USC campus.

El Segundo-based Vista Investments filed plans with the City of Los Angeles last summer to redevelop the approximately 1.73-acre property at 3031 S. Figueroa Street, which is currently home to the 1960s-era Vagabond Inn.  The replacement project would consist of a seven-story, dual-branded hotel building featuring 275 guest rooms, 1,400 square feet of ground-floor restaurant space and parking for 173 vehicles.

An extended stay hotel brand will operate 150 larger all-suite rooms, while a select service brand will control the remaining 125 rooms.

Renderings of the project, which is being designed by an in-house firm, portray a boxy mid-rise structure designed in the mold of nearby historic buildings.  The hotel would front Figueroa Street with a brick facade, rising above a ground-floor of metal and limestone.

Staff have recommended that the Commission approve the project, along with a developent agreement that requires Vista to pay $500,000 for green space improvements within the surrounding community.

The project site sits along the route of the MyFigueroa streetscape improvement project, which will add pedestrian safety measures and protected bike lanes between Exposition Park and Downtown Los Angeles.