In Downtown, work is underway to convert the former Mart South Building at 124 E. Olympic Boulevard in the second Los Angeles location of the Mama Shelter hotel chain.

Ennismore, the company that brought the Hoxton Hotel to the long-vacant Los Angeles Railway Building two blocks west on Broadway, is partnering with property owner Shivom, LLC on the project, which will convert the upper floors of the six-story commercial building into 149 hotel rooms. Plans also call for adding a pool and amenities to its rooftop.

View looking southwest from Olympic BoulevardUrbanize LA

Ennismore announced last year that the project will include  145 standard rooms and four suites, as well as food and beverage venues on the ground floor and rooftop, a fitness center, and a parking garage.

Mart South, built in the 1950s as an extension of the massive California Market Center across the street, was entitled for a hotel conversion in 2019 by its prior owner, Jamison Services. In the years since, Brookfield has completed a $250-million renovation of California Market Center, and signed companies such as Adidas and Forever 21 parent company SPARC to long term leases.

Rooftop deck of the Mart South HotelKFA Architecture

Mama Shelter, established in Paris in 2008, first came to Los Angeles in 2015, opening a 70-room hotel at 6500 Selma Avenue in Hollywood. To date, that is the only location for the chain in the United States, although there are 18 Mama Shelter hotels across Europe and in Dubai, according to the company's website.

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