A developer will have more time to build a hotel on the former site of the Bethune Library in Exposition Park, following a vote taken on August 13 by the Los Angeles City Council.

On August 13, the Council voted to extend the term of the city's option to acquire the 33,400-square-foot project site, which is owned by CRA/LA, from the current expiration date of September 30, 2024 to September 30, 2027. That will allow the city to continue working with developer Orion Capital, which has proposed the construction of a 168-room Courtyard by Marriott hotel on the property.

Rendering of proposed Courtyard Marriott hotel looking southwestStanton Architecture

The proposed hotel, which is supported by 8th District City Councilmember Marqueece Harris-Dawson, came about as the result of a 2019 agreement with the City of Los Angeles, which selected Orion Capital to develop the site after earlier plans for a mixed-income housing complex failed to come to fruition. Despite the backing of city officials, the project unexpectedly ran into an obstacle in March 2022, the city's zoning administrator denied approval for the hotel, concluding that it would prevent the site from being developed with uses such as affordable housing or other community-serving functions.

While the South Los Angeles Area Planning Commission declined to grant the appeal, the City Council subsequently overturned that decision in early 2023, granting approval to the hotel. Not long afterward, the project was challenged by a lawsuit from Strategic Actions for a Just Economy, which is seeking to force the city to rescind entitlements for the Bethune site.

A staff report to the Council from the Economic and Workforce Development Department describes the Bethune Library site as being critical for the city, due to its proximity to the USC campus. If completed, the Courtyard by Marriott would represent the only three-star hotel in Council District 8, which is described as having limited opportunities for economic development. The ongoing lawsuit could add three years to the development timeline, according to the staff report.

3685 S. Vermont AvenueGoogle Maps

A 2023 presentation indicated that the hotel is expected to cost between $45 million and $60 million to build, and generate $1.6 million in annual tax revenue for the City of Los Angeles. It will also include commercial space, an educational center, and $1 million in public benefits payments to local organizations and programs.

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