At its meeting on March 8, the Los Angeles City Planning Commission will consider Lightstone Group's proposal to construct a high-rise hotel complex across the street from the L.A. Convention Center.

The project, which would replace a City-owned parking lot and 27,000-square-foot commercial building at Figueroa Street and Pico Boulevard, would consist of two towers containing three different hotels.  A 42-story tower fronting Figueroa would feature a 410-room Moxy Hotel and a 410-room AC Hotel above 11,000 square feet of street-level retail, while a smaller 25-story building at Flower Street would contain a 342-room Hilton Garden Inn and approximately 2,000 square feet of ground-floor commercial space.

Gensler is designing the project with landscape architecture firm AHBE, which would feature buildings that rise to maximum heights of 529 and 326 feet.  Images show digital signage wrapping around the tower bases, a similar design feature to nearby projects such as Oceanwide Plaza and Circa.

As part of the hearing on March 8, the City Planning Commission will also consider a draft development agreement for the Fig + Pico project, which calls for Lightstone Group to pay for a $1.6-million package of community benefits.  Proposed improvements include:

  • The installation of pedestrian lead intervals, high-visibility crosswalks and sidewalk bulbouts at the intersection of Pico and Flower
  • Scramble crosswalks at Figueroa's intersections with Pico Boulevard, Olympic Boulevard, 11th Street and 12th Street
  • Mid-block crosswalks on Figueroa between Olympic and 11th, 11th and 12th, and 12th and Pico.
  • The use of digital signage at Pico and Flower for wayfinding purposes.

The Planning Department's staff report recommends that the Planning Commission approve Fig + Pico.

Lightstone has requested financial assistance from the City of Los Angeles to bridge a $67.4-million financing gap for the project.  The 25-year agreement, which grants relief from transient occupancy tax, could eventually amount to a $103.3-million subsidy to the developer.

The Fig + Pico development, which would create 1,152 hotel rooms, comes as the City continues with its longstanding effort to increase the number of hotel rooms within walking distance of the Los Angeles Convention Center.  A lack of hotel stock is frequently cited as a reason for lost business as the facility.

Also under construction nearby is a 180-room Park Hyatt hotel at Oceanwide Plaza, while an 18-story, 247-room Cambria Hotel is planned just north of L.A. Live.