Earth movers have stripped away asphalt from a small parking lot near the Los Angeles Convention Center, signaling the start of work on a new hotel development.

The property, located at 1320 S. Flower Street, was approved earlier this year for the construction of a six-story building containing 43 guest rooms, two residential units, and at-grade parking for 18 vehicles.

City records list the project applicant as an entity managed by Jayesh Kumar, which is based out of a small hotel near the Hollywood Bowl.

Renderings depict a non-descript low-rise structure capped by a rooftop patio.  Irvine-based architecture firm nKlosures is designing the project.

The development site, located just south of Metro's Pico Station, is the smallest of several hotel developments planned near the Convention Center.

A block north, Lighstone Group has demolished a 1920s commercial building on Figueroa Street to make way for the construction of a 42-story hotel tower - the first phase of a development that will feature more than 1,100 guest rooms.

Directly west across Flower Street, an 11-story building featuring a 132-room hotel and 48 apartments is slated to replace a small industrial building.

Immediately east of 1320 S. Flower Street, FMB Development is now building a 38-unit apartment complex with retail along Hope Street.