Across the street from the Los Angeles Convention Center, the concrete podium of a dual-branded hotel tower continues to take shape at the intersection of Figueroa Street and Pico Boulevard.

The project, which is being developed New York-based real estate investment firm Lightstone Group, will consist of a 38-story building now featuring 727 guest rooms - split between the Marriott brands Moxy and AC Hotels - with ground-floor restaurant space and a small conference facility.

The new tower is the initial phase of a larger development from Lightstone Group called Fig + Pico.  The second component of the project, slated to replace an adjoining parking lot at the intersection of Pico and Flower Street, calls for the construction of a smaller 27-story building containing 378 guest rooms.  Past reports have pointed to Hilton Garden Inn as the operator of the third hotel.

Gensler and AHBE|MIG are designing the Fig + Pico development, which is depicted in a rendering as a pair of contemporary high-rise towers with glass curtain walls.  The under-construction building will sit atop a six-level, 300-car parking podium, wrapped in LED screens.

Completion of the Moxy and AC Hotel tower is expected in 2022.

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Lightstone's project has benefited from a financial incentive packaged approved by the Los Angeles City Council which will allow the developer to retain more than $100 million in tax revenue over the first 25 years of operations at the property.  Numerous developers with hotel projects near the Convention Center have sought similar incentive deals.

The City of Los Angeles has also partnered with L.A. Live owner AEG on a proposed expansion of the Convention Center and the neighboring J.W. Marriott hotel complex.

Other hotel developments in the works nearby include a Park Hyatt, which was slated to be part of the stalled Oceanwide Plaza complex, and a 444-room inn planned as part of the Morrison Hotel redevelopment.

Although city officials have long cited a lack of available hotel rooms near the Los Angeles Convention Center as a cause of lost business, the Fig + Pico development - as well as a proposed expansion of said Convention Center - are moving forward at a time when the COVID-19 pandemic have halted large events, and even forced the closure of some hotels.

With a timeline for the recovery of the conference industry uncertain, city officials have considered using the Convention Center as a temporary shelter for homeless persons.