Hilton's Conrad brand coming to The Grand in DTLA

Conrad, one of Hilton's high-end brands, will operate the new hotel at The Grand LA, developer Related Cos. announced yesterday.

“With Los Angeles experiencing its largest downtown development boom in nearly a century, we believe 2022 is the right time to introduce such a dynamic hotel and exciting development to this cultural epicenter,” said Hilton executive vice president and president, Americas Danny Hughes in a prepared statement. “We’re thrilled to continue to expand Conrad’s footprint in the Americas and have the opportunity to bring this empowered and design-forward brand to a new market.”

The 28-story hotel, scheduled to open in 2022, will feature 305 guest rooms in addition to amenities such as a spa, an elevated lobby, a fitness center, a pool deck, and a 16,000-square-foot rooftop terrace.  Plans also call for restaurant space and approximately 12,000 square feet of meeting and event space.

The Grand, a $1-billion development designed by architect Frank Gehry, also includes a 39-story residential tower that will feature 436 rental apartments - including 80 units of deed-restricted affordable housing.  The apartments, like the hotel, are expected to open in 2022.

The two-tower will share a podium structure and a landscaped courtyard, which will provide the setting for approximately 176,000 square feet of shops, restaurants, and terrace decks.  Plans call for an east-west paseo cutting through the site, allowing pedestrians to access the Walt Disney Concert Hall, the Music Center, The Broad, and other destinations on Grand Avenue from Olive Street.  Parking for more than 1,000 vehicles will sit in a subterranean garage beneath the property.

“The Grand LA is thrilled to host Hilton’s first Conrad property in California,” Related Cos. senior vice president Rick Vogel.  “Conrad is one of Hilton’s high luxury brands for the Epicurean traveler in search of culture, arts and dining, which is aligned with The Grand LA’s landmark destination as the epicenter for arts and culture in LA. We look forward to welcoming Conrad Los Angeles’s first guests when The Grand LA opens in 2022.”

The Grand is the latest component of a master-planned project which Related Cos. is developing in partnership with the City and County of Los Angeles.  The larger Grand Avenue project already includes the 12-acre Grand Park, The Broad contemporary art museum, and the Emerson apartment tower, with a final phase of the development expected to replace a parking lot located across Olive Street from The Grand.

Gehry, the architect of the Disney Hall, is also working on two additional concert halls a block east.  The Colburn School has tapped the architect to design its $310-million expansion at 2nd and Olive Streets.

The new commercial developments will be complemented by a new subway station now being built at 2nd and Hope Streets as part of Metro's Regional Connector project.  The 1.9-mile subway, like The Grand, is expected to open in 2022.

• The Grand (Urbanize LA)