A proposal to redevelop a vacant lot near L.A. Live in Downtown Los Angeles with a hotel is facing pushback from two neighboring homeowner’s associations.

1130 S Hope StreetGoogle Street View

In November 2021, Los Angeles-based developer Domyan Group scored approvals from the Planning Department for the construction of an eight-story hotel on the property, featuring 112 guest rooms and 528 square feet of ground-floor retail. Parking for 23 vehicles would be located in an automated structure at the foot of the building, with an additional 21 stalls to be located off site.

Bucilla Group is designing the contemporary low-rise building.

The currently vacant property is hemmed in by a cluster of high-rise apartment buildings, including the Evo, Luma, and Elleven condominium buildings to the north and east, the new 1133 S. Hope Street apartment tower to the west, and the Aven tower one block east on Grand Avenue. Homeowners associations at two of those buildings - Evo and Luma - have emerged as opponents to Domyan's plans, appealing the project to the Central Area Planning Commission.

In their appeal, the two organizations argue that the proposed hotel violates local zoning rules and the Downtown Design Guide, and argue that the project may have unanticipated environmental impacts. A staff report, finding no evidence to support the claims of the homeowner’s associations, recommend denial of the appeal at the Commissions March 8 meeting.

1130 S Hope StreetGoogle Maps

Plans to redevelop the 1130 Hope site date back roughly nine years. Previously, a different group of developers sought to incorporate a three-story structure which once stood on the property into a smaller 44-room boutique hotel.  After entitlements for that never-built development lapsed in 2018, the early 20th century building was demolished, and Domyan Group took over with plans for an 11-story hotel. That project was later pared back to its current form in 2021.

While the now-demolished building at 1130 Hope was once listed among the properties subject to the replacement housing requirements under the Wiggins settlement agreement, the project's owners have agreed to provide financial assistance to an unspecified developer of affordable housing within the Downtown area to account for the replacement units. As a result, the Wiggins plaintiffs have agreed to lift the replacement housing requirement for the proposed development.