Developers Moving Forward For Local Boutique Hotel
Category : Uncategorized
A Beverly Hills developer said his firm is moving forward on a planned 17-room boutique hotel at the corner of Hillhurst Avenue and Sunset Boulevard after receiving support from the Los Feliz Neighborhood Council (LFNC).
Appearing at an April meeting of the LFNC, developers from Conroy Commercial Real Estate outlined project plans and heard resident concerns.
After some discussion, the LFNC’s Planning and Zoning Committee voted 6-3 in favor of the project, with the overall board voting 9-3 in favor. The decisions are strictly advisory and the project now has to go before the city Zoning Board for further approvals.
The hotel will offer rooms in the $200-$250 per night range, according to LFNC President Linda Demmers. Highlighting the ground floor will be a restaurant owned by Claudio Blotta and Adria Tennor Blotta, who also own Barbrix, a wine and tapas restaurant on Hyperion Avenue in Silver Lake. The restaurant will also have a gourmet take-out market.
Brad Conroy, President of Conroy Commercial Real Estate—the project developers—said the idea for the hotel first came when a former worker told him that there weren’t many nice places for visiting friends and relatives to stay in Los Feliz.
Subsequently, a firm partner and friend had a child staying at Children’s Hospital, which is located near the proposed hotel site. The parents were not allowed to stay at the Ronald McDonald House near the hospital, which provides overnight facilities for those with children at the hospital.
“They had a pretty tough commute,” Conroy said. “That just solidified it for it us. We’re only doing 17 rooms, so I think it’ll be a nice neighborhood amenity.”
Demmers said Conroy has four conditional use permits for the building, which now houses some commercial businesses and office space. The proposed hotel is located next to the Vista Theatre, which fronts Sunset Drive, and near the Good Luck Bar, which has an entrance off Hillhurst Avenue. Both of those businesses will remain open if hotel construction proceeds.
Some 40 neighbors attended the LFNC’s April meeting, with about a dozen speakers mentioning concerns over parking and liquor licenses, according to Demmers. Conroy promised the hotel’s rooftop will not be used as a party space, and added developers have plans for parking that will eliminate concerns that hotel and restaurant patrons would use already crowded nearby streets.