LOS ANGELES-The Century Plaza Hotel in Century City has been nominated for designation as a Historic Cultural Monument, the culmination of an effort to preserve the hotel just a few years after new owners stated they wanted to demolish it.
The nomination is part of an overall plan to ensure the hotel's prominent place as part of a planned 1.5-million-square-foot, mixed-use development plan. The Century Plaza was the venue for this year's RealShare Los Angeles conference, the 1970 and 1971 Grammy Awards, as well as the 2009 and 2010 Visual Effects Society's annual awards. It has hosted many presidents and foreign dignitaries, including Ronald Reagan, Moshe Dyan and Prince Phillip.
Next Century Associates bought the Century Plaza for $366 million in June, 2008, at the time one of the highest-prices paid for a hotel in the state. However, six months later, the new owners announced that they would demolish the hotel and build two 50-story towers in its place.
The resulting outcry saw the developer announce in 2010 that it would instead renovate the hotel and build condominiums and offices behind the structure. Michael Rosenfeld of Next Century Associates was the developer who had initially planned to tear down the 800,000-square-foot hotel, designed by Minoru Yamasaki, who later designed the World Trade Center in New York City. The Century Plaza was completed in 1966.
Rosenfeld's new $1.5 billion plan, approved by the City Council in January of this year, calls for two 46-story skyscrapers to be constructed behind the hotel. The concept was designed by architect Henry N. Cobb of Pei Cobb Freed & Partners.
“The hotel's designation will forever affirm the collaborative efforts of the city, the developer, and the preservation community in protecting of a new vibrant mixed-use community,” said Rosenfeld in a prepared statement. A request for additional comment was not immediately returned.
“I'm delighted that the nomination of the Century Plaza Hotel as a historical resource is moving forward this week,” said Council member Paul Koretz, who fought against the original tear-down plans. “The Century Plaza has extraordinary architectural design and historical value, plus it is an economic engine for our Westside and an essential part of our city's social fabric. I very much want to salute the Century Plaza team for demonstrating truly great wisdom, flexibility and civic patriotism in seeking and embracing historical resource status.”
“We are truly excited that we have reached the milestone of designating the hotel as a historic landmark and look forward to this project becoming a reality," said Linda Dishman, executive director of the Los Angeles Conservancy. "We would again like to thank Councilmember Paul Koretz for his leadership throughout this process.”
The National Trust for Historic Preservation s a non-profit membership organization designed to protect, enhance and enjoy e places where great moments from history took place.
The Los Angeles Conservancy is a non-profit membership organization that works through advocacy and education to preserve, revitalize, and recognize the historic architectural and cultural resources of Los Angeles County. Created in 1978 as part of the community-based effort to prevent demolition of the Los Angeles Central Library, the Conservancy now has more than 6,000 members and hundreds of volunteers, making it the largest local preservation organization in the U.S.
As previously reported by GlobeSt.com, the City Council earlier this year approved another Century City project being developed by Next Century Associates.
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