Investors Still Bullish on DTLA in 2014

LOS ANGELES-Investors at the recent Downtown L.A.: Opportunity Knocks conference at the JW Marriott hotel in Downtown Los Angeles expect to remain bullish on the downtown market in 2014 and 2015. The conference welcomed top-tier real estate investors from every market sector, including Dan Beckerman, CEO of AEG, Wayne Ratkovich, president and CEO of the Ratkovich Co. and Nelson Rising, chairman and CEO of Rising Realty Partners as well as speeches from council member Jose Huizar and Carol E. Schatz, president and CEO of the Downtown Center Improvement District.

The hospitality panel was enthusiastic about the investment prospects downtown. Tourism in the downtown market is increasing everyday, and currently, the area is short by about 4,000 hotel rooms. That will, hopefully, soon be rectified by massive new hotel developments coming online, namely the $1.1 billion Wilshire Grand project. Christopher Martin shared details of the highly anticipated development, which is scheduled to open in December 2016. With 900 guestrooms, the 4-star hotel will rise 18 stories or 1,100 feet into the sky. It will also include class-A office space and a ground-floor convention center.