LOS ANGELES-The newly opened Ace Hotel in Downtown Los Angeles may be the catalyst to redevelopment in downtown's historic core. The boutique hotel is in the former United Artists Theater, a landmark building in the Old Bank District.

"Significantly, Ace's structure will also pioneer the southern end of the Historic Core, which is just starting to see the intense type of development that the northern portion has enjoyed over the past ten years," says John Arnold, Killefer Flammang Architects project manager, the architecture firm that led the Ace Hotel redevelopment and that has converted several landmark buildings in downtown's Old Bank District.

Built in 1927, the United Artists building is an example of Spanish-Gothic architecture originally developed by Hollywood stars Douglas Fairbanks, Mary Pickford and Charlie Chaplin. The 182-room Ace Hotel retained much of the original property's charm.  "Since it is a registered landmark building, the City's Office of Historic Resources has required that many building features, including the theater, tower and terracotta facade, be retained," says KFA design principal Wade Killefer.

Much of the development in downtown has been focused around South Park and the Financial District, mostly due to the availability of land in those areas. The impressive remodel and focus on the historic architecture reveal yet another attractive quality of the downtown market that is absent from other Los Angeles submarkets. These renovations are possible thanks in large part to the adaptive reuse ordinance passed by the Central City Association of Los Angeles in 1999, which allows for conversions of these historical buildings. 

This historic charm is drawing other trendy retail and hospitality companies downtown. Urban Outfitters and ACNE clothing lines recently opened large storefronts in the district and the Kor Group recently purchased the historic Case Hotel site with plans to renovate into a four-star hotel. With the success and buzz around the Ace Hotel renovation, the historic core and Old Bank District may be the next hot downtown neighborhoods for development.