Long Renovation of the Hotel Clark Continues with Restaurant Permits
California Historical Society / USC Digital Archives
[digitallibrary.usc.edu]
Mid-1910's view of the then-new Hotel Clark, which offered 555 rooms at 4th and Hill.
DOWNTOWN LOS ANGELES — It may not look like it from the outside, but the long and mysterious renovation of the 1914 Hotel Clark continues to move forward at 4th and Hill.
This summer, permits have been issued for the construction of three restaurant spaces and a lobby coffee shop. 186 and 270 seat restaurants would be inside the hotel's second floor, while an 80-seat restaurant would be outside next to the pool. The architect listed on the permits is Flex Designs, located just next door in the Pershing Square Building.
It would be unwise to hold your breath for an opening date, however: renovation work on the structure first kicked off in the mid-1990's, and opening plans announced in 2008 came and went without an open hotel.
Through it all, though, work has slowly moved forward. Two levels of basement have been converted to parking, and last year the second floor swimming pool was installed atop a southern annex to the building.
The building's owners, the Chetrit Group, have taken a similar pattern with work on the Embassy at 9th and Grand. The company has been in the news this week for its purchase of New York's famous Chelsea Hotel.
The Hotel Clark opened in January of 1914 with 555 rooms, each with a private bathroom. It was built at a cost of roughly $2 million by Eli P. Clark, one of the builders of the Los Angeles Pacific Railroad. The Broadway Department Store occupied the ground floor.
Eric Wang on August 04, 2011, at 09:08AM – #1
I have seen the neon sign lit up a few times, and it's cool to behold. Nothing like a good mystery to keep everyone guessing!
Steve White (@StevenMWhite) on August 04, 2011, at 09:16AM – #2
As little consolation as this may be... at least it's good to hear Chetrit is doing SOMETHING with one of their buildings.
Man, I'd love for them to sell Giannini Place... something great could be done there... between Mas Malo/Seven Grand and the LA Athletic Club.
(Here's a 1.5 yr old article about their Downtown holdings... http://www.ladowntownnews.com/articles/2010/02/17/news/doc4b75ef9f3dc5e711360635.txt )
Steve White (@StevenMWhite) on August 04, 2011, at 09:25AM – #3
Also, check out this video of the pool deck from Brigham Yen's blog!
http://brighamyen.com/2011/08/03/video-clark-hotel-continues-construction-work-in-downtown-los-angeles/#more-5425
Tony Hoover on August 04, 2011, at 03:23PM – #4
Thank you for putting this up Eric. I've been trying to find out what is going on with this property for some time.
I do consulting work for LA Inc (the convention and visitors bureau) from time to time to assist in getting convention business to downtown LA. My job is to tour persons around downtown LA and help them understand whats going on as well as the spacial relationships between the hotels and downtown ammenities. Essentially I do for convention business what Hal Bastian does to recruit potential downtown residents.
There are a number of conventions very impressed with our downtown but one major problem we face is the number of hotel rooms. Downtown simply doesn't have enough rooms to host the largest conventions. Utilizing hotels outside of downtown is a possibility but it adds significantly to transportation costs and, of course, conventions would prefer to have everything within a short walk of the convention center if possible. So while LA is becoming more and more viable we have a little more infrastructural work to do.
If the Clark can add 300 or 400 rooms to Downtown (in addition to the Courtyard/Residence Inn) this could help us get closer to a tipping point for many of these conventions. Its not only puzzling that they are so mum on the property, its also frustrating because if they are indeed opening then the Clark could play a significant role in whether or not we gain convention business in the near term.
Convention organizers are scouting and contracting now for meetings as far out as 2020 so you can see why there is a sense of urgency in knowing now if this property is really going to be open for business.
downtown vibe on August 04, 2011, at 03:49PM – #5
Good Topic!
I didn't realize so many hibernating buildings downtown were owned by the same company.
I hope they appreciate how important these projects are to the community! The ground floor of the Clark creates a huge pedestrian dead zone near the park.
misslapin on August 05, 2011, at 08:55AM – #6
Thank you for the link to the illuminating article from Downtown News. Clearly Chetrit is a company with no ties to any community in which they invest, that's just the way it is, I wouldn't hold my breath waiting for anything to happen with any of their buildings. When the market allows them to make a profit, then they will, as the DN article clearly shows - it's all timing...
"Richard Baxter, a New York-based executive vice president of real estate firm Cushman & Wakefield ... describes the Chetrits as savvy, opportunistic investors whose business hinges on market timing.
“... they made billions in buying and selling real estate, not necessarily developing it,” he said. “All of it was based on buying low and selling high.”
Matt Steinberg on August 18, 2011, at 02:59PM – #7
Does anybody have any information on community-based efforts to put pressure on these types of landlords to sell properties? Because of their size, these abandoned buildings are having a substantially negative effect on our neighborhoods.
I should also note that it appears there are some people living inside the hotel right now. I see electric/cable wires strung from the roof into rooms, and I have seen some of the rooms occupied overnight (I live across the street).