131 hotel rooms planned turned down on Robertson Boulevard
A proposed hotel development in Pico-Robertson was unexpectedly turned down by the Los Angeles City Planning Commission.
In a surprising move, the Commission said no to a new hotel at 1434-1456 Robertson, which would have replaced six commercial buildings and 12 rent stabilized apartment units. The unanimous decision was in opposition to the Commission’s own staff recommendation to approve the hotel.
The sticking point seems to be community objection to the loss of the rent stabilized apartments. The development would have been a seven story mid-rise, mixed use building that would have contained 945 square feet of commercial space on the ground floor and space for 77 vehicles to park in addition to 131 hotel rooms.
The project was designed by Alajajian Marcoosi Architects and proposed by the property owner Dan Harkham and Sinanan Development. It was revealed at the presentation that there are still four tenants who refuse to leave according to the project’s representation.
The developers claimed that the hotel would be catering to the Orthodox Jewish community in the Pico Robertson district with a kitchen that prepared kosher foods and the specifics of the hotel’s banquet halls.
The Commission seemed wary of these promises and indicated that they feel that another development proposal would be more suitable for the neighborhood.
