The Los Angeles City Council approved plans for a sweeping redevelopment of the Wilshire Grand hotel, despite some concerns about digital signs and lighting expected to cover the new high-rise buildings on the property.
On a vote of 13-1, the council approved an agreement with Thomas Properties and Korean Air to develop Wilshire Grand, an estimated $1.2 billion project that will include a 45-story tower housing a luxury hotel and residential units and a 65-story office tower downtown at Seventh and Figueroa streets.
The project's proposal also included digital signage and lighting that would cover most of the two towers from top to bottom, with the first 150 feet devoted to advertising.
The city Planning Department initially declined the developers' plans to install LED lighting art that would display from 150 feet above the ground to near the buildings' tops.
The Council overruled the department and approved the lighting plan with a new sign ordinance that will apply only to the 3.2-acre project site downtown. The council also said that for every 3 feet of new digital signage downtown, 1 square foot of digital signage will be removed elsewhere.
"This is a groundbreaking project. It's the first time in 22 years there's been a high-rise building constructed in downtown Los Angeles," said Councilwoman Jan Perry, whose district includes the project area.
She applauded the project's job-creation benefits and said it will bring in $22 million per year in desperately needed revenue for the city's general fund beginning in 2015.
Developers said the project would create 7,300 construction jobs and 6,200 permanent jobs. In additional, the agreement says that union hotel workers won't lose their job and that during construction, they will be paid with full benefits.
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Not everyone was entirely satisfied with the project. Councilman Bill Rosendahl, who voted in opposition of the project, said he was concerned the city would not receive any money from digital advertising that will cover the lower few stories of the buildings.
The approved agreement calls for demolition of an existing hotel on the site to begin in December. The renovation is scheduled to be completed by 2015.
