The shuttered Century Plaza Hotel in Los Angeles will begin a two-year redevelopment by the end of summer after its owners secured
construction financing.
Project developer New Century Partners said it secured a
$446 million loan from J.P. Morgan Chase to bring its construction-lending
total to $1 billion.
The landmark hotel will reduce its room count to 394 from
726 and will add 63 luxury residences. Additionally, two 46-story towers will be
built behind the hotel and will house 290 residences. Those towers will be
designed by Pei Cobb Freed, whose hotel projects include New York’s Four
Seasons. Co-founder I.M. Pei designed the John F. Kennedy Library in Boston and
the Louvre Pyramid in Paris.
The Century Plaza was designed by original World Trade
Center architect Minoru Yamasaki and opened in Los Angeles’ Century City
section in 1966. The hotel was known as “the Western White House” during the
early 1980s because it regularly hosted former President Ronald Reagan.
The hotel was
operated by Hyatt Hotels and flew under the Hyatt Regency flag for 10 years
before closing earlier this year.