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A British company plans to convert a crumbling 1920s-era building downtown into a stylish, boutique hotel for tourists.Hoxton, a London-based company that operates hotels across Europe, has just purchased a largely neglected historic building at 11th Street and Broadway for $30 million, reports the L.A. Times. The hotel operator, which has locations in London and Amsterdam and plans for ones in New York and Paris, describes its brand as the "anti-hotel." According to their website, they aim to offer tourists—not just business travelers—"a place where people could eat, drink, work and play anytime of day." No specifics on the redesign for the hotel have been released, but possible plans considered by the building's previous owners included a 150-bed hotel, a lounge and pool on the rooftop and a basement night club or bar. Rooms at the Hoxton hotel are estimated to go for $250 to $300 a night.
The 10-story, Renaissance Revival-style building Hoxton plans to renovate at 1060 S. Broadway was once the headquarters for the Los Angeles Railway (aka LARy), which once operated the Yellow Car system around L.A. The upper-level offices have been empty since the mid- to late-1990s, where, according to the Times, the walls are crumbling and covered in graffiti. Several street-level shops have been vacated in preparation for the renovation.
Just down the street from the hipAce Hotel, and nearby other planned hotel and residential developments, the Hoxton purchase is not only a sign that more big changes are underway for downtown, but also that international companies are taking a renewed interest in investing in the area. "It shows that the international market has gotten the memo that DTLA is the most undervalued major city on planet Earth," Hal Bastian, an L.A.-based development consultant, tells the Times.
