HotelChatter

Los Angeles Hotel Reviews

Frank Gehry and Mandarin Oriental Join Hands For Downtown LA

January 26, 2007 at 12:49 PM | 0 Comments

Frank Gehry made his first foray into hotel architectural design with the Hotel Marqués De Riscal in Elciego, Spain. Now, he has his sights set on his hometown of Los Angeles, specifically downtown.

A Gehry-designed 48-story tower planned for Grand Avenue will be, as is the trend these days, a mix of luxury residences with a world-class hotel to be managed by the Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group. The hotel will take the first 20 floors of the tower with luxury residence on the upper floors. The opening date is set for 2010.

This is all part of a $2 billion plan to redevelop downtown Los Angeles which is for the most part desolate in terms of residents. If Gehry's behind it, the hotel will no doubt look spectacular and perhaps rich people would want to buy an apartment there. And the  city of LA desperately hopes that this hotel can recreate what the Mandarin Oriental has done at the Time Warner Center. The only obstacle is that people actually want to live in Manhattan. No one really wants to live in downtown LA.

[Photo: Puck90]

Related Stories:
· Grand to Get Luxury Hotel [LA Daily News]
· Frank Gehry, Under the Influence [HotelChatter]