New W Hotel deal could quash plans in Hollywood.The long-running effort to bring a W hotel to an MTA-owned site at the Hollywood & Vine Red Line station has hit a major obstacle after the parent of the boutique hotel Boutique hotel is a term originating in North America to describe intimate, usually luxurious or quirky hotel environments. Boutique hotels differentiate themselves from larger chain/branded hotels and motels by providing personalized level accommodation and services / facilities. chain agreed to build one just three miles away in West Hollywood West Hollywood A community of southern California northeast of Beverly Hills. It is mainly residential. Population: 36,600. . West Hollywood Mayor Jeffrey Prang said last week that Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide Inc. has struck a deal with hotel developer Lew Wolff's Wolff Urban Management to place a 165-room W hotel at the Sunset Millennium redevelopment that straddles La Cienega Boulevard La Cienega Boulevard is a major north/south arterial road that runs from El Segundo Boulevard in El Segundo, California on the south to its end on the Sunset Strip/Sunset Boulevard in West Hollywood. along Sunset Boulevard Sunset Boulevard is a street in the western part of Los Angeles County, California, that stretches from Figueroa Street in downtown Los Angeles to the Pacific Coast Highway at the Pacific Ocean in the Pacific Palisades. . According to according to prep. 1. As stated or indicated by; on the authority of: according to historians. 2. In keeping with: according to instructions. 3. one source close to the deal, Starwood has tentatively agreed to grant Wolff territorial exclusivity for the W name in a swath that would extend eastward to Vermont Avenue--nearly two miles beyond Vine--in exchange for a 20-year contract to manage the hotel. Such a requirement would further complicate Hollywood & Vine developer Legacy Partners' effort to get a planned $180 million mixed-use project off the ground. A proposed W, in partnership between Irvine-based Legacy and San Diego-based Gatehouse Capital Corp., has been a cornerstone of that effort. Legacy was selected in June 2002 by L.A.'s Community Redevelopment Agency to develop the 2.8-acre project into a complex that would include 250 apartment units, at least 50 condos and 3,600 square feet of retail space. But the project has met with skepticism from L.A. County Supervisor and MTA (1) (Message Transfer Agent or Mail Transfer Agent) The store and forward part of a messaging system. See messaging system. (2) See M Technology Association. 1. (messaging) MTA - Message Transfer Agent. Chairman Zev Yaroslavsky Zev Yaroslavsky (born December 21, 1948) is a Los Angeles County politician. He served on the Los Angeles City Council from 1975 until 1994, when he was elected to the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors. He was preceded in both offices by Edmund D. Edelman. . In March, he introduced an amendment that ended the MTA's exclusive negotiations with Legacy. Three months later, the agency reversed itself and granted an exclusive negotiation period with Legacy that will end on Jan. 15, 2004. However, as a condition of the extension, the MTA demanded that Legacy bring in a W or equivalent four-star hotel, such as Starwood's own Westin brand. If Legacy doesn't have a deal in hand by January, the MTA can invite other developers to bid on the project. Yoroslavsky's doubts Yaroslavsky's concern was that Legacy would bring in a lesser brand such as Holiday Inn, or just build the apartments. During an interview with the Business Journal last month, he doubted Legacy's chances of getting a deal done. Under such a scenario, Yaroslavsky said he would rather wait for a project "worthy of one of the most famous corners in the world," than proceed with Legacy's project sans the hotel. Legacy executive J.J. Abraham said he didn't believe Starwood's deal with the Sunset Millennium would interfere with Legacy's efforts. "There is no reason to consider an alternative at this time. We feel that we're going to have a deal with Starwood for a W hotel," Abraham said. Starwood had previously expressed interest in placing a W in the Hollywood area as part of its own effort to expand the boutique brand's presence in L.A. Its only outpost, on Hilgard Avenue in Westwood, opened nearly four years ago. In a letter written on behalf of Legacy and Gatehouse Capital to MTA Chief Executive Roger Snoble in December, Starwood vice president Greg O'Stean said the Legacy project was "an excellent opportunity" for the company to "secure a unique and timeless location." Legacy executives had made assurances as recently as a week ago that they were making progress with Starwood on placing a W at the site, according to Josh Kamensky, legislative deputy to L.A. City Councilman Eric Garcetti Eric Garcetti (born 1971) is the son of former Los Angeles county district attorney Gil Garcetti, and was elected to the Los Angeles City Council in 2001. He was reelected in 2005. , whose district includes Hollywood and Vine. Choosing the Strip However, the Sunset Strip The Sunset Strip is the name given to the mile and a half stretch of Sunset Boulevard that passes through West Hollywood, California. It extends from West Hollywood's east border with Hollywood at Marmont Lane to its west border with Beverly Hills at Phyllis street. may be the better choice for Starwood. While competition is higher, occupancy rates Noun 1. occupancy rate - the percentage of all rental units (as in hotels) are occupied or rented at a given time pct, per centum, percent, percentage - a proportion in relation to a whole (which is usually the amount per hundred) in West Hollywood, including the Strip, hover An option in Microsoft Internet Explorer that removes the permanent underline from hypertext links. The underline displays automatically and only when the cursor is placed over (hovers over) the link. Hover is available in Tools/Internet Options/Advanced/Underline links. around 74 percent, compared with 68 percent for Hollywood. "It's a hot location in a gateway city that Starwood wants to expand in," said Atlas Hospitality Group President Alan Reay. The W is one of two hotels slated for the Sunset Millennium site--currently occupied by the former Petersen Automotive building.--that Wolff agreed to buy upon completion from Sunset Millennium developer Apollo Real Estate Advisors in July. Wolff already has signed a tentative agreement with hotel giant Marriott International Marriott International, Inc. (NYSE: MAR) is a worldwide operator and franchisor of a range of value and luxury hotels and related lodging facilities. Marriott currently has 2,300 accommodation properties in North America alone. to turn one of those hotels into a 135-room Courtyard. Apollo announced the deal with Starwood to the West Hollywood city council last month during a closed session in which it presented its other changes to the project, Prang said. While neither Wolff nor Starwood senior vice president Michael Mueller would comment, an Apollo spokesman later confirmed the deal. |
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