Schools
UCLA Hotel Get Regents' Committee OK
The controversial, $152 million project would be built on the site of a UCLA parking structure.
A new hotel and conference center at UCLA received a green light from the buildings committee of the University of California Board of Regents on Tuesday, reports the Daily Bruin and the Los Angeles Times.
Plans for the $152 million Meyer and Renee Luskin Conference and Guest Center—a 250-room hotel and meeting space that may take the place of a UCLA parking lot—were approved unanimously by the committee and "delighted" UCLA Chancellor Gene Block.
The full Board of Regents is expected to support the proposal Wednesday, the Times reported.
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Local hotels are not happy about the proposed UCLA hotel because in the Westwood market. Because of its non-profit, state-owned status it would be exempt it from occupancy, property and parking taxes. The rate at the UCLA hotel is estimated to be around $185 per night—less than the $220 average rate in Westwood and nearby markets.
But Chancellor Block said the center would make attending academic conferences more convenient for guests who would no longer have to shuttle back and forth from a campus conference location they do now, according to the Daily Bruin.
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The Times quoted him saying the center "is vital to UCLA, has a solid business plan and is the best alternative to meet UCLA's goals."
FOR FULL STORIES ON THE BUILDING COMMITTE'S VOTE, CLICK OVER TO THE DAILY BRUIN AND LOS ANGELES TIMES.
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