Schools
Westwood Group Sues Over UCLA Hotel Project
The suit says the proposed hotel and conference center violates UC tax and financial policies.
Local organization Save Westwood Village has filed a lawsuit that alleges a proposed UCLA conference center and hotel project wastes public funds and doesn't comply with tax policies.
The suit says the proposed 250-room hotel and conference center, named the Meyer and Renee Luskin Conference and Guest Center, is "in violation of UC tax and financial policies."
It also alleges the project "will waste public funds and contains 'a hidden and improper subsidy' by avoiding tax payments and being partly financed through tax-exempt bonds," according to the Los Angeles Times.
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Save Westwood Village wants the Regents of the University of California to take back previous approval of the project, Curbed L.A. reported.
The seven-story building with 25,000 square feet of meeting space is expected to break ground this summer and be completed by 2016. Part of a $100 million gift from the Luskins will be used to finance the project, in addition to bond financing.
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The center is currently planned to be built on what is now the location of Parking Structure 6.
A UCLA statement said the university's facilities "are in full compliance with all local, state and federal laws," the Times reported.
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