Vermont hotel to continue construction


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The Los Angeles City Council officially approved a proposed 168-room Marriott hotel in South Central Friday, after hearing several rejections arguing that its construction would limit housing opportunities for the local community.

The seven-story hotel will be built on a 34,000-square-foot, city-owned site near USC and is expected to bring in $1.6 million of annual revenue to the city. The hotel will also provide up to 60 permanent jobs and 1,000 construction jobs, according to the city’s economic and workforce department. 

On Jan. 27, the City Council voted 10-1 in favor of the project, despite the local planning commission previously denying a permit due to concerns that the lot should be used for affordable housing. 

The property, situated at 3685 S. Vermont Ave., was formerly the site of Bethune Library. Real estate developer Orion Capital filed an application for the redevelopment of the site in Oct. 2021, but was denied clearance on the project last March after the city zoning administrator pointed out the limited options for affordable housing. 

Talks about the property go back as far as a Feb. 2017 Los Angeles Times Editorial Board piece that warned of the dangers of what is now called Measure S, which would impose short-term but significant limits on construction — including housing initiatives in L.A.

The council’s decision has been met with opposition by community members, religious leaders and social activist groups like Strategic Actions for a Just Economy, a tenants advocacy group which called the council’s decision “a failure around land use and decision making in the city.”

“We spent over 10 years advocating to ensure this public land is used for the public good,” the organization said on Twitter. “Simply put, this corporate hotel development does not meet the needs and desires of the community.”

However, Councilmember Marqueece Harris-Dawson, who represents the area, said during the Jan. 23 City Council meeting that he believes the hotel project would bring economic benefits to the district. Harris-Dawson called the project one of “much controversy” but said the Eighth District “needs to be able to participate in the economy of Los Angeles.”

“When the World Cup comes to L.A., were we to go along with the folks opposed to this project, what the district would get out of that economic activity is increased traffic, people parking all through their neighborhoods, trash and everything else — and not get one dollar of benefit from that economic activity,” Harris-Dawson said.