Category: faculty center

Efforts to Designate Faculty Center as Historic Structure Continuing

CurbedLA reports that in the aftermath of the controversy over demolishing the UCLA Faculty Center for a hotel/conference center (now proposed to be located elsewhere), the LA Conservancy is continuing efforts to protect the building.  In part it is doing so by holding events there – see below.  In part it is trying to get a designation of the Faculty Center as an historical resource – also see below.  The photo shows tea on the opening day of the Faculty Center in 1959.

WESTWOOD: The LA Conservancy’s Modern Committee is giving out its third annual set of Modern Masters Awards tonight, to honor “Major contributors to Southern California mid-20th Century architecture.” The recipients tonight are Victor Cusack, James Delong, WA Sarmiento, and Edward Fickett. They’ll also have a special tribute to the recently-deceased Robert Burman and an appearance from Harry Gesner to pick up the award he won last year. The awards are being given out at ModCom’s holiday party at UCLA’s Faculty Center, which was designed by Austin, Field and Fry in 1959. According to a press release, “The Faculty Center is a rare example of residential ranch-style architecture applied to a civic building and is highly unusual for a university and public institution setting. The post-and-beam structure was recently a preservation issue, but is no longer threatened with demolition. The Conservancy is currently working on a California Register of Historical Resources nomination for the building.”

Full article at http://la.curbed.com/archives/2011/12/hollywood_community_plan_makes_its_debut_modcom_honors_midcentury_greats_in_midcentury_great.php
An LA Conservancy article on the Faculty Center is at http://www.laconservancy.org/issues/issues_ucla.php4
Thanks for Bette Billet who found the CurbedLA article.

Audio of Scoping Hearing on UCLA/Hotel/Conference Center: 11-14-11


This evening (11-14-11), a public hearing was held on the scoping report on the proposed hotel/conference center – primarily an environmental review. See earlier posts on this blog. Most speakers were representatives of neighborhood groups and representatives of local hotels. One retired and recalled faculty member spoke. Major themes were the lack of a business plan, incompleteness of architecture and design features, parking, and traffic issues. The UCLA architect repeatedly stressed that the various designs shown on PowerPoint slides were conceptual, not final. Some of those who made comments noted that it was difficult to evaluate a project without final design plans or a business plan. Hotel owners pointed to exemption from local taxes as unfair competition. They supported a conference center but not a hotel and expressed doubt that the project as described could break even. They were dubious about the notion that the project would generate business for them rather than reduce it.

Some speakers noted that they were pleased that UCLA found a new location that did not involve demolishing the Faculty Center. However, there were concerns about parking issues, traffic issues, and exactly how the hotel traffic could be made to integrate and accommodate the municipal bus station which is right across from the proposed project.

The hearing lasted just under an hour. You can hear the audio of the event using the option below:

Alternative links to the audio in three parts are at:
Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

UPDATE: The Daily Bruin’s report on the meeting is at http://www.dailybruin.com/index.php/article/2011/11/plans_for_new_ucla_hotel_and_conference_center_get_negative_responses_from_community#comments

Waiting for the Scoping Report

As a prior post indicated, there is supposed to be a “scoping” report regarding the revised and relocated proposal for a UCLA hotel/conference center.


The presentation of the scoping report is scheduled for a week from today. It will take place on Monday, November 14, 7-9 PM, at the Faculty Center.


It is getting late to release the report so there can be a public examination of it prior to November 14.


We are waiting patiently, but it would be nice to see the scope up on the web.

If you are interested in attending the November 14 meeting, send an RSVP message to mrule@support.ucla.edu.

Questions, Answers, & Comments Needed on Hotel/Conference Center

Now that we have arrived at the morning after on the hotel/conference center plan, it is important to consider what we don’t know.

We don’t yet have a business plan. So we don’t have yearly projections of assumed revenues and expenditures. We don’t know what assumptions are being made about the demand on campus for conferences and overnight stays. We don’t know how the facility will be operated. Will it be staffed by UCLA employees? Contracted out?
There appeared to be an error in the initial press release about assumed future local area competitive hotel rates. What are the actual assumptions?
We do know that a large parking structure will be demolished. Exactly what are the parking plans for the displaced cars? We know there will be considerably fewer parking spots in the new project. Presumably, those new spots will be underground and expensive to construct. Will the costs be absorbed by the project in some way or will the costs be spread to all parkers around the campus through higher parking fees?
As was pointed out in the first round on this project, the Faculty Center – which now has been spared – has its own internal financial problems. Adding new conference facilities presumably will divert business from the Faculty Center, aggravating those problems. Were those impacts on the Faculty Center (or – for that matter – on other conference venues) modeled in formulating the new plan?
The site of the project, shown above, is opposite a municipal bus station. What happens to those buses during the construction period? There seemed to be a plan in fact for moving the bus station behind the Faculty Center to the central location. Is that plan now dead since the hotel/conference center won’t be where the Faculty Center is?
So far, what we have is general assurances. We are told that there is plenty of campus parking so not to worry about the demolished parking structure. We are told that there will be so much campus conference activity that other venues and private area hotels won’t be adversely affected. Indeed, local hotels will have more business. But assurances are not formal projections that can be independently evaluated.
There may well be more questions to be asked and blog readers should feel free to add comments and questions using the blog’s comment option.
Bottom line to the project’s planners. Are you sure? If so, let’s see the numbers.

Hotel/Conference Center: We await details

We now know the general outlines of the hotel/conference center revised plan but the devil is in the details. We know the project is not replacing the Faculty Center. But at least one error in FAQ section – reproduced in the prior post – has been found. The earlier proposal for the Faculty Center site had a projected room rate of $360/day when put on a basis corresponding to what the recent FAQ response says would be $185 before inflation. But the FAQ put that number as $270, not $360. So there is an inconsistency, apparently, that someone will have to explain. And is it really likely that hotel room rates in the local area will almost double in nominal dollars in 4 years? That’s a lot of inflation for a depressed economy – one which the UCLA Anderson forecast suggests will be with us for some time.

More generally, we lack the business plan. We don’t yet have available a business plan that indicates, for example, what the assumed occupancy rate is projected to be. That rate matters a lot, given the size of the project: 250 rooms (down from 282, but still big). As the FAQ notes, the hotel/conference center cannot take commercial business. We don’t know what kind of forecast of (overnight) UCLA conference activity is being made.

It is important that the project have a viable business plan. Otherwise, the campus in some way or other will pick up the losses. If the project displaces existing parking and new parking must be built, will the cost be shifted into overall parking rates? It will displace an existing parking structure, according to the info made available.

Presumably, someone will eventually make the detailed plan available. Sooner would be better than later. In the meantime, below is a photo of the location where the new hotel/conference center will be.


Update: The LA Times story on the plan is at http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-ucla-hotel-20111102,0,2528189.story

UCLA Hotel-Conference Center Plan Announced

As indicated in yesterday’s post, UCLA has announced its plans for the hotel/conference center (which does not displace the Faculty Club). Below are some highlights:

Location: Central campus, at the end of Westwood Plaza near Pauley Pavilion, in the space currently occupied by Parking Structure 6

Projected Groundbreaking and Demolition: Summer 2013

Projected Completion: Winter 2016

Estimated Project Cost: Roughly $152 million ($40 million from UCLA donors Meyer and Renee Luskin and approximately $112 million in financing)

Square Feet of Meeting Space: 25,000

Number of Guest Rooms: 250

Number of Stories: Seven

Amenities: Restaurant, business center and fitness center

Planned Room Rate (based on today’s market): $185

Underground Parking Spots: 125

Press release http://newsroom.ucla.edu/portal/ucla/luskin-conference-center.aspx

From the FAQ section of http://luskinconferencecenter.ucla.edu/

Q: What about neighbors’ concerns?

A: We surveyed our neighbors and found no widespread opposition to the project, with concerns largely focused on traffic issues. In fact, we were very pleased to learn that our neighbors think we’re a good neighbor and that they have a very positive image of UCLA.

Q: Previously, UCLA said rates would be $270 per night. Why is it $185 now?

A: The previously referenced rate included food and conference fees and also factored in inflation, out to a completion date of 2015. This made for inaccurate comparisons with current hotel rates. The $185 rate applies to rooms only and represents what we would charge if the center was opened today, allowing for a fair and accurate comparison with existing area hotel rates.

Q: We’re visiting L.A. for our vacation. Can we get a room while we’re in town sightseeing?

A: No. All guests must have business with the university in order to book a reservation.

Q: What if an academic department wants to host a conference but can’t afford the center’s rates?

A: The Luskins have provided a $10 million endowment to assist academic departments in hosting conferences.

Trick or Treat? Hotel/Conference Center Plan Coming Tomorrow

Word has it that the revised proposal for the hotel/conference center will not replace the Faculty Center. The plan – apparently to be announced tomorrow – is reported to put it where Parking Structure 6 is now located, near the West Center. See map to the left.





So we will await the details. How scary could it be? By the day after tomorrow, you will know:

How Big?

How big would a 282 room hotel be? That is the size of the old proposal for a hotel/conference center that was originally slated to replace the Faculty Center. To give you an idea of its size, a new hotel has just opened in Santa Monica with only 164 rooms. 164/282 = 58%. The picture above shows that the Santa Monica hotel is quite large despite the much smaller number of rooms. As prior posts have noted, none of the private hotels in the Westwood area are as big as 282 rooms.

While awaiting the revised proposal for the hotel/conference center from the administration, you can read about the Santa Monica hotel at http://www.smmirror.com/#mode=single&view=33239

So how big will it be?

Groundhog Hotel?


Are we about to repeat – and repeat? Supposedly, we are going to be receiving (soon?) a revised (?) plan for the hotel/conference center. Yet on the UCLA Newsroom website – screenshot taken today – we find an entry about the hotel/conference center which includes:

Q: What is the UCLA residential conference center project?
A: UCLA is planning a 295,000-square-foot residential conference center featuring 33,000 square feet of meeting and conference space, a 9,000-square-foot conference hall, a 250-seat dining room and at least 282 guest rooms. The plan also includes a new 22,500-square-foot faculty club with a separate entrance and meeting space, a 300-seat dining room, a lounge, a café and bar, outdoor seating for 130 and an event lawn.

Seems like we are repeating old history, again and again. Reminds me of: