An iconic hotel steeped in Hollywood history can be demolished to make way for a new mixed-use development as part of the Sportsmen’s Lodge campus in Studio City, the Los Angeles City Council decided on Wednesday, April 3.
In a 13-1 vote with no discussion by elected officials, the City Council green-lighted the project, which calls for tearing down the shuttered 190-room Sportsmen’s Lodge hotel and replacing it with more than 45,000 square feet of commercial space and 520 apartment units – 78 of which will be reserved for very-low income tenants.
Located at 12825 Ventura Blvd. near Coldwater Canyon Avenue and just south of the Los Angeles River, the development known as The Residences at Sportsmen’s Lodge would rise next to The Shops at Sportsmen’s Lodge, an upscale shopping plaza that opened in 2021.
The latest project would create a new, direct connection between Ventura Boulevard and the Los Angeles River pedestrian and cyclist path, according to the developer.
“We are excited that the Los Angeles City Council has approved our plans. … This new development will provide much-needed housing, including 78 affordable housing residences. We are looking forward to delivering this mixed-use offering to the community,” Jeff Dvorett, president of Midwood Investment & Development, the developer, said in a statement.
Attempts to redevelop the property date back many years, though a prior effort by a different developer was not successful.
Business groups including the Valley Industry & Commerce Association and The Valley Economic Alliance have heralded the project as a way to further revitalize the area.
But opponents have raised concerns about the height of the project, potential environmental impacts and losing part of L.A.’s history because the famed hotel was a key gathering spot for old Hollywood. It also played a role in the labor movement.
In yesteryears, guests of the Sportsmen’s Lodge hotel included movie stars like Clark Gable, Humphrey Bogart, Bette Davis, Katharine Hepburn and John Wayne. In addition, musicians and bands such as Willie Nelson, the Beach Boys and Lynyrd Skynyrd have performed at the site.
The famed hotel also holds historical significance for the labor movement. UNITE HERE Local 11, a union representing hospitality workers, has sought to stop the hotel from being demolished, citing it as one of the first in the area to employ unionized workers.
UNITE HERE Local 11 Co-President Kurt Petersen said in a statement after the council vote that Sportsmen’s Lodge served as a roadside attraction “to the (San Fernando) Valley’s vibrant automobile culture,” was one of the Valley’s earliest fine dining locations and was an important connection to the entertainment industry for the Valley.
“We continue to believe that … the historic hotel is an important remaining link to that history, and therefore should be preserved,” Petersen stated.
City Councilmember Hugo Soto-Martínez, who was an organizer with UNITE HERE before being elected to office, cast the lone dissenting vote from the council on Wednesday. Council President Paul Krekorian was absent.
UNITE HERE was one of three parties that appealed the project, which also included the Studio City Residents Association and Erewhon, a high-end grocery store next to the project site.
No representative for any of the appellants spoke during the council meeting. Attorneys for the Studio City Residents Association and Erewhon were not immediately available for comment Wednesday.
Last month, representatives for the Studio City Residents Association and Erewhon told the City Council’s Planning and Land Use Management Committee that city staff improperly relied on a review known as the Sustainable Communities Environmental Assessment in considering the development. They argued that the project did not qualify for the shortened environmental review used in the Sustainable Communities Environmental Assessment.
Critics say the developer shouldn’t be allowed to build up to eight stories, or 94 feet – more than three times the regular height limit for that neighborhood, which is 30 feet.
Amy Minteer, attorney for the Studio City Residents Association, told the council committee that while the association supports residential development, including affordable housing, the project must comply with the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) by adequately analyzing and mitigating potential impacts “to protect the community, environment and the adjacent L.A. River.”
“Additionally, projects must not be so far out of line from existing development standards that they prevent cohesive community development,” she said at the time, noting that the project as proposed could reach 94 feet while no other building in Studio City is greater than 54 feet.
The project is eligible for “density bonus” incentives that allow the developer to build higher than normal and to exceed normal floor area limits set by regular zoning rules.
Opponents have also raised concerns about the removal of mature trees which they say provide a place for bats to roost and for foraging habitat.
Although new trees will be planted, the younger trees will take years to grow, critics say. In the meantime, not having mature trees around would adversely impact migratory and predatory birds, they say.
Those who oppose the project have additionally raised concerns that dirt excavation would take place at the same time as another nearby project — the construction of the Harvard-Westlake athletic facilities. They worry about the compounded impact on local traffic, air quality and noise.
But the Planning and Land Use Management Committee denied the appeals last month, and the City Council on Wednesday agreed with the committee’s decision.
Construction is expected to start in 2025, a spokesperson for the developer said after the council vote.
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