Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass has reportedly had the city make an offer to purchase the 15-story Mayfair Hotel in Downtown L.A. According to the L.A. Times, in a memo sent to the City Council’s Budget, Finance and Innovation Committee, Bass acknowledged they are seeking to acquire the vacant 294-room hotel, which served for two years as interim homeless housing as a part of what was called Project Roomkey.
The property had been listed at nearly $70 million in recent months. Bass’ team confirmed that the city signed a nonbinding letter of intent with Mayfair Lofts, the hotel’s owner, three weeks ago—though how much the city has offered in the deal has not been reported.
The hotel benefited from a comprehensive $37 million renovation from in 2019, completed by current ownership just prior to the Covid pandemic.
Under the proposal, the city would provide an array of services on the Mayfair’s ground floor including substance abuse counseling, mental health and public health services. The proposed plans call for the Mayfair to be a permanent interim housing program where homeless people can live for up to a year before finding their own apartments.
City leaders ended the aforementioned Project Roomkey program last year. Some councilmembers cite the city paying hotel and motel owners rent for the housing program as not being a good long-term strategy for the city.