The LA City Council is backing a 520-unit apartment complex at the Sportsmen’s Lodge site
LA Politics, Homepage News
Dakota Smith Jenna PetersonApril 3, 2024
The Los Angeles City Council on Wednesday backed a developer’s plans to replace Studio City’s iconic Sportsmens Lodge with a 520-unit residential complex and mixed-use development.
The council voted 13 to 1 to deny an appeal on the project, allowing Midwood Investment & Development to demolish the once-popular event center and hotel nearby.
the intersection of
Ventura Boulevard and Coldwater Canyon Avenue.
In addition to 520 apartments, 78 of which would be reserved for low-income tenants, the development will offer 46,000 square feet of commercial space. A bike and pedestrian path along the LA River is also planned.
Grocery chain Erewhon, which operates a store on the site, the Studio City Residents Assn. and Unite Here Local 11, which represents hotel workers, tried to stop the project and appealed to the city.
Some O
Supporters argued that the hotel should be preserved. It was one of the first unionized hotels in the San Fernando Valley and one of the first unionized hotels in Los Angeles.
Others raised concerns about the project’s 100-foot height, construction noise and environmental impact.
In its heyday, Sportsmens Lodge was a meeting place for movie studios and a popular venue for weddings, bar mitzvahs and New Year’s parties. The events center and restaurant opened in 1946 and the hotel in 1962.
The hotel is permanently closed
duringwhen
the COVID-19 pandemic.
began.
Supporters of the development claim it will add housing to this section of Studio City, which is zoned for a corridor for new construction. Across the river, the Harvard-Westlake private school plans to build an expanded athletics facility.
City councilor Hugo Soto-Martinez, a former organizer of Unite Here 11, cast the lone “no” vote. Council President Paul Krekorian was absent from Wednesday’s vote.
Councilor Nithya Raman, who represents Studio City, had declined to take a position on the development but voted yes at Wednesday’s meeting.

Fernando Dowling is an author and political journalist who writes for 24 News Globe. He has a deep understanding of the political landscape and a passion for analyzing the latest political trends and news.