Posted on 06/25/2014 9:44:58 PM PDT by BenLurkin
SILVER LAKE (CBSLA.com) — Residents of Silver Lake are torn over a proposal to turn an 83-year-old church into a trendy hotel.
The plan calls for the church to become a 25-room, 18,000-square foot boutique hotel and restaurant at 1629 Griffith Park Boulevard.
Both sides agree it would bring business to the area but residents can’t agree if the increased revenue is worth the added traffic and noise. The restaurant would serve alcohol and there would also be dancing on the premises, within earshot of some home in the vicinity of Griffith Park Boulevard and Lucile Ave.
Pilgrim Church has been closed for several years. Mainly used for film shoots, a local businesswoman and restauranteur wants to bring a new hip business into the busy area near Sunset Boulevard.
CBS2′s Art Barron attended a meeting of those opposed to the plan and later attended a hearing at City Hall where those in favor got a chance to speak out.
John Lee, spearheads neighborhood opposition to the plan.
“This is a disaster kind of waiting to happen,” Lee said. “There are residences, some as close as eight feet away.”
“This would be a constant operation,” says Lucia Marano, a hotel opponent. “It wouldn’t be keeping with the fabric and the feeling of the community.”
Local businesswoman Dana Hollister — who declined to be interviewed– leases the church from Presbytery of the Pacific, the building’s owner.
But she needs the green light from the zoning administrator.
Hollister and hotel supporters rented a bus to City Hall, while those who are opposed took their separate cars, Barron reported.
There was an overflow crowd at a public hearing before the assistant zoning administrator.
While many are worried a hotel would be too noisy and create a parking nightmare, some residents support it saying it could enhance the area.
“We really need this amenity,” said Sara Dale. “And also we need that space to be activated and active and contribute in a positive way.”
Hollister’s plan highlights the benefits to the community including new street lights and trees and 24-hour security. There would also be free shuttle service to and from proposed off-site parking.
“Dana’s hotel would be a locally owned business that would bring crime [in the area] down because of the security that it offers in a place that has been left empty for four years,” said hotel proponent Bich Ngoc Cao.
Mayor Eric Garcetti and Councilman Mitch O’Farrell both support the hotel plan.
Now it’s up to the zoning administrator to made a decision.
Barron reported a decision from the administrator is expected to take about five weeks.
Much better than letting it become a mosque, as so many old churches are now becoming, IMO.
Good point.
>> Much better than letting it become a mosque ...
The EpiSScopal Church recently did that in Binghamton, NY when the congregation opted to defect to the Anglican Church. The congregation obtained financing, and then offered something like $155,000 after having the building appraised.
The church sold it to the local Islamic Information Center for $55,000.
When I went there in the early 1940s it was a Presbyterian church.
Kick religion, but by all means get the Lord.
They wouldn’t be torn at all if it did become a mosque!
That is truly disgusting. Glad I left the ECUSA. Becoming demoniv.
A
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