With sweeping views from the 14th floor of Constellation Place, about 100 attendees gathered for Century City’s first State of the City on the morning of Tuesday, March 24.
The event’s highlight was a panel discussion with some of the area’s leading developers.
With a handful of major developments in the works within the neighborhood, the Century City Chamber of Commerce decided to focus the event on the imminent projects within the region.
With Los Angeles Councilman Paul Koretz (District 5) providing opening comments and Mirror Media Group Executive Editor Brenton Garen moderating the event, State of the City panelists dove into a morning of discussion regarding a range of development-related topics.
The panel was comprised of five developers from varying fields: Tom Priselac, President and CEO of Cedars-Sinai; Sarah Shaw, VP of Development and Operations at JMB Realty; Jonathan Meir, VP of the 10000 Santa Monica property; John Marshall, Senior VP of Development at Westfield; and Mark Armbruster, Land Use Council at Next Century Associates (owner of Hyatt Regency Century Plaza).
With Priselac discussing health care within the future California Rehabilitation Institute, Shaw covering corporate/business offices at the to-be Century City Center, Meir touching base on residential options at the future 10000 Santa Monica residences, Marshall explaining new retail projects at Westfield Century City, and Armbruster elaborating on upgraded hospitality at the Hyatt Regency Century Plaza, the panel boasted an expansive range of topics in Century City development.
Each panelist first provided an in-depth description of their respective developments with visuals and graphics to create further transparency and clarity for the audience.
Garen then led the conversation into more specific matters of interest, including topics like social and economic impacts, development permitting, state-of-the-art amenities, and preservation vs. renovation.
For Priselac, balance is key to catalyzing a positive social and economic impact through the to-be California Rehabilitation Institute, which is a brainchild of a Cedars-Sinai and UCLA partnership.
“I think that successfully maintaining high quality service and also dealing with the issue of cost has been the challenge,” Priselac said. “The new institute will help patients get into a lower-cost setting, but also have the support and specific services that they’ll need for their particular care.”
According to Meir, the economic benefits of Century City’s location serve his development in a different way.
“Century City is a Westside property that allows a high density [of future residents],” Meir said. “It’s also on the doorstep of Beverly Hills, so the location is prime.”
For Armbruster, one of the most prominent challenges naturally regarded preservation, as the historic Hyatt Regency Century Plaza was initially being considered for demolition.
“Needless to say, the original proposal was not a popular decision,” Armbruster said. “Next Century came up with the current project that we believe is actually much better. The top five floors of the hotel will be converted to luxury condominium units, and we’ll be adding more cafes, restaurants, and other friendly and inviting services. We embraced the idea of preservation and returning the hotel to its original glory: we worked with the council office and the L.A. Conservancy on this project to make sure that it satisfied all parties.”
When it comes to the subject of state-of-the-art amenities, Westfield Century City’s upcoming makeover suited the topic appropriately.
“We’re looking forward to providing new experiences at Westfield Century City,” Marshall said. “Aside from the new retail stores, we’re emphasizing the food and dining perspective – which is a huge focus right now – and we’re looking to increase and enhance what we have now by upgrading the dining terrace. For more convenience we’re also going to be providing increased valet parking services.”
Although all developments on the Westside will face their own sets of challenges and issues, realizing and focusing on the most important aspect – the residents, employees, and inhabitants of Century City – was the solution for panelist Shaw.
“Development in Los Angeles is time-consuming and expensive, so the most critical part to developing a project is to get support from the community,” Shaw said. “My team spent a lot of time in many, many meetings and presentations, discussing with homeowner groups, and going door-to-door to try to get people comfortable with the project. At the end of the day, you really have to listen to the community.”
From the historic Hyatt Regency Century Plaza to the future California Rehabilitation Center, the State of the City encompassed the gamut of imminent Century City developments, which falls in line with the neighborhood’s underlying values.
“The vision continues with an emphasis on re-developing some of the sectors of Century City: retail, residential, office, healthcare, and hospitality,” explained Susan Bursk, President and CEO of the Century City Chamber of Commerce.
The State of the City event concluded with an interactive Q&A session with members of the audience.
The event was sponsored by the Century City Chamber of Commerce. For more information, call 310.553.2222 or visit centurycitycc.com.
