We are now looking for a new owner: a skyscraper in downtown Los Angeles rich with colorful anecdotes from its history, although most of them are disturbing. It offers units overlooking Skid Row, many of them stubbornly empty. Best known for the Netflix series about the body found in a water tank on his roof.
The building is the infamous Cecil Hotel, which was transformed in recent years into a privately funded supportive housing complex for formerly homeless people. Technically, a new owner would not acquire the property at 640 South Main Street, but rather would take over the 99-year lease on the land, allowing for its long-term use and development. The new listing did not include a sales price, but the land and improvements to the property were assessed to have a total value of $31 million in 2023.
The historic building opened in the 1920s as a luxury hotel, but later became the site of a number of deadly incidents, including several murders, suicides and overdoses, as well as the home of notorious serial killers. Perhaps its best-documented tragedy was the 2013 death of a Canadian guest whose body was found in a water tank on the hotel's roof after she had been missing for weeks; Her story later became the subject of a 2021 true crime series on Netflix.
Recent renovations were made to renovate the 15-story building, which reopened in 2021. Since then, the owners have reserved most rooms for renters in the bottom 30% of the area's median income, accepting homeless Angelenos with government-funded housing vouchers.
But the housing project has struggled to get off the ground, unable to fill its 600 units, most of which share bathrooms, kitchens and laundry facilities, despite the city's worsening homeless crisis. Among those who moved in, as well as property staff, there were growing complaints and concerns about safety issues, unsanitary conditions, and constant delays in maintenance.
Despite the challenges, the building's real estate listing said it was currently 60% occupied, with the expectation that it would be 80% to 90% occupied by mid-year. About half of the units were occupied last summer.
Cecil's listing on commercial property site LoopNet was first reported by real estate news outlet Real Deal. A registered agent for the property declined to answer questions from The Times, referring to a public relations spokesperson who did not immediately respond.
Matthew Baron, president of Baron Property Group, which owns the building and has been working to transform it, did not respond to a request for comment. Neither did Eberly Co., Cecil's property management company.
Nonprofit teams and volunteers working in the Cecil Hotel building said they were caught off guard by the potential sale, especially after new programs were established in recent weeks that provide needed services, including medical and mental health care.
“I hope that, in any transaction, this program will not only be preserved and maintained, but that it will have great potential for growth,” said Al Ballesteros, chief executive of the JWCH Institute, a nonprofit health care provider that is now operates two clinics on the ground floor of the Cecil Hotel. “We have served quite a few people there; “I am sure it is making a difference.”
Her organization, along with the county, recently started a program called Safe Landing, which aims to help people get off the streets and connect them with services, supports and temporary housing. They also run a medical clinic for residents.
With so much need in the area, Ballesteros said, he is hopeful that the Cecil will soon have all its rooms full.
“It seems to be a missed opportunity,” he said. “I hope the new owners will invest the kind of energy and resources necessary to be able to fully utilize the building for the people we serve.”
The Rev. Dylan Littlefield, chaplain at the Cecil Hotel Apartments, said he and the building's residents had learned this week of the possible sale, prompting an outpouring of concern and shock.
“It was very destabilizing,” Littlefield said. “I probably got a dozen calls or emails.”
He said residents feared losing their homes, some after finally settling on the streets in the following years. He wished the current owner had met with residents to explain the situation and assure them that they would not soon face homelessness again.
“People need to know there's some stability,” said Littlefield, who visits the building at least twice a week.
Simon Baron Development, a New York-based real estate developer, acquired the building in late 2015 under a 99-year ground lease, and initially planned to renovate it as a half-hotel and half-market-rate apartment building.
But then COVID-19 hit and the developer pivoted to make affordable housing the focus of the project. (Simon Baron Development has since split into Simon Development and Baron Property Group, the latter of which still owns the lease.)
There are 91 years left on that lease.
Littlefield said he believes there is now an opportunity for a new owner (ideally not one based in New York) who could better support the much-needed community that is getting a second chance at the Cecil.
“My hope would be that whoever buys the lease can do a better job of building the community and being proactive in the life of the building,” he said.
