Downtown Los Angeles’ haunted Cecil Hotel in search of new owner
Now searching for a new owner: Downtown Los Angeles high-rise rich in colorful
anecdotes from its history, albeit most quite haunting. Offers units overlooking
Skid Row, many stubbornly vacant. Best known for the Netflix series about the
dead body found in a water tank on its roof.
The building is the infamous Cecil Hotel, which was transformed in recent years
into a privately funded supportive-housing complex for the formerly homeless. A
new owner wouldn’t technically acquire the property at 640 S. Main Street but
would instead take over the 99-year ground lease, which allows its long-term use
and development. The new listing did not include a selling price, but the
property’s land and improvements were assessed at a total value of $31 million
in 2023.
The storied building opened in the 1920s as a luxury hotel but later became the
site of a string 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’d been missing for weeks;
her story later became the subject of a 2021 true-crime series on Netflix.
Recent renovations were made to revamp the 15-floor building, which reopened in
- Since then, the owners have reserved most rooms for tenants in the bottom
30% of the area’s median income, accepting unhoused Angelenos with
government-funded housing vouchers.
But the housing project has struggled to take off, unable to fill its 600 units
— most of which share bathrooms, kitchens and laundry facilities — despite the
city’s worsening homelessness crisis. Among those who did move in as well as
property staff, there were complaints and increasing concerns about safety
issues, unsanitary conditions and constant maintenance backups.
Despite the challenges, the building’s real estate listing said it was currently
60% occupied, with an expectation that it would be 80% to 90% filled by midyear.
About half of the units were occupied last summer.
The Cecil’s listing on the commercial property site LoopNet was first reported
by real estate news outlet the Real Deal. One agent listed for the property
declined to answer questions from The Times, deferring 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 the Eberly Co., the 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
providing needed services — including medical and mental health care — were just
established in recent weeks.
“I’m hoping, in any transaction, that this program is not only preserved and
kept in place but has a lot of potential for growth,” said Al Ballesteros, chief
executive of the JWCH Institute, a nonprofit healthcare provider now operating
two clinics on the Cecil Hotel’s ground floor. “We have served quite a few
people there; I know for sure that it’s making a difference.”
His organization, in conjunction with the county, recently started a program
called Safe Landing, aimed at helping people get off the streets and connecting
them to services, support and temporary housing. They are also running a medical
clinic for residents.
With so much need in the area, Ballesteros said, he’s hopeful the Cecil will
soon have all of its rooms filled.
“It seems to be a missed opportunity,” he said. “I’m hoping the new owners, they
invest the type of energy and resources to be able to fully utilize the building
for individuals that we serve.”
The Rev. Dylan Littlefield, chaplain for the Cecil Hotel apartments, said he and
the building’s residents had learned this week about the potential sale, which
caused a rush of concern and shock.
“It was very destabilizing,” Littlefield said. “I probably got a dozen calls or
emails.”
He said residents feared that they were going to lose their homes — some after
finally settling in following years on the street. He wished the current owner
had met with residents to explain the situation and assure them that they won’t
soon be facing homelessness again.
“People need to know there is 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 through the 99-year ground lease, and initially planned to
renovate it as half hotel, half market-rate apartment building.
But then COVID-19 hit, and the developer pivoted to make affordable housing the
project’s focus. (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 remaining on that lease.
Littlefield said he believes there’s a chance now for a new owner — ideally not
one based in New York — who could better support the high-need community that’s
getting a second chance at the Cecil.
“My hope would be that whoever does buy the lease is able to do a better job at
community building, at being proactive in the life of the building,” he said.