Commercial Use Central Los Angeles Learning Center #1
(Ambassador Hotel Site)

A proposal has been made by the Community to allocate up to six acres of Wilshire Boulevard frontage on the Ambassador Hotel site for commercial or residential development.

Section I
The following states the factors that support such a proposal. Section II provides answers to the school district's issues with this proposal. The object of this discussion is to find the best solution for the use of the Ambassador Hotel site for the Community.

1. The Ambassador property, in the heart of Wilshire Center, presents a unique opportunity to provide quality retail and housing services so strongly needed by this dense urban area.

2. The Wilshire Center community is seeking a public "focal point", a town center/plaza. The Ambassador property is one of few large parcels, which could be developed for such a purpose.

3. Continuous development of commercial uses along Wilshire Boulevard would create a more cohesive and more successful retail environment on the street as well as maintain an image as a business corridor.

4. There is a significant shortage of housing, particularly affordable and senior housing, and there is a need for replacement housing which stems from the removal of housing units by the action of other school building projects in the Wilshire Community area.

5. The proposal is to advance the immediate construction of a school and a mixed?use concept that will better integrate the school facility into the community.

6. This proposal would provide additional needed jobs, taxes, housing and retail services and provide a needed destination center for the Wilshire Center Urban Village. It would contribute towards the renaissance of this vital part of the City of Los Angeles. The "school only" proposal would contribute towards further commercial decline by providing a detracting amenity to adjacent commercial properties along the corridor.

7. The concept is within the motion approved by City Council and the Mayor on February 26, 02 that calls for a buffer between the proposed school and Wilshire Blvd.

8. A development team would reimburse LAUSD the fair market value for the 6-acre parcel. These funds ($20 million +/-) could be used for the balance of the site for a school or for the purchase of existing buildings for the charter schools. The development team could assist the LAUSD in obtaining additional properties for additional seats.

9. The Ambassador site would be the hub for a number of smaller schools located in the surrounding area. Smaller schools are better for our kids.

10. This plan allows for more total school seats in the community and the addition of sorely needed retail services while mitigating the negative impact of locating a school on Wilshire Boulevard in the heart of a dense commercial district.

11. This concept will allow LAUSD and the community to work together to construct a community based school and a retail, entertainment, housing complex, that will continue the Wilshire Center's revitalization efforts which started in 1994.

12. This concept eliminates the uncertainties that have enveloped the Ambassador site and moves the development forward with a win-win solution for the entire Wilshire Community.

13. This proposal is the similar to one proposed by the School District in the early 1990's.

14. There is broad community support for this proposal, which includes the Wilshire Center Business Improvement Corp., Wilshire Center Chamber of Commerce, Korean?American Federation of Los Angeles, the Korean?American Chamber of Commerce, Korean American Coalition, CRACAC Urban Design Committee, L. A. Conservancy, Wilshire Enhancement Group and many others.