LA’s Cecil Hotel, infamous for its mysterious deaths, lists for sale
The Cecil Hotel, infamous for its dark past of mysterious deaths and eerie occurrences, has now found itself on the market.
Located at 640 South Main St. in downtown Los Angeles, the 15-story building has become synonymous with macabre tales and spine-chilling mysteries.
The listing was first reported by the Real Deal. The outlet noted the asking price for the property isn’t available.
The property’s checkered history includes being the focal point of a Netflix true crime documentary about a Canadian tourist who disappeared mysteriously — and serving as the dwelling for notorious serial killers.
New York firm Simon Baron Development is now seeking to sell the ground lease for the property.
Developed originally as a luxury hotel in the 1920s, it was later converted to homeless housing in 2019 with a whopping $45 million in financing from the LA City Council. Renamed as the Hotel Cecil Apartments upon reopening in 2021, the property currently boasts 601 units.
According to the listing on LoopNet, the ground lease still has a hefty 91 years remaining.
The site, owned by 248 Haynes Hotel Associates, tied to New York hotelier Richard Born, has garnered significant attention in the real estate market.
The listing indicates that the property is currently 60% leased, with occupancy rates projected to increase to around 80 to 90% by the middle of this year.
The marketing also highlights potential profits based on the property’s eligibility for a state program that reduces its taxable value.
It also touts the stability of investing in affordable housing, citing government subsidies as an additional layer of financial security.
But it’s not just the promise of profits that’s drawing attention.
The hotel’s grim history has inspired both real and fictionalized accounts of horror. At least 16 people have met their demise within its walls, according to Esquire magazine.
The most notorious case is perhaps that of the Canadian tourist Elisa Lam, whose death in 2013 captivated the world’s attention.
Lam’s body was discovered in a water tank atop the hotel’s roof after she had been missing for 19 days. Her tragic tale was the subject of the 2021 Netflix documentary titled “Crime Scene: Vanishing at the Cecil Hotel.”
Moreover, the hotel housed infamous serial killers Jack Unterwerger and Richard Ramirez, also known as the Night Stalker. Ramirez reportedly stayed at the hotel during his 1985 killing spree, adding to the property’s dark lore.
So entrenched is the hotel’s notoriety that it even inspired the fifth season of the television anthology series “American Horror Story.”
In a 2015 interview, the show’s creator, Ryan Murphy, revealed that the season was based on the Cecil Hotel and the mysterious disappearance of Elisa Lam.
Adam Tischer, Jeffrey Donnelly and Dmitry Levkov of the Colliers team responsible for its sale declined to comment.
