The developers would raze the Century Plaza to make way for thenew construction, which would be developed on the 5.75-acre CenturyPlaza hotel site at 2025 Avenue of the Stars. Plans call for theproperty to continue to operate as a Hyatt Regency hotel.

A joint venture of Next Century and the D. E. Shaw group, whichis a global investment firm with its US headquarters in New YorkCity, bought the 726-room Century Plaza hotel in May this year fromOrange County-based Sunstone Hotel Investors for $366.5 million.The developers estimate that securing entitlements for the projectwould take about three years, meaning that construction would becompleted at a time by which the commercial real estate markets areexpected to have recovered.

[IMGCAP(2)]The project design calls for two 50-story towersrising from a grand plaza, with water features, gardens and publicart. One would be a mixed-use tower incorporating the 240-roomfive-star hotel and 163 for-sale condominiums, plus the 100,000square feet of office space. The other would be a residential towerwith 130 for-sale condominiums. The project would include 2,080parking spaces.