Responding to the burgeoning hotel needs of patients and guests, hotel developer and operator Mayer Corporation recently began construction on the new Hyatt House LA on the University of Southern California’s (USC) Health Sciences Campus in Los Angeles.

The project is owned by Mayer Jones Hospitality, a joint venture by Bob Mayer III, President of the Mayer Corporation, and Steve Jones, CEO of Allied Universal. Mayer Jones Hospitality was formed specifically to pursue distinct hospitality projects in underserved market areas.

“This is truly a unique and much-desired hotel for those served by the USC Health Sciences Campus, its surrounding community and Los Angeles,” Mayer said. “We are seeing a trend among large, university medical centers; families are finding limited hotel options while their loved ones are in the hospital, as are patients who need to be close by while they receive outpatient treatment.”

Located three miles northeast of downtown Los Angeles, USC’s Health Sciences Campus is a leading medical campus that is home to two teaching hospitals, Keck Hospital of USC and USC Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center. The medical campus sees more than 500,000 patients a year. In total, the campus includes nearly 12,300 staff and faculty, approximately 4,600 students, and more than 18 medical- and health-related research centers. USC’s Health Sciences Campus also lies adjacent to the 600-bed county facility, Los Angeles County + USC Medical Center, which is staffed by USC faculty physicians.

The project is anticipated to create 175 construction jobs and more than 130 permanent jobs, many of which will be available to local residents. 

Mayer also believes the mixed-use nature of the project will meet a retail need for campus and community and create a focal point for the medical center that hasn’t existed before.

“We have confidence this is a prototype for future extended stay hotels on other renowned university campuses,” Jones said. “It just makes sense, given that a university is a microcosm of any city: there are office workers, professors, students, law enforcement, patients, medical professionals and a surrounding community who can all be served by a mixed-use project like the Hyatt House LA.”

This 5-story, well-appointed extended stay hotel will be the first Hyatt House on a California university campus, featuring apartment-style settings: studios and suites with the potential to include up to two bedrooms, plus bathrooms, separate living areas, and well-equipped kitchens with refrigerators, microwaves, stovetops and dishwashers. The property will also include the “H Bar,” an on-site lounge. Additionally, the project will include 14,000 square feet of retail space for multiple opportunities for fast casual food tenants (see Hyatt House LA Fact Sheet).

On the lower level of the project, an 18,000-square-foot conference center, leased to USC, is planned to accommodate attendees for industry conferences; the conference center will feature its own entry from San Pablo Street, a full-service kitchen, pre-event space, divisible conference space and separate classrooms.

“The Hyatt House concept is ideally suited for our patients and their families — as some are in residence for weeks or even months during their complex treatments,” said Tom Jackiewicz, CEO of Keck Medicine of USC. “It will also facilitate housing international visitors and delegations coming to learn about innovations and best practices from our leading academic medical center.”

The hotel is expected to open in the first quarter of 2020.