Los Angeles, California – The Cecil Hotel, a 15-story building located at 640 South Main St. in downtown Los Angeles, has a notorious reputation for its dark past filled with mysterious deaths and eerie occurrences. Now, the property has been put up for sale, attracting significant attention in the real estate market.
The hotel, known for its macabre tales and spine-chilling mysteries, has a checkered history that includes being the focal point of a Netflix true crime documentary about a Canadian tourist’s mysterious disappearance and being the temporary home of notorious serial killers.
First reported by a real estate outlet, the listing for the property does not disclose the asking price. The current owners, New York firm Simon Baron Development, are seeking to sell the ground lease for the property, which was originally developed as a luxury hotel in the 1920s and later converted to homeless housing in 2019.
Renamed as the Hotel Cecil Apartments upon reopening in 2021, the property now boasts 601 units and still has a hefty 91 years remaining on the ground lease. The property is currently 60% leased, with plans to increase occupancy rates by the middle of the year.
Despite its grim history, potential buyers are being drawn to the property not only for potential profits but also for its eligibility for a state program that reduces its taxable value. Furthermore, the property’s status as affordable housing with government subsidies adds an extra layer of financial security for investors.
The hotel’s infamous past has inspired both real and fictionalized accounts of horror, with at least 16 deaths occurring within its walls. The most well-known case is that of the Canadian tourist Elisa Lam, whose mysterious death in 2013 captivated the world’s attention and was the subject of a 2021 Netflix documentary.
The hotel’s dark lore also includes infamous serial killers Jack Unterweger and Richard Ramirez, adding to its notorious reputation. So entrenched is the hotel’s notoriety that it even served as the inspiration for a season of the television anthology series “American Horror Story.”
As prospective buyers consider the property’s history and potential for profit, the Cecil Hotel’s legacy of mystery and tragedy continues to intrigue and captivate.