News
Cecil Hotel, once notorious in L.A., now serving as shelter for the homeless, up for sale
The Cecil Hotel, located at 640 South Main Street in Downtown Los Angeles, is now searching for a new owner. This high-rise building is rich in colorful anecdotes from its history, although most of them are quite haunting. The hotel offers units overlooking Skid Row, but many of them remain stubbornly vacant. The hotel is best known for being featured in a Netflix series about a dead body found in a water tank on its roof.
Originally opened in the 1920s as a luxury hotel, the Cecil Hotel later became the site of a string of deadly incidents, including several murders, suicides, overdoses, and the home of notorious serial killers. One of its best-documented tragedies was the 2013 death of a Canadian guest whose body was found in a water tank on the hotel’s roof after she had been missing for weeks. Her story later became the subject of a 2021 true-crime series on Netflix.
In recent years, the Cecil Hotel was transformed into a privately funded supportive-housing complex for the formerly homeless. A new owner would not technically acquire the property, but would instead take over the 99-year ground lease, allowing for its long-term use and development. The property’s land and improvements were assessed at a total value of $31 million in 2023.
Recent renovations were made to revamp the 15-floor building, which reopened in 2021. The owners have reserved most rooms for tenants in the bottom 30% of the area’s median income, accepting unhoused Angelenos with government-funded housing vouchers. However, the housing project has struggled to fill its 600 units, with complaints of safety issues, unsanitary conditions, and constant maintenance backups.
Despite the challenges, the building’s real estate listing states that it is currently 60% occupied, with an expectation that it will be 80% to 90% filled by midyear. The Cecil Hotel’s listing on the commercial property site LoopNet was first reported by the Real Deal. The current owner, Baron Property Group, did not respond to requests for comment, nor did the Cecil’s property management company, the Eberly Co.
Nonprofit teams and volunteers working in the Cecil Hotel building expressed surprise at the potential sale, especially considering new programs providing essential services that were recently established. Organizations like the JWCH Institute, a nonprofit healthcare provider operating clinics on the Cecil Hotel’s ground floor, have been assisting residents with medical and mental health care.
Rev. Dylan Littlefield, chaplain for the Cecil Hotel apartments, expressed concern about the potential sale, as residents fear losing their homes. Littlefield emphasized the importance of stability for residents who have finally found a place to call home.
Simon Baron Development, a New York-based real estate developer, acquired the Cecil Hotel in 2015 and initially planned to renovate it as a hotel and market-rate apartment building. However, due to COVID-19, the developer shifted focus to affordable housing. Littlefield believes there is a chance for a new owner, ideally not based in New York, to better support the high-need community at the Cecil Hotel.
News
Is now the right time to invest in gold as prices have cooled?
The price of gold has climbed to record highs recently and has remained strong through much of April. And, that growth continued until the precious metal traded at around $2,390 per ounce on April 19, 2024. But since, growth in the price of the precious metal has cooled, with gold’s price now hovering around $2,300 per ounce.
This lull in gold’s price may represent an investment opportunity.
In general, investing is centered around buying assets when prices are low and selling them when prices are high – generating a profit on the difference between the two. So, considering the declines in gold’s price over the past few days, now may be the time to make your investment. But is buying gold during this lull in prices really a good idea?
Compare your gold investment options among leading brokers now.
Gold prices have cooled. Should you buy in now?
With gold’s price down from recent highs, you may be wondering if now is the right time to buy in. There are several reasons the dip in gold’s price may represent an opportunity to buy. Here are some of the biggest:
Prices may rise again
If looking at a gold price chart shows anything for certain, it shows that changes in the overall growth of the medal come in fits and spurts. Periods of price growth are typically followed by periods of declines and vice versa.
But with inflation rising in recent months – and with gold’s reputation as a safe-haven asset that can hedge against inflation – it only makes sense that the price of the precious metal will eventually start to head up again in the future. While attempting to time that directional change may be tricky, buying the precious metal while the price is down gives you the opportunity to take advantage of any upward movement that may be ahead.
Add gold to your portfolio now before prices have a chance to rise.
You may be able to make a quick profit
Gold isn’t known as an asset in which you can earn a quick return, but in today’s market, that may be the case. Don’t forget that in January, gold was trading at just $2,000 per ounce. And, by mid-April, the commodity’s price had climbed to around $2,400 per ounce. That’s about 20% growth in a matter of months, much of which happened since March 1 – an impressive climb for any investment asset.
Perhaps more importantly, gold’s price growth through the beginning of 2024 shows that the commodity doesn’t have to be a buy and hold style investment that you keep in a safety deposit box or precious metal depository for years to come. There’s also the possibility that the commodity’s price could climb further ahead, making it a compelling way to potentially generate a quick profit.
There are other benefits of investing in gold
There are other benefits of investing in gold that have little to do with the price growth seen thus far in 2024 – or the lull in prices seen over the past couple of days. Those benefits include:
- Inflation protection: Gold has long been considered an inflation hedge, and for good reason. When inflation drives the prices of consumer goods and services up – and the value of the dollar down – gold’s price tends to rise. So, it could be used to maintain the value of your portfolio during inflationary economic conditions. That’s important in today’s economic environment as stubborn inflation continues to weigh on the value of the dollar.
- Portfolio diversification: Gold’s price doesn’t always move in the same pattern that bonds or stocks do. So, mixing a reasonable amount of gold into your portfolio (up to 10% of your portfolio assets) as a diversifier could protect you from losses should one or more of your traditional portfolio assets fall in value. “If you have less than 5% – 10% of your net worth in commodities & FX (forex), you should absolutely consider adding exposure to gold and other precious metals,” says Vijay Marolia, money manager and managing partner at the wealth management firm, Regal Point Capital.
The bottom line
Gold’s price has fallen from recent highs – which may represent an opportunity to tap into growth ahead. However, gold isn’t simply a “buy while it’s low and sell while it’s a high” kind of investment opportunity. The commodity can also protect your portfolio from the stubborn inflation we’ve seen thus far in 2024 while acting as a diversification tool that could increase your risk-adjusted portfolio returns. So, consider adding gold to your portfolio today while it has the potential to grow in value.
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