The idea is “to continue to show girls they can be anything,” the world’s biggest toymaker said in a statement issued from its local headquarters.

The doll is part of what Mattel calls the Barbie Sheroes program, honoring female heroes who inspire girls by having broken through boundaries and expanded possibilities for women everywhere, it said.

Copeland joins an esteemed group of role models, including Ava DuVernay, Emmy Rossum, Eva Chen, Kristin Chenoweth, Sydney “Mayhem” Keiser, Trisha Yearwood and Zendaya, Mattel said.

The fashions for the doll were inspired by Copeland’s Firebird costume from her first American Ballet Theatre principal role, which she is performing again on May 18 and 19 as part of ABT’s annual spring season at the Metropolitan Opera House.

Copeland was intimately involved in the doll’s design and partnered with the Barbie design team on all the details, Mattel said.

“I always dreamed of becoming an ABT ballerina and through Barbie I was able to play out those dreams early on,” Copeland said. “It’s an honor to be able to inspire the next generation of kids with my very own Barbie doll.”

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We are constantly focused on our bottom line and how to grow our businesses for the future. Successful business owners examine new trends and are constantly trying to figure out how to keep products and services on the cutting edge of industry.

Forbes recently released its Top 10 Business Trends That Will Drive Success in 2016that covered everything from greater customer connections through social media to greater investment in customer service. Yet, one of the greatest opportunities for business lies in embracing the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)’s Clean Power Plan.

The plan is designed to take real action on climate change by reducing carbon pollution from power plants and strengthening the fast-growing clean energy sector. But why is this good for business?

For business, investing in clean, renewable power is a no-brainer. Clean energy solutions are cost effective and provide businesses with innovative ways to drive investment and manage energy-related costs, all while reducing carbon pollution and minimizing environmentally harmful toxins.

A recent study revealed that 60 percent of Fortune 100 companies have already set their own clean energy targets, saving them more than $1 billion a year in the process. If there’s one-thing business owners understand, it’s money.

That kind of savings allows us to invest in the growth of our business, create jobs and be better community partners.

For minority-owned businesses, the issue of clean energy hits even closer to home. From increased asthma attacks to heart attacks and even premature deaths, minority populations have long carried the brunt of the harmful consequences of climate change.

By 2030, the Clean Power Plan will provide up to $54 billion in climate and health benefits per year, including the prevention of 3,600 premature deaths, 1,700 heart attacks, 90,000 asthma attacks, and 300,000 missed work and school days. Protecting the lives of our present and future workforce matters and makes good economic sense.

While the benefits for businesses and the African-American community are vast, there are still a number of opponents to the Clean Power Plan. In February of this year, polluters and their allies sued to block the Clean Power Plan in federal court.

In their legal briefs, they made a number of unsubstantiated claims of harm, claiming that the new standards would cause economic calamity. Time and time again, industry groups have tried to convince the public that safeguarding our heath from dangerous pollution will have an economic cost.

But this is simply not true. We never have to choose between a healthy environment and a healthy economy.

On April 1, a number of business leaders, including my organization, the US Black Chambers Inc., joined a broad coalition of Americans in filing statements with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit defending the Clean Power Plan, which cited the tremendous health and economic benefits the standards will produce. This is the business community at its best — working together to make our country not only an economic leader, but an environmental leader as well. We know that when our country leads, no other country can compete with us.

Smart business leaders know what is at stake. The fight for clean energy is more than just the Clean Power Plan — it’s a movement, and now is the time to take action.

Adopting the Clean Power Plan makes good common sense and good business sense. Climate change is real and the greening of our economy will help us continue to experience job growth.

The market is already trending towards greater investment in clean energy and reducing carbon pollution. Those who fail to change their business models and adapt to this growing trend run the risk of being left behind.

Our consumers want 21st century solutions, not antiquated ideas and dirty energy sources that threaten to leave American business a day late and billions of dollars short.

Ron Busby

Ron Busby is the president and CEO of US Black Chambers Inc.

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As part of a $508 million overhaul spearheaded by Southwest and Los Angeles World Airports, Westfield is curating a dining and retail collection that will feature 24 destinations and a reimagined experience with a modern California feel.

The first of three phases features the opening of six exciting brands, including Rock & Brews from the rock group Kiss front men Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley, Be Relax, Brookstone, I Love L.A., Sol Surf and Treat Me Sweet.

In addition, Southwest is upgrading the customer gate areas, giving the terminal a fresh new look, while providing a more efficient customer experience.

“Together with Southwest Airlines and LAWA, we’re creating a new energy and vibe and a more holistic customer experience,” said Keith Kaplan, Westfield’s vice president at LAX. “We’re bringing the terminal to life by activating gate areas and engaging customers with a unique design, inviting sightlines and integrated dining and retail.”

“The revitalization of Terminal 1 at LAX comes at a very exciting time for Southwest,” said John Zuzu, senior director of corporate facilities at Southwest Airlines. “As we continue to offer our great low fares to even more destinations for our L.A.-based customers, we’re proud to showcase our unrivaled hospitality through this beautiful new facility.”

The Terminal 1 overhaul was announced in September 2014 and is slated for completion in 2018. When finished, the Terminal 1 retail and dining collection will span 25,242 feet — nearly double that of the old terminal.

“Rock & Brews brings an electrifying new attitude and vibe to customers from the minute they clear the security checkpoint,” said Nick Buford, COO and Managing Partner of L.A.-based Crews, which operates Rock & Brews. “It’s amazing to watch the Terminal 1 transformation take shape. We’re proud to continue innovating the travelers experience with an exciting concept like this, and partners like Southwest, LAWA and Westfield.”

The new design of the terminal is expressed through simple but sculptural forms curated with artisanal, creative and fun products and finishes. It offers an immersive retail experience featuring unified retail storefronts.

In partnership with the city of Los Angeles and Los Angeles World Airports, Westfield is transforming the passenger experience at LAX terminals 1, 2, 3, 6 and Tom Bradley International Terminal. To improve satisfaction and drive sales, Westfield is crafting a unique design at each terminal tailored to meet customer needs. Westfield is investing more than $184 million at the airport to transform the customer experience.

As part of its global portfolio, Westfield designs, develops, owns, manages and leases award-winning shopping venues in landmark cities around the world. Among the company’s iconic retail destinations are Westfield London and Westfield Stratford City in the U.K., Westfield San Francisco Centre, and Westfield Century City.

Upcoming world-class retail icons include Westfield World Trade Center (opening later this year) and Westfield Milan in Italy.

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Black-run banks took a bigger hit from the housing crisis than the banking industry at large, research shows, and they’ve struggled financially in recent years as the communities they serve have suffered higher-than-average job losses and home foreclosure rates.

At the same time, black Americans need expert financial services today more than any other time in history, some experts say. More than 53 percent of black Americans either have no bank accounts or are under-banked (meaning they supplement their bank account with alternatives such as check cashers) – nearly double the percentage of the population as a whole, according to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation.

Despite these sobering realities, the nation’s black-owned banks remain vigilant in their quest to thrive as financial institutions while continuing to serve the needs of the communities they serve and the economic interests of their depositors and stakeholders.

Black banks matter

Historically, black-run banks served African-American communities during an era when discrimination was common in financial services, experts say. Today, these banks function as engines for economic revitalization in the often-distressed communities they serve, even as they face an increasingly competitive industry that’s tough for all smaller banks.

Black-owned banks “have a human and historical connection to Reconstruction, when newly freed slaves had nowhere to go but these banks,” says Michael A. Grant, president of the National Bankers Association, a Washington, D.C.-based organization of minority-owned and women-owned banks.

“I believe the need for black-owned and black-run banks is greater now than it was before the recession. We’ve lost as much as 40 percent or more of the wealth in the black community since the mortgage crisis. A lot of folks are in dire straits,” Grant says.

“Some customers get turned down by mainstream institutions for business loans and mortgages, then come to black banks as a last resort – and get the loan.”

Needed access to services

The disproportionately high number of African-Americans who are disconnected from mainstream financial services is a target market for black-owned banks. Many of these consumers have no checking and savings accounts, and they often rely heavily on check cashers, pawn shops, payday lenders or other high-cost alternative financial providers, research shows.

Many black-owned banks are located in neighborhoods that other banks don’t serve, and the minority institutions provide access to safe and affordable bank accounts, mortgages and business loans.

One of the nation’s largest, OneUnited Bank, headquartered in Boston, offers these and other greatly needed bank services, including second-chance checking for customers who have been denied an account in the past, secured credit cards for those working on rebuilding damaged credit, and education for first-time homebuyers.

“To open a deposit account is only $10, so it’s very affordable,” says Teri Williams, the bank’s president.

OneUnited, which currently has four branches in metro Los Angeles, is also an Internet bank, offering better-than-average interest rates on savings and checking accounts. Its well-rated mobile apps are important in competing for African-American customers, who are more likely to use mobile banking, according to the Federal Reserve.

Support and stabilize communities

As community banks, black-owned banks have strong relationships with the neighborhoods where their customers live. Part of OneUnited’s mission is to make customers feel welcome, rather than intimidated, Williams said.

“The cities we serve are black and brown, and on the income side, many are people who are struggling,” Williams said. “We have people in their 50s and 60s who tell us they’ve never set foot in a bank. They didn’t feel welcome. They didn’t feel banking was for them.”

“They experienced [a time] when banks were redlining and not welcoming to them, because it happened during their lifetime,” she says, referring to the practice by financial institutions of mapping out neighborhoods where they would not offer services.

Although the practice was outlawed by the Community Reinvestment Act of 1977, scars from that period still exist, experts say.

“[Traditional] banks have a way of creating these huge physical locations that can be intimidating to someone who doesn’t have a lot of resources,” Williams says. “Is this place going to welcome my $100 paycheck or $50 savings account?”

By providing financial services, credit and a warm welcome, Grant says black-owned banks help stabilize the communities they serve.

“When people get a piece of the rock, guess what happens – crime rates in that community come down,” he says.

Jeanne Lee is a staff writer at NerdWallet, a personal finance website. She can be reached at jlee@nerdwallet.com

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The National Football League last month gave the St. Louis Rams permission to relocate to Los Angeles and build a football stadium as part of a major project that will replace the former Hollywood Park race track.

Marc T. Little, an attorney and the president of the Inglewood Airport Area Chamber of Commerce, has been working to improve Inglewood’s image recently. He said the city is in a state of revitalization and the NFL stadium makes it even better.

“The Inglewood business community has long awaited the manifestation of the Hollywood Park Tomorrow project,” Little said. “With the announcement that football is returning [and that the stadium] will reside next to the Forum — the hottest concert venue in Los Angeles — the Hollywood Park Tomorrow project is sure to become the premier entertainment destination for the entire Los Angeles basin.

“The expected economic impact for our business owners will be significant,” Little added. “These developments come at a time when the city is experiencing the lowest crime rates in recent history along with the revitalization of major corridors like Century Boulevard and Market Street.

“All of these factors make the city a destination. … New businesses will enter the market and we believe existing businesses will see more activity than ever before.  It’s a good time to be a part of the Inglewood community,” Little added.

The construction of the new stadium and the rest of the Hollywood Park Tomorrow project is sure to produce construction jobs and other employment opportunities that will come with the development.

Amos Young Jr., a labor relations spokesperson for the Service Employees International Union, has lobbied for fair wages for employees on the stadium project and other construction as well.

“I am elated thousands of primarily Inglewood residents and those within surrounding communities will have an opportunity to work and build this new state-of-the-art facility,” Amos said. “Whether you’re a janitor, licensed security officer, gatekeeper, plumber or pipefitter, working families will have guaranteed wages, with workplace protections in place to ensure their health and safety for years to come.

Inglewood Mayor James Butts has demonstrated in the past a commitment to organized labor, Amos said, which will be helpful once construction is underway.

The city has set a goal of hiring local residents for 35 percent of the jobs on the project.

The Hollywood Park Land Company, which will build the majority of the Hollywood Park Tomorrow project, has been actively hiring for two years now.

Gerald McCallum, senior project manager, said interested residents can apply for jobs at the HollywoodParkLife.com website.

Inglewood won out over Carson in the battle for the NFL stadium.

NFL owners voted 30-2 on Jan. 12 to return a team to Los Angeles after a 21-year absence and to build a new stadium in Inglewood, rather than Carson.

The stadium and surrounding development will be built on what used to be the Hollywood Park race track, a landmark that existed for almost 30 years before the Forum was built across the street, but quit hosting horse races in 2013.

Rams owner Stan Kroenke purchased 60 acres of land across from The Forum in January 2014.

A year later he began talking about building a stadium on the site and relocating his team.

However, Kroenke and NFL officials refused to confirm that the land purchase would be for the

With an estimated cost ranging from $1.86 billion to $3 billion, the so-called Inglewood City of Champions Stadium will be most expensive sports stadium ever built.

City officials hope that in addition to Rams games, the stadium will host future Super Bowl NCAA basketball final fours and NCAA football championship games

The 300-acre development will feature 890,000 square feet of retail space, 780,000 square feet of office space, a 300-room hotel and 2,500 new homes.

By and large, the talk about the Rams coming to town has been mostly positive.

Herb Aguirre said, “the future looks bright for the city of Inglewood.”

Randy Troy, a local Rams fan, said “L.A. Rams fans are sincerely thankful.”

Charles Griffith, an Inglewood resident, said, “The NFL coming to Inglewood is a much needed breath of fresh air.”

On the other side, though are people who say gentrification will follow the stadium and Hollywood Park Tomorrow project.

Tracy Harris, a Los Angeles resident living near Inglewood, is concerned that low-income renters will be pushed aside as rents increase as the stadium becomes a reality.

“Not everyone is a winner,” Harris said. “What about those who are renting and the owners are raising the rent two to three times that amount because there is no rent control?”

Patricia Jones, an Inglewood business owner, said, “The sad thing with the Rams coming to Inglewood, the gentrification has already started.”

“Look at rent prices on Craigslist,” she said. “How is it that a crappy one bedroom costs more in Inglewood then on the westside?”

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Allen said in a statement to The Wrap Jan. 27 that President Barack Obama and the Democratic Party have completely excluded the African-American community when it comes to economic inclusion.

“Everyone talks about diversity, but diversity in Hollywood and the media starts with ownership,” Allen said.

He said African Americans don’t need handouts and donations.

“We can hire ourselves if white corporate America does business with us in a fair and equitable way,” he said.

The suit seeks to stop Charter Communications’ “Jim Crow” policies and collusion with elected officials in order to continue its exclusion of 100 percent African American-owned media.

The lawsuit filed Jan. 27 in the U.S. District Court in Central District of California says that Charter Communications has violated the Civil Rights Act of 1866, by engaging in racial discrimination in contracting against Entertainment Studios, the only 100 percent African American-owned video programming producer and multi-channel operator in the U.S.

According to court documents, the suit accuses the Federal Communications Commission of racial discrimination for approving mega-media mergers such as Comcast and NBC Universal that discriminate against African American-owned media.

The complaint says that a driving purpose of the Federal Communications Act and the First Amendment is to ensure the widest possible dissemination of information from diverse sources.

“Yet the FCC has done nothing to protect the voices of African-American-owned media companies in the face of increased media consolidation,” the suit states.

The suit also accuses Charter Communications of spending more than $4 billion a year on cable channel carriage fees and advertising, but zero dollars are spent with 100 percent African American-owned media companies.

The lawsuit claims that FCC should never approve the $55 billion Charter Communications’ acquisition of Time Warner Cable and Bright House Networks because of this racial discrimination.

Mark DeVitre, president of the National Association of African-American Owned Media, said Charter Communications has never done business with 100 percent African American-owned media.

DeVitre said President Obama and the FCC have failed the African American community so miserably and they have forced African American-owned media to the edge of extinction, PR Newswire reported.

The lawsuit is the second such suit that Allen and the association have in the courts against the telecommunications giants.

Last year, they filed a $20 billion lawsuit against Comcast and Time Warner Cable.

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The store was one of 269 worldwide that are being closed by the corporate giant as part of what was being called a corporate restructuring that was announced Jan. 15.

A Wal-Mart Neighborhood Market in Chinatown also closed for good Jan. 17.

The Baldwin Hills store opened in 2003, replacing a Macy’s department store, which closed in 1999.

“Wal-Mart fought so hard to get a foothold in our community, yet has so easily decided to pack up and leave without much notice … to its shoppers or its employees,” Laphonza Butler, president of SEIU Local 2015, said.

The Chinatown’s Wal-Mart opened in 2013 after much controversy.

The company said the stores it plans to close are generally poor performers, and most are within 10 miles of another Wal-Mart.

More than half — 154 — of the locations are in the United States, two-thirds of which are the smaller Wal-Mart Express stores. Only 12 U.S. Wal-Mart Supercenters will close, along with four Sam’s Club stores.

Of the 16,000 employees to be affected, 10,000 will be in the United States. The company aims to place those associates in nearby Wal-Marts.

But when that’s not possible, Wal-Mart said it will provide the laid-off associates with 60 days worth of pay as well as resume and interview skills training.

The retail sector struggled mightily, and shares of Wal-Mart fell 30 percent, last year.

Wal-Mart had been reviewing the performance of its stores since October.

“Closing stores is never an easy decision, but it is necessary to keep the company strong and positioned for the future,” said Doug McMillon, Wal-Mart’s CEO.

Yet Wal-Mart says it will continue with its plans to open 300 new stores around the world later this year and 2017, including up to 60 new U.S. Supercenters and 10 new Sam’s Club stores.

“We are committed to growing, but we are being disciplined about it,” McMillon said.

The closings represent just over 2 percent of the company’s 11,600 stores worldwide. They are generally smaller stores, making up 1 percent of the retailer’s overall square footage and sales.

Five other Southern California Wal-Marts — in downtown Long Beach, Hawaiian Gardens, Bell Gardens, Altadena and San Bernardino — will close on Jan. 28.

Five days after the announced closures, Wal-Mart announced that it would be giving pay raises to more than 1.2 million employees, effective Feb. 20.

Company officials said that with the pay raises, all employees hired before Jan. 1 this year would be making at least $10 an hour. The increases would make the average hourly pay rate for full-time employees $13.38.

“We are committed to investing in our associates and to continuing to simplify our business. When we do so, there is no limit to what our associates can accomplish,” said Judith McKenna, chief operating officer for Wal-Mart U.S. “Our customers and associates are noticing a difference. We’re seeing strong increases in both customer experience and associate engagement scores. Five straight quarters of positive comps in our U.S. business is just one example of how helping our associates grow and succeed helps the company do the same.”

The company also is implementing new short-term disability and simplified paid time off programs for employees.

The post Wal-Mart closes Baldwin Hills store on two-day’s notice appeared first on Wave Newspapers.

“We expect to be busy in the coming weeks with the prediction of continued heavy rains,” said owner and founder Ron Vanden Bosch.

But his staff of 20 people, including cleanup technicians and clerical personnel, also has been involved with something not necessarily weather connected — the cleanup clutter in homes of hoarders, who won’t or can’t throw away anything.

“It’s a disease possibly triggered by some emotional crisis,” said Vickie Yahn, who is in charge of marketing for the company. “We see clutter, they see open space.”

She and Vanden Bosch last year went to Memphis, Tennessee for an extensive course in dealing with hoarders after their firm affiliated with a company called Clutter Cleaner, founded and headed by Matt Paxton, considered an expert in dealing with hoarders.

Clutter Cleaner is a nationally recognized extreme cleaning company that has been cleaning hoarder homes and estates for 10 years.

In its literature, Clutter Cleaner states that compulsive hoarding is a “complex anxiety disorder that makes it difficult for a person to discard or part with possessions, regardless of actual value.”

“Hoarders may feel the item will be useful some day or feel sentimental about it.”

“We get references from cities, social service agencies and family members of hoarders who are concerned with fire and health dangers from the accumulation of materials and sometimes, but not often, from the hoarder him or herself,” Vanden Bosch said.

It’s not just a matter of removing clutter. The firm must analyze the mentality of the hoarder. Often there are a number of animals in the house, which leave animal waste and pose a health problem, Vanden Bosch said.

But he added, barring a court order, “if the homeowner objects, we have to leave.”

“We are certified in dealing with hoarders,” Yahn said. “Many of them are intelligent people. We try to establish a rapport with them and show we are there to help.”

“It’s a long process,” Vanden Bosch added.

If the hoarder is agreeable to at least remove some of the items, “we go through them and ask what they want saved, want they would be willing to throw out and what they might want to donate,” Yahn said, noting that often the hoarder is happy that an item is put to use by someone and not thrown in the garbage.

“It’s important that the hoarder participate in the decisions,” she said, adding “when you work with a hoarder you need a lot of compassion.

The firm has conducted some 10 hoarder cleanups since it began the service.

Vanden Bosch said he was an air conditioning and heating contractor who in 1982 decided to get a ServiceMaster franchise from the nationwide chain of home and disaster cleaning services.

His sons, Greg and Ryan are involved in the business,

Services include water damage cleanup and drying, smoke and fire damage clean up, mold removal and remediation along with carpet and upholstery cleaning.

The company also will wrap and store undamaged building contents and return them after the site is cleaned.

Costs might range from $1,000 to $100,000, depending on damage, Vanden Bosch said.

Yahn recalls a major job in carpet cleaning in 2014 when it worked in the rain to literally vacuum a red carpet for a Hollywood Christmas parade.

It took about four hours to vacuum the large expanse of carpeting. It required a portable generator to follow the vacuum to provide power, Yahn said.

However, they did not get to meet any stars or dignitaries as the work was done at 3 a.m., she noted.

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LetsBuyBlack365, launched here last week, is a national grass-roots movement that uses selective spending with black entrepreneurs to bolster black businesses, create jobs, deploy economic resources and help fuel black communities around the nation, organizers said.

The movement seeks to harness the estimated $1.1 trillion in annual buying power of the African-American community in the U.S., organizers said, but the crusade is about more than money.

“The LetsBuyBlack365 movement isn’t about trillions of dollars. I can’t do anything about that. What I can do is control my own dollars. I can choose where I spend my money and what types of businesses get my patronage,” said group spokeswoman Nataki Kambon.

“LetsBuyBlack365 is about individuals taking action and standing up to say ‘I am already spending, but now I am redirecting it to black-owned businesses that have committed to creating jobs, committed to helping small businesses build capacity, and committed to being a part of the solution that unifies the black community.”

Kambon said the timing of the launch comes as many African Americans are disappointed about recent decisions in high-profile cases of police brutality, such as the shooting death of 12-year-old Tamir Rice in Ohio and the jailhouse death of Sandra Bland in Texas. In each case, a grand jury declined to return indictments against the officer or officials involved.

“What stands out most is that these things don’t happen in communities where they have political power,” Kambon said. “Political power comes from having economic power, through having businesses that can lobby and represent their interests.”

The Let’s Buy Black 365 movement focuses on finding ways to improve African-American communities around the globe. Organizers note when African-Americans do business with each other, it has a ripple effect that spreads throughout communities and heightens economic independence.

Kambon called the new movement a call to action.

“Every black person in America is already a part of this movement whether they know it or not,” she said. “We say knowledge is power but most of us don’t know how to use it, so we just tune out and do nothing.

“This puts empowerment on the individual to say, ‘What can I do right now? I can’t do anything about Sandra Bland, I can’t do anything about some of these other people but I can do something about political power in order to have some sort of social justice for the future,’ ” she added.

Scores of black-owned manufacturers, distributors, suppliers, activists and entrepreneurs met last week to create the movement. Several business owners formed a strategic national purchasing agreement with Let’s Buy Black to bolster the plan. Under the arrangement, people can review up to 60,000 products from companies that donate a portion of its profits to the Let’s Buy Black 365 movement.

“If our communities are to change economically, it is going to be up to the African-American community and business leaders lead the charge,” said Chet Riddick, head of Phildelphia-based Alpha Enterprise Group, a business supply company now associated with Let’s Buy Black 365.

“It is important for our African-American businesses to figure out how to grow to scale because if we grow to capacity, we can then hire more people from our own communities,” he added. “We would be able to train and hire people from our own community so they would be able to lead productive lives.”

Movement organizers also launched its new website www.LetsBuyBlack365.com, at which consumers people can take a pledge for self-empowerment, post and share any black-owned companies they know, and join in the online social network.

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Woodridge Capital Partners founder and CEO Michael Rosenfeld, who is leading the $2.5 billion project, said the hotel — where Ronald Reagan routinely stayed during his presidency — is expected to re-open in early 2018.

Situated in the heart of Century City at the intersection of Avenue of the Stars and Constellation Boulevard, the 1.5 million-square-foot hotel and mixed-use development is adjacent to the Westfield Century City Mall and more than 10 million square feet of offices, residences, restaurants, retail and entertainment venues.

The crescent-shaped hotel designed by Minoru Yamasaki will be “meticulously restored” as a five-star property with 394 guest rooms and suites and 63 residences, according to Rosenfeld.

The open-air lobby will be transformed by the design firm Yabu Pushelberg to connect public plazas and fountains to a central two-acre garden surrounded by restaurants and retail shops.

In total, there will be 100,000 square feet of retail space on the site.

The two 46-story towers designed by Pei Cobb Freed will feature 290 luxury residences. Rosenfeld also announced the successful completion of a $450 million funding package for the project.

“Mayor Eric Garcetti and his staff were instrumental in paving the way with their strong international outreach,” he said, noting that the project is expected to create thousands of construction and permanent jobs and substantially increase tax and sales revenues to the city.

Hyatt will no longer manage the hotel after it closes in March, but an agreement with UNITE HERE Local 11 provides its members with an opportunity to return to the hotel upon its reopening, according to Rosenfeld.

Rosenfeld’s Next Century Associates, LLC worked on the project with input from Los Angeles City Councilman Paul Koretz, the Los Angeles Conservancy, the National Trust for Historic Preservation, neighboring homeowners associations, Century City business stakeholders and organized labor.

The Century Plaza opened in 1966. Rising from the backlot of 20th Century Fox Studios, the hotel has hosted a wide range of politicians, foreign dignitaries and celebrities over the years, as well as every United States president since its opening.

The hotel was the residence of choice for Reagan, who stayed at the hotel so often that the press named it the “Western White House.” He chose a high-rise nearby for his penthouse offices after leaving Washington.

The hotel has hosted the Grammy Awards and the “Dinner of the Century” in 1969 honoring the first astronauts to reach the moon.

Los Angeles-based Woodridge Capital Partners owns hotel, resort, residential and commercial properties throughout the country, including the Fairmont San Francisco hotel, the Intercontinental Mark Hopkins Hotel and Stanford Court in San Francisco and the Ritz Carlton in Kapalua, Maui.

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