Clark Hotel Residents Evacuated as L.A. Officials Call Building Unsafe

City officials gave nearly 150 tenants of the historic Clark Hotel 30 minutes to evacuate Wednesday after they determined that the building, which is being renovated by the Chinese government, was unsafe.

Red Cross emergency services were set up in nearby Pershing Square as the residents, including 75 elderly permanent residents, waited for hotel-supplied transportation to temporary accommodations.

Fire Department and Building and Safety Department officials said the building had to be evacuated because there is only one means of exit, the three elevators. An inspection Wednesday morning found that the only stairway residents could use in the gutted building was closed. Officials said the historic hotel could not reopen until the situation is remedied.

“The fire escapes are blocked by scaffolding, and the stairwells are blocked by construction,” Battalion Chief Michael Fulmis said.

Moreover, the fire escapes are useless because they empty into a pit where construction workers are working on the Metro Rail system, Fulmis added. Fire officials had warned Clark owners last week that residents must have more than one means of exit, he said.

“This was a total surprise for us. We were not expecting the building to be shut down on such short notice. Our contractor has been dealing on a regular basis with the Los Angeles Fire Department, and we have been trying to comply with all of their requirements,” said Paolo Vinci, the building’s manager.

Vinci said that the hotel is paying to relocate the residents, and the Clark should reopen in a week.

A number of residents said that Wednesday’s surprise relocation was the culmination of weeks of attempts by management to force residents out by allowing conditions to deteriorate.

“They do what they can to get rid of us,” said 66-year-old Raymond Carrillo, an 11-year resident of the Clark. Carrillo, who has diabetes and walks with a cane, said that in recent weeks, smoke detectors and fire extinguishers have been removed from the building.

Chinese government officials served eviction notices on eight longtime tenants two weeks ago, and residents have retained a Legal Aid Foundation attorney to help them fight the move.

The lawyer, Kim Savage, watched Wednesday’s evacuation, assuring some of the elderly residents that they would not be put out onto the streets. She said she is in negotiations with the Chinese to force them to retain the 94 rooms in the building that are registered as rent-stabilized units.

A Chinese government-run company, May Wah International, purchased the 74-year-old structure at 426 S. Hill St. in March for $9.5 million. Three weeks ago, after workers tore out the first two stories, they started the construction phase of a $7-million project to create the first permanent U.S. showcase for Chinese goods, as well as what May Wah officials say will be a “first-class tourist hotel.”