A reopening celebration on November 23 unveiled the 28,000-sq. ft. space, which was designed to highlight the downtown area while appealing to an increasingly youthful membership, which now averages 48 years old. The renovation, which went $1.8 million over budget, includes the Aperture Lounge, inspired by Broadway theaters; “Mad Men”-inspired private meeting and conference rooms; and a screening room with 15 theater seats, a 109-inch screen, and surround sound.
Highlighting the downtown area’s diverse neighborhoods was key to City Club Los Angeles’ $10.3 million renovation, said General Manager Larry Ahlquist, who hosted a reopening celebration on November 23, the Los Angeles Downtown News reported.
Some 450 members and guests were scheduled to attend the ribbon cutting and party commemorating the 24-year-old club’s relocation from the 54th floor of the Wells Fargo Tower on Bunker Hill to the top of the City National Bank building, the News reported.
Ahlquist, who has run the 28,000-sq. ft. City Club for 20 years, said the move to the bustling Financial District is partly an effort to attract younger members, the News reported.
“You’ve got to be current,” Ahlquist said. Explaining how young professionals would be turned off by staid surroundings, he added, “Old will go to young, but young won’t go to old.”
In addition to being modern, the most important concept that the City Club design team wanted to convey was diversity, something Ahlquist and Frank Sanchez, chairman of the board of governors, said is rooted in the club’s history, the News reported.
Last week, Ahlquist proudly directed a visitor to perhaps the most dazzling of all the new rooms: the Aperture Lounge. Inspired by Broadway’s theaters, it is wrapped in windows and features a 138-inch flat screen TV. Metal stage lights weighing 70 pounds hang from the 17 ½-foot ceiling to illuminate the room. Another series of lights embedded in what are meant to resemble balconies shine down on the bar and tables, the News reported.
To take advantage of the views, Ahlquist’s team placed binoculars around the room. There’s going to be a photo booth too, “because that’s just fun,” he said. Also, because he was tired of seeing members walk into the club with their own coffee, Ahlquist hired a barista, the News reported.
The Bunker Hill club closed August 30, and as part of the effort to attract a younger demographic, Ahlquist relaxed the dress code. The club is now denim-friendly, he said, with only one room requiring a coat, but not a tie, the News reported.
“I may be the only guy you see in a suit,” Ahlquist said.
The City Club currently has 1,135 members and their average age is 48. People pay about $600 to join and dues run $200-$350 a month, the News reported.
While the goal is to attract younger men and women, the focus on business has not been lost. The new digs have private meetings rooms and conference rooms with wireless microphones and flat screens. One conference room, the Tom Bradley Room, features a sleek white table reminiscent of “Mad Men,” the News reported.
“Oh, we’re getting a whiskey cart with glasses and the works,” Ahlquist laughed. “It won’t be the really good stuff, but it’ll be there.”
The glitz and attention to detail didn’t come cheap. Ahlquist admitted that the project is $1.8 million over budget. There’s a screening room with 15 theater seats, a 109-inch screen, surround sound and all the bells and whistles a video production company could want. Ahlquist noted that a business owner could use the room to webcast his wares and services onto YouTube, the News reported.
“In 1989, if you wanted to communicate with Europe, you sent a Telex,” Ahlquist said. “You’d dial a number and when you got a tone you’d slam the phone into a cradle and hope this little piece of paper with your message came out on the other side.”
Over in the Financial District room, there is a private dining area where, if desired, a chef can create food and wine parings. There’s also a machine that will dispense wine pours of an ounce or two. If members aren’t partial to the offerings in the club’s wine vault, they can bring in their own bottles and store them onsite, the News reported.
Mark Zabonik of San Diego-based architecture firm Delawie, has been working on the project since September 2012, and said designers took inspiration from Downtown’s districts. For example, the Flower District led to the floral designs in the carpet, the wallpaper and the light fixtures of the club’s Arbor Room, the News reported.
“It’s a kind of modern view of Los Angeles,” Zabonik said.
Longtime member Jim Weidner took the description further. “It’s breathtaking,” said Weidner, a previous board chairman. “Everything just sparkles. I feel like we’ve really revved this place up.”
The attention to detail even extends to the restrooms. Members had a spectacular view from the water closets in the old club at the Wells Fargo tower, and they have the same opportunity in the Financial District. Fortunately, since they are 51 floors above street level, no one can look in while they are peering out, the News reported.
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