About William Delvac

Bill specializes in all aspects of land use law and is widely recognized for his work with important entertainment and cultural venues, historic preservation law, and affordable housing.

Over the years, Bill has been, and continues to be, involved in some of the most important land-use projects in Southern California, including STAPLES Center, L.A. Live, the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures, and the large mixed-use City Market of LA. Bill’s experience also includes projects for educational institutions such as Emerson College, the only university dedicated exclusively to communication arts, on its Hollywood campus designed by Pritzker Prize-winning architect Thom Mayne, and Harvard-Westlake Middle School.

In the preservation field, Bill knows historic issues thoroughly from all sides through his diverse work with developers, government agencies, and community interest groups. His work has included the renovation or preservation of scores of important buildings, including the Coliseum, the Rose Bowl, Fox Studios, Union Station, the Greek Theater, old Vibiana Cathedral, Engine Co. No. 28, the Wiltern Theater, and the Century Plaza Hotel.

As an expert in CEQA and redevelopment, Bill has represented many developers and property owners seeking approval and market-rate housing, cultural venues, and economic development and community revitalization projects. One current project is the large mixed-use project that would redevelop the old MWD headquarters sites. He has worked on a large number of hotel projects, including some using hotel tax rebates. Given the complexity of some of his projects, Bill has become a leader in seeking development rights for his clients through the use of specific plans and other creative flexible entitlements, including signage rights for the Academy Museum, the Convention and Event Center project, and L.A. Live. In his affordable housing work, Bill has assisted a number of clients in creative tools and entitlements for mixed-income projects, including Playa Capital and NBC Universal.