A controversial proposal to build a $160 million hotel and conference center on the UCLA campus has been put on hold pending a more detailed study of the project’s finances, according to a letter sent to the university’s faculty late Monday.

The decision comes only days after the Academic Senate’s Council on Planning and Budget issued a statement opposing the project, which received a $40 million donation from prominent UCLA alumnus Meyer Luskin and his family.

The 282-room hotel and conference would be built on the east side of campus on the site of the 50-year-old Faculty Center, which was to have been razed and relocated. The project also was opposed by Westwood residents and several nearby hotel owners.

The letter, by Vice Chancellor Steven Olsen, said the new review will better determine demand for the hotel rooms and conference center. It also will look at alternative sites and other methods of financing. The original proposal called for Luskin’s donation to be leveraged with $120 million in tax-exempt revenue bonds.