Construction begins on city’s newest tourist attraction

Tariq Malik

HUNTINGTON BEACH -- The city will have a new draw for tourists and

business professionals in the near future in the form of a luxury resort,

complete with restaurants and retail centers.

Developer Robert Mayer Corp. has begun construction of the Hyatt

Regency Grand Coast Resort, an ocean hotel and conference center slated

to open for business in October 2002, at the intersection of Beach

Boulevard and Pacific Coast Highway after years of planning and

anticipation.

“This project will bring in much more business to Huntington Beach,”

said Steve Bone, president of the Robert Mayer Corp. “And, of course,

it’s just a new benchmark level of quality for hotel, not just in

Huntington Beach, but for Southern California.”

The luxury resort includes a four-story hotel with 519 rooms, as well

as a 20,000-square-foot ballroom capable of holding 1,500 people. In addition to the hotel and conference center, developers will also build

townhomes on the 22 acres of land reserved for the project.

The first phase of that residential project, Bone added, should also

be ready for sale in October 2002.

“We’ve been working on this for quite a while and believe it’s going

to reinforce the city’s image as a visitor and touring destination,” said

David Biggs, the city’s director of economic development. “I think this

project is going to put us on the map for small and mid-size business

meetings.”

Developers said, when complete, the hotel and residential project will

cost about $168 million, and solidify a project that has been in the

planning stages since 1988.

One point of contention did arise from Robert Mayer’s plans to fill in

a small pocket of wetlands measuring only seven-tenths of an acre to make

way for additional homes. The developer would have compensated for the

loss by funding the rehabilitation of 2.8 acres at the Shipley Nature

Center in Central Park. But the city decided to protect the wetlands,

dubbed Little Shell by activists, last November, and a month later put it

under the supervision of the Huntington Beach Wetlands Conservancy.

Longtime Little Shell activist Joey Racano called the preservation a

“public victory” for city residents.

Biggs said that the resort is expected to generate more than $3

million a year for the city from sales and occupancy taxes, $1 million of

which is for redevelopment purposes.

The conference center, a 52,000-square-foot structure that includes a

ballroom, has been one of the more anticipated features of the project

for some.

“It’s basically the economic generator behind the hotel,” said Diane

Baker, executive director of the Huntington Beach Conference & Visitors

Bureau. “When it’s complete, we’ll be able service about 80% of the

conference market.”

Bureau officials said that last year, attendees spent an average of

about $856 at three- and five-day conferences.