Here Come The Developers Again!

The old power plant site on First street and to the San Gabriel River is  one of few possible sites left in California for an ocean-front hotel.

Its’  almost 11 acres of undeveloped land on Seal Beach’s coast and its been up for sale for almlost a year with expectations that the buyer would turn the site into a small hotel, not unlike the Seal Beach Inn; The Inn was demolished three years ago to build five upscale homes, some of which we believe are still unsold.

The owner of the land is a Limited Liability Corporation called, Bay City Partners, LLC, and they put it up for sale less than a year ago and are asking $26.5 million for the I0.7-acre parcel.  Seems like a fair mark-up since they paid $4.5 million for it in 2003.

It has been empty for nearly 30 years.

Estimates on building a 150-room hotel at the site were in the $32 million range  last year,  about $215,000 per room, Hotels on the beach in Orange County have been selling for about $460,000 per room according to estimates in August of 2008.

It goes without saying that the city has been very conscious of how that very prominent piece of land would be developed . As long ago as 1996 they voted against cramming in a lot of single family residences on the site because of: destroying views of existing homes, creating additional impact on existing traffic,  and the costs of other services. (Taxes on R-1 property rarely covers  the cost of the services provided by the city.)

Nearby resident Joel Davidson led a group of citizens who campaigned against the two story homes blocking the view of  existing residents when Bay City brought a similar plan before the council in 2003.  At that time, Rocky Gentner, a partner in the Bay City group said Davidson’s view protection ended at his property line and implied that therefore his argument was moot there’s a nice, thoughtful developer.  (Coincidentally, Bay City LLC was a prominent supporter of the pro-three story faction in the 2008 election. Since the defeat of the three story supporters the fence around the power plant property has been lined w/heavy green tarp.  Was that to block the view of the jetty, the marina’s and the landscape west of first street…. in the hopes that we wouldn’t know what we were going to lose if they got their new subdivision approved.) 

In 1996, after extensive meetings and with input from the citizens of Seal Beach, the City Council approved zoning for the property that would allow a 150 room hotel or smaller but let it be known that the open space should be substantial (about 70% )  and citizens should have access to the green space created and they did not want gated communities.  The majority of the land, some of which runs next to the San Gabriel river, would remain available for public use and as open space.

The land originally sold in 2003 (or 2000?) for a reported $4.5 million dollars. Whether Bay City LLC  are the original buyers (after the power plant removal) or not we aren’t sure, however, and and all buyers after 1996, bought it with full knowledge of the city’s zoning requirements and the neighbor’s views.

The city zoned the land as they did, and when they did, so that any prospective buyers would know that 70% of the land was to be left as open space and the city wanted a 150 room (or less) hotel for increased revenues for Seal Beach;  a desire that is even more needed in 2009.

Why Bay City has not been able to sell the land in the last year is anyone’s guess.  One reason might be the $26 and half million price tag.  A hefty price even for Seal Beach. Less than a year ago the firm marketing the land said there were several hotel developers interested and they expected the land to be sold in four to six months. Now Bay City has now come to the city with a proposal for creating 56 lots and building 35 two story homes,  21 “casitas”,  (size not available at this time) and a 75 room hotel with spa, restaurant and pool. 

This proposal seems to be even more egregious than the proposal Bay City brought before the planning  department 6 years ago. 

 

Some advice for Bay City Partners –  You should keep one thing in mind….. The citizens of Seal Beach don’t want to turn our town into another Huntington Beach. We saw what happened there.

We’ve got something magical in this city and we won’t let personal avarice take it away.

Some advice for Seal Beach residents – Watch to see where Bay City ads and/or financially supported stories appear to support the project and remember who looked for dollars rather than supporting the community.