Council to Decide Fate of Old City Hall

At its meeting next week, the Newport Beach City Council will decide whether a a boutique hotel or a mixed use development should be built at the former City Hall site, according to a staff report.

Three proposals have been submitted for the old City Hall site, which is located at 3300 Newport Boulevard on the Balboa Peninsula. The proposals include a 130-room boutique hotel and spa by RD Olson Development, a 99-unit mixed use residential project with 15,000 square feet of commercial space by the Shopoff Group and a 148-room boutique hotel with a spa and fitness center by Sonnenblick Development.

In a city report, staff said each of the three proposals "would help foster the community's goal to revitalize the area," but ultimately recommended the City Council choose the boutique hotel from RD Olson Development.

"The hotel proposed by RD Olson is not projected to generate the highest revenue to the City or the largest economic impact to the community," the report stated. "However, the construction costs and stabilized average daily rates proposed by RD Olson are more similar to the costs and rates identified in the 2012 PKF analysis and would appear to reduce the risk of the
project’s financial under-performance."

According to the staff report, the architecture of the RD Olson project is also most compatible with Lido Village, Cannery Village and the Balboa Peninsula.

"For these reasons, staff believes that the RD Olson team and concept would result in a  development that best balances the City’s economic and land use priorities for the former City Hall site," the staff report said.

Project Details

The Irvine-based Shopoff Group proposed a mixed-use commercial and residential project that would bring 99 luxury apartments to the area, staff reports show. According to the group's proposal, the units would include a mix of flats and townhouses with large decks and windows in order to promote "outdoor connections to the indoor space." The project would also include 15,000 square-feet of upscale retail space.

R.D. Olson Development presented the council with a proposal to build the Lido House Hotel. The developer's plan includes 130 boutique hotel rooms, a rooftop lounge, spa and an upscale restaurant, plans show. The Auberge Resorts Newport Beach, a luxury hotel with 12 villas, guest rooms, 20 townhome villas with rooftop decks and more, was proposed by Sonnenblick Development. According to its proposal, the Auberge would "exude the Newport Beach lifestyle."

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