Balboa Peninsula hotel plan heading to state Coastal Commission

The Lido House Hotel, which some Newport Beach residents and officials have billed as a key part of efforts to revitalize the Balboa Peninsula, could soon go from the drawing board to the street.

Plans for the 130-room boutique hotel, dubbed by local developer Bob Olson as “the gateway to Lido Village and the Newport peninsula,” are expected to be considered by the California Coastal Commission during its Oct. 7 meeting in Long Beach. Commission staff is recommending that the panel approve the project.

The City Council gave its OK last year.

“We’re so excited that this beautiful boutique hotel is moving forward,” said city Community Development Director Kim Brandt. “We think the hotel is going to immediately become an iconic part of Lido Village and will help continue the revitalization of the area.”

The planned 4-acre hotel site at Newport Boulevard and 32nd Street, which the city plans to lease to Olson Real Estate Group, housed Newport Beach’s City Hall complex for decades until new municipal offices opened near Fashion Island in 2013.

The proposed four-story, 98,725-square-foot project has been met largely with support from nearby residents. It would include the hotel, meeting and retail space, restaurants, a pool and recreation area and a rooftop bar. The complex also would include a 148-space parking lot and reconfiguration of public parking along 32nd Street to add one spot and improve traffic flow, according to a Coastal Commission staff report.

Guest rooms would include a king bed or two queens, extended-stay suites and villas and a presidential suite. Prices would average about $212 per night.

To greenlight the project, the commission also would have to approve a land use amendment that would allow the property to be used for commercial and hotel purposes. The land is currently zoned only for public facilities.

The city asked that the commission allow the area to be rezoned as mixed use, which would support commercial, hotel and residential purposes. But commission staff is suggesting that it be rezoned as visitor-serving commercial, which does not allow residential uses or timeshares, according to the staff report.

If the commission approves the project, the plan would go before the City Council for final approval before construction begins.

Brandt said development company R.D. Olson could break ground on the project by early 2016.

The city began looking into how to use the site in 2011, considering options such as a community center and residential and commercial uses before settling on a boutique hotel.

Mayor Pro Tem Diane Dixon said the hotel is in line with other development efforts in her district, including a townhome project along Via Lido and the revitalization of Lido Marina Village to include waterfront shops, restaurants and a gourmet market.

Dixon called the hotel a “linchpin” instrumental to the development of Lido and the peninsula.

“It’s a foundation to future and continued economic vitality for the entire peninsula,” she said. “It’s a win-win across the board for residents and visitors.”