Sunroad hotel development on Harbor Island appears to be progressing

Port of San Diego’s Board of Port Commissioners seem pleased with current iteration of the planned redevelopment of a parcel adjacent to Sunroad Marina.

SAN DIEGO—A planned hotel development next to Sunroad Marina appears to be picking up some steam after years of planning and going back to the drawing board, as the Port of San Diego’s Board of Port Commissioners expressed collective support of the project’s most recent iteration.

Port district staff and members of the development team were in front of the board on Oct. 8, updating commissioners of the hotel project’s status.

Commissioners, based upon the presentation, directed port district staff to go forward with the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) process. The CEQA process could take up to 16 months to complete, according to port district staff.

Wendy Siao, the port district’s program manager of real estate, provided commissioners with a synopsis of what the hotel project on East Harbor Island would look like: a 450-room, dual-branded hotel to be built in one phase and inclusive of several amenities. The amenities included: 252 select service rooms on 15 levels, 198 extended stay rooms on 12 levels; 10,000 square feet of meeting space; 1,600 square feet of meeting space; outdoor swimming pool and Jacuzzi; retail space; 15-foot wide public promenade; open space event lawn; and, 350 surface parking spaces.

“I think the project we have in front of us is a lot better than anything that we’ve seen and I think it really reaches to the core of what we’re trying to do as world-class projects,” Commissioner Robert “Dukie” Valderrama said. “We’re headed in the right direction.”

Representatives of Sunroad Enterprises and Carrier Johnson were on hand to discuss the project with commissioners.

Bringing a hotel project to the “elbow site” of East Harbor Island would be “challenging,” Uri Feldman of Sunroad Enterprises said.

The port district, in February, gave Sunroad Enterprises a set of parameters for the hotel project: it had to be built in one phase with as few buildings as possible; the hotel had to have between 450 and 500 rooms; the project had to fit within the guidelines of the Port Master Plan; parking had to be integrated into the parcel’s interior; the hotel operator must be an upscale brand; water mobility must be encouraged; a bayside public promenade must be part of the development; the buildings could not block any view corridors; and, the building(s) had to be iconic and “responsive to location on the bay.”

Commissioners also directed staff to ensure these parameters were included in Sunroad Enterprises’ plan during the CEQA process.

Feldman said the hotel project would be built as a one-tower design.

Vincent Mudd of Carrier Johnson said the design would indeed be “iconic.” He added there would be cafés, public paths and other amenities available to boaters, locals and visitors.

The project still has to go through the California Coastal Commission and secure financing.

Sunroad Enterprises has been a port district tenant since 1984. The hotel project would be built adjacent to Harbor Island’s Sunroad Marina.

Commissioners selected Sunroad Enterprises to redevelop an “elbow parcel” on the eastern side of Harbor Island in September 2016.

Hotels suggested to meet the port district’s recommendation of an upscale brand hotel operator were AC Hotels by Marriott, Aloft, Curio, Element, Hilton Hotels & Resorts, Hyatt House, Hyatt Place, Swissotel and Tapestry Collection.

One thought on “Sunroad hotel development on Harbor Island appears to be progressing

  • October 17, 2019 at 11:44 am
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    Sure would be nice to see a good size public dock in the plan. San Diego Bay is sorely lacking public dock facilities, and this project offers an opportunity to offer boaters access to Harbor Island, which currently has no public docks.

    Reply

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