A Los Angeles-based real estate investment and development company has purchased the derelict Hotel Californian on Lower State Street.
The previously condemned and now vacant building at 35 State St. rests on a parcel that’s part of the larger La Entrada project, a 123-key hotel and timeshare plan involving three plots on the corners of Mason and State streets.
The new developer, 35 State Street Hotel Partners led by Michael Rosenfeld, managing partner of Next Century Associates, owners of the famed Century Plaza Hotel in Los Angeles, has acquired the 1920s-era Hotel Californian and two neighboring parcels, totaling 2.37 acres.
The La Entrada project is fully entitled for a 114-room luxury hotel, nine fractional vacation units, and 21,557 square feet of retail space with open plazas, paseos and gardens, all designed in the Spanish Colonial Revival style of Santa Barbara.
The project, designed by DesignARC of Santa Barbara, also has received design approvals from the Santa Barbara Historic Landmarks Commission.
“We are excited to move forward to revitalize the State Street Waterfront District,” Rosenfeld said. “It is a half-block from the beach and Santa Barbara’s renowned Stearns Wharf with shopping and restaurants. It’s also just a short walk up the State Street Paseo to Santa Barbara’s main shopping and dining district.”
The developer said plans to immediately begin cleaning up the properties and addressing the hotel’s seismic issues while advancing the project.
“We are delighted to become a member of the Santa Barbara community,” Rosenfeld said. “Everyone has been most welcoming and inviting.”
The Hotel Californian was built in 1925 as one of the first buildings to be designed in the new Spanish Colonial Revival style envisioned by city leaders in the 1920s that now defines Santa Barbara. The rebuilding of the now shuttered hotel by 35 State Street Hotel Partners will fulfill a vision for the Santa Barbara waterfront. One of the hotel’s original facades will be restored as part of the new structure, which is envisioned as a boutique style hotel. The neighboring parcels will house restaurants, shops, a spa and hotel rooms and vacation units as well as 243 parking spaces, including 120 accessible to the public.
Rosenfeld’s firm, an affiliate of Woodridge Capital Partners LLC, bought the property from Mountain Funding Santa Barbara.
— Noozhawk staff writer Lara Cooper can be reached at lcooper@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk or @NoozhawkNews.