Here’s when the Grover Beach Lodge project is finally expected to open (maybe)
Planning on the Grover Beach Lodge project is slowly progressing, though it will still likely be close to five years before the long-awaited hotel starts welcoming guests to the city.
The lodge will start preliminary construction at the end of Grand Avenue in the spring of 2021, and should be open by spring of 2024, according to a recent Grover Beach staff report.
This is, of course, if everything goes according to plan — which hasn’t always been the case with the sluggish project.
The Grover Beach Lodge was approved in 2013 after decades of conversation about bringing in a large hotel and conference center that could drive economic growth to the region.
Since then, the project has faced delays at almost every step of the process — from Coastal Commission appeals to procedural errors, as well as several complete redesigns.
This forced applicant Pacifica Companies to request time extension after time extension on the lodge’s development permits. In total, the San Diego-based company has received four extensions in the five years since its initial approval.
The most recent two-year planning extension was granted at a Grover Beach City Council meeting on Tuesday, where the project’s numerous delays were the unspoken elephant in the room.
“The city has done what we can to move this process forward,” Mayor Jeff Lee said during the meeting discussion.
Councilwoman Desi Lance added: “To put it plainly, we do not own that land so we do not have a final say on what gets built there,” she said. “In layman’s terms, that’s pretty much the bottom line.”
Grover Beach City Manager Matt Bronson told The Tribune on Thursday that the most recent extension was “based on a realistic schedule by the developer for completing the plan check and permitting process before beginning construction in 2021.”
“All parties are committed to this time frame and the city will work with State Parks and the developer to adhere to this schedule while seeking opportunities to reduce time where feasible,” he said.
What’s the holdup?
According to Bronson, one of the reasons for the project’s slow advancement is the sheer number of parties involved in it.
Though the project is a private development, it’s been overseen by a joint partnership with State Parks and the city of Grover Beach, and requires permits from four state agencies as well as Union Pacific Railroad, he said.
When State Parks took the official lead on the project in 2017, that increased the number of updates and reviews that had to be completed, he added.
All this “further lengthens the development process compared with other nearby hotels on private land,” Bronson said.
Bronson said the city doesn’t anticipate additional time extensions will be needed after the one issued on Tuesday, but he added that that was also out of the control of the city since the project is a private development project on state property.
Why does Grover Beach want a lodge?
Some may wonder why Grover Beach is still invested in the project, given its slow start.
The answer? It would be good for business.
Originally, the project was going to feature a conference center to help catch the eye of the highly sought after “bleisure” traveler — business travelers who extend their trips to enjoy the offerings of the places they visit.
A 2017 study found that San Luis Obispo County lacked the facilities to accommodate such travelers, but that if there were adequate conference space, the county could significantly expect to increase its business tourism.
The standalone conference center has since been dropped to maximize parking at the site, however, and now the project is expected to feature 144 rooms across three buildings, a restaurant and 4,000 square feet of meeting space.
Bronson on Thursday said the lodge project does still aim to attract those “bleisure” travelers with its meeting space, as well as the traditional tourist clientele who already visit the city.
“There is a need for additional conference space in our region ... and the city will continue to work with State Parks to consider a conference center as a future project,” he said.
Despite the change, the city is still expecting the hotel to generate $600,000 in annual tax revenue, as well as support local businesses by bringing more customers to eat, shop and play in Grover Beach.
“It is a catalyst economic development project on prime beachfront land that will support existing businesses that have already invested in the city and spur on development of new businesses,” Bronson said.
To date, the city has spent $650,000 supporting the project, Bronson said (this is much lower than initial estimates, which placed the city’s investment closer to $9.5 million, according to previous Tribune reports).
Bronson said he doesn’t anticipate the city needing to spend any more money on the project, and that the city expects to recoup its investment within the first year of the hotel’s operation.
“The city is building a strong economic foundation with existing local businesses, emerging cannabis industry and growing manufacturing and technology sector,” Bronson said. “And additional hotel space like the Grover Beach Lodge is a key part of this foundation.”
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