La Bahia Hotel, located at 215 Beach Street in Santa Cruz, California, will be the newest hotel located between the Wharf and Boardwalk. The hotel will feature 125 luxury rooms with on-site parking and over 5300 square feet of meeting and event space. The hotel will offer a 4-star experience for its guests while they enjoy the traditionally exceptional sunny warm weather. A restaurant and wine bar will be open to the public.
Construction & Design
- Committed to hiring Union, non Union and local Contractors. Barry Swenson Builder does not discriminate.
- L.E.E.D. Certified: The new building will be a Green Environmental friendly Building
- The old Bell Tower will be removed & reinstalled on the new building
- New building would meet all current earth quake and wheel chair accessible codes
- It will bring new construction jobs (temporary) and Economic benefits (long term jobs) to the Beach area
- It is a progressive new vision for the Beach area
- Character-defining Spanish revival style will be reused in the new design
Height
The proposed hotel will have 2 levels of partial subterranean/podium deck parking with 5 levels of hotel space above the parking garage.
Historical Demo-Rational
The proposed hotel will require a demolition of all the existing structures. It has been determined that the current structures cannot facilitate the project goals for the redevelopment of the property. The old buildings are not conducive to the intended use as a hotel. The layout and accessibility of the rooms in the older buildings present unique challenges from an operational standpoint. The entrance needs to be on Beach Street, the pool deck needs to be larger and a more prominent amenity, and the previously approved parking arrangement was functionally challenging, if not impossible. All of these elements taken together have factored in to the current proposal whereby the project application requests a permit to demolish all of the existing building.
While the Historical community would sustain a loss, coordinated efforts have been made with the Historical Planning Commission’s La Bahia Subcommittee to incorporate their suggestions to design a project that would echo the past.
The following is a list of character defining elements that the proposed project design captures from the existing La Bahia:
- Save and reuse the Bell Tower
- Reuse the existing natural springs and emulate the Courtyard of the Laurels and the Mariners
- Reuse Urns & Brackets
- Reuse Roof Tiles
- Reuse Ceramic Tiles
- HABS level photo documentation w/ historical exhibit in hotel
- Creating a new potential "Historical Landmark"
Community Benefits
- Privately funded project (No Tax Payer Money used)
- D.E.I.R. Shows no change in traffic impact on Beach area
- We will be showcasing local artists through out the Hotel
- Replacement Housing has already been provided for existing tenants at South Pacific Apartments.
- Bicycles, E-bikes and electric car docking stations will be available for guest use.
- For every $1.00 spent on lodging guests will spend $1.74 within the community which is over $10MM.
- Wages and health benefits for hotel staff will be equal to or better than Union Wages