Redondo Beach Moves to Shore Up Hotel Options

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Springtime in Redondo Beach has brought new life to the hotel industry in the beachside city.

Earlier this month, Redondo Beach officials and hotel developers broke ground for the development of two hotels on Marine Avenue near the 405 freeway. A 147-room Hilton Garden Inn and a 172-room Residence Inn by Marriott will be built on the five-acre site of a former miniature golf course.

The $59 million project launched only a month after demolition began on the waterfront to make way for the boutique Shade Hotel Redondo Beach. Construction of the Hilton and Marriott is expected to take about 13 months.

The side-by-side hotel development is a joint venture between commercial real estate investment funds Trancas Retail Center Fund LLC and Mogul Capital LLC in Park City and Midway, Utah, respectively.

Trancas and Mogul bought the land during the recession. Brad Wagstaff, managing partner at Trancas, said the land was approved for three uses: automotive and big-box retailing, and hospitality.

“We ultimately settled on hotels as the highest and best use for the land, because during the downturn, automotive retailing was a super tough market and same with big box,” he said. “The hospitality market, though, had stayed extremely strong.”

Once completed, the Hilton-branded hotel is expected to have 2,200 square feet of meeting and event space, a restaurant and bar. A heated outdoor pool and spa, fitness center and business center are also in the plans.

The Marriott extended-stay hotel will offer guests a heated outdoor pool and spa, a business center, and 1,800 square feet of meeting and event space.

Trancas and Mogul also own land to the south of the project where they plan to build a third hotel, most likely a second extended-stay concept.

Wagstaff said Trancas and Mogul are optimistic that the hotels will attract business travelers, given their proximity to Los Angeles International Airport and corporate headquarters in the area such as Mattel Inc. in El Segundo.

“We felt new hotels would do very well in that market, especially with the visibility and easy access our property has with frontage on the 405 freeway,” he said.

Revolving Door

Courtney Cowan, who formerly worked in television production, opened sweets shop Milk Jar Cookies last week on Miracle Mile with her husband, Adam Tiller. … New York fashion retailers Theory and Alice + Olivia have each signed leases to open stores at 406 and 408 N. Beverly Drive, respectively. London retailer AllSaints opened at 328 N. Beverly Drive. Other tenants coming to the Beverly Hills street later this year include coffee machine shop Nespresso and Chinese restaurant Hakkasan. … Pleasanton budget retailer Ross Stores Inc. has signed a 10-year lease to open a Ross Dress for Less at 2021 W. Pico Blvd. The 26,000-square-foot space, formerly occupied by Liborio Market, is expected to employ up to 40 people and will open this fall. … Beaverton, Ore., athletic footwear retailer Nike Inc. reopened its store at the Grove in L.A.’s Fairfax district earlier this month after renovations. … Santa Ana taco chain Wahoo’s Fish Taco signed a lease to open a store on Ventura Boulevard in Woodland Hills. … Stamford, Conn., furniture retailer Design Within Reach Inc. will move in early fall from its studio on Beverly Boulevard to a larger, 10,000-square-foot space at 8612 Melrose Ave. in the La Cienega Design Quarter. … La Brea Avenue Mexican restaurant Tinga opened a second outpost this month in Santa Monica at 522 Wilshire Blvd. … Monterey Park Mexican seafood restaurant Dorados Ceviche Bar closed this month. … New York juice-cleanse maker BluePrintJuice will open its first brick-and-mortar store this summer at 1422 Abbot Kinney Blvd. in Venice. … British shoe retailer Dr. Martens AirWair will open a store on Third Street Promenade in Santa Monica later this spring.

At Your Service

Umami Restaurant Group has named Trevor Sacco vice president of operations. Sacco joined Umami after doing consulting work for expanding restaurant brands. He will oversee the company’s expanding operations as the burger chain opens restaurants nationwide, starting in New York and Miami. … L.A. furniture sales and management company Unisource Solutions Inc. has named Jim Smith senior vice president. Smith will be responsible for client relations and account management. … Westwood investment firm Gores Group LLC has named Kevin Mahoney chief executive of women’s apparel manufacturer Big Strike Inc. in Gardena. Mahoney joined Big Strike from Vernon apparel company NYDJ LLC (Not Your Daughter’s Jeans), where he served as president. Gores acquired an interest in Big Strike in 2011.

Staff reporter Bethany Firnhaber can be reached at [email protected] or (323) 549-5225, ext. 235.

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