Hotel downsizes for financial reasons

A developer has scaled down a hotel project at 401 W. Ash Street, previously approved last September by Civic San Diego. The reason for the downsizing was due to the developer's difficulty in obtaining financing for the original, larger-size project.

The board of CivicSD approved the amended plans at its February 25 meeting, the last board meeting attended by outgoing president Jeff Graham.

JR Legacy Holdings, LLC had originally planned to build a 23-story, 268-feet-high hotel with 407 rooms. Total hotel space would have been 241,905 square feet. The new hotel will now rise to 183 feet, have 239 rooms, and take up 151,248 square feet of space.

Michele Vives with Tucker Sadler Architects, Inc. said the project should start construction in “early fourth quarter 2014.” It will be “an independent hotel, single brand — no brand affiliation — with approximate total cost of $72 million,” said Vives in an interview.

There will be about 3900 square feet of street-level retail space and 127 parking spaces located on two levels of subterranean parking. A parking lot now occupies the 19,981-square-foot parcel at the southwest corner of Ash and State streets.

The hotel is in full compliance with allowed uses in the Core District. It will meet the required 15-foot view-setback rule, which will maintain views of San Diego Bay. It will have a 2000-square-foot plaza that will front on Ash Street.

Though now smaller, the hotel's design has not changed. Besides a restaurant, café, fitness center, and meeting space, the hotel will offer 24-hour valet parking. The revised plan will have LEED Silver Certification.