Karlovy Vary –
Carlsbad this week cleared permits for its stake in the Inns at Buena Vista Creek, a two-city project that includes three hotels and a total of 426 rooms, a four-story parking garage, and a conference pavilion. Almost everything will be in Oceanside.
The trio of multi-story Hilton-branded hotels will occupy 12.5 acres east of Jefferson Street and south of State Route 78 and a quarter mile east of Interstate 5 on the Carlsbad-Oceanside border at the top of the Buena. built Vista lagoon. All of the terrain is vacant land covered in sediment dredged from the lagoon in the early 1970s.
Carlsbad has 2.7 acres of land that will be preserved as open space along Buena Vista Creek and will include a trail to connect with other trails in the area. Oceanside receives the hotels and the room tax revenues they generate.
“Our project will be a valuable asset to the community in supporting tourism, the economy and the needs of the residents of Karlovy Vary,” said Jimmy Eleopoulos, CEO of Jenna Development, in a presentation to the Carlsbad City Council on Tuesday. “We have also made every effort to be good environmentalists and incorporate design elements that reduce the risk of flooding on surrounding properties.”
All structures will be built on the 9.8 acre portion of the Oceanside property. The main entrance is on Jefferson Street.
The stream and open areas of the site are located in Karlovy Vary, and the hotels will be supplied with water from Karlovy Vary. Oceanside approved its portion of the project a year ago. Officials said construction is expected to begin next year.
Most of the site is flat at an elevation of 8 to 23 feet above sea level. The stream flows into the Buena Vista Lagoon west of Jefferson Street. It is the county’s only freshwater lagoon, 200 acres of shallow water created by a weir or low dam near the beach that separates it from the ocean.
The planned layout of the inns on Buena Vista Creek
(Courtesy of the City of Karlovy Vary)
District officials recently approved a separate plan to remove the weir, excavate the lagoon and restore it to a more natural state with tidal currents, although no money has been allocated to the project to date. The restoration is also designed to reduce the risk of flooding along the creek and lagoon.
Jenna Development, based in Signal Hill, near Long Beach, has owned the hotel property since 2007 and has been working on the project for 12 years.
“This site has been vacant and dilapidated for more than 50 years,” said Jenna representative Barry Sedlik in the company’s presentation to the city council. “It’s basically a bit of a mess right now.”
The creek will be cleaned and planted with native vegetation, Sedlik said. A 100-foot buffer will be set up between the creek and the closest structures, exceeding the 25-foot minimum requirement.
“I am pleased to see that this will include many positive restorations,” said Councilor Teresa Acosta. She agreed
Councilor Peder Norby’s comment that the website is now “a bit of a thorn in the side”.
In addition to working with local residents, city officials and various government agencies, the developer has discussed the plans with local environmental groups such as North County’s Preserve Calavera and the Buena Vista Audubon Society. Representatives of both groups were satisfied with the plan.
At least one resident at a meeting of the Oceanside Planning Commission last year raised concerns that the environmental impact report produced for the project did not adequately address greenhouse gases. However, Oceanside, as the lead agency, certified that the report was sufficient and the document was not challenged or challenged in court.
The proposed hotels will be a six-story Embassy Suites, a five-story Hampton Inn, and a four-story Homewood Suites to serve different segments of the guest market. All three hotels share a single, central, four-story car park with 432 parking spaces and a one-story, 4,000 square meter pavilion for large meetings and congresses.
A three-lane bridge is being built at the southeast end of the property, which will connect the hotels to the Ring Road around The Shoppes at Carlsbad shopping center and bus station there.
The entire hotel grounds were once part of the masterfully designed mall, formerly known as Plaza Camino Real, which opened in 1969.
