After Modifications, Hotel Plans Get OK

The Calabasas City Council approved the construction of a 140-room hotel as part of the Calabasas Park Centre development, after Homestead Village made several design modifications to appease a critical public.

The council voted unanimously last week to approve Homestead’s site plan, which calls for a 63,441-square-foot hotel to be built on 4.42 acres at the southeast corner of Parkway Calabasas and Park Sorrento, said city Planning Director Steven Harris.

The hotel’s original design had been one of the few remaining sore points among many residents about the long-awaited project. Critics said the design was not as upscale as they would like and debated whether it would be a hotel or a motel, with a highly transitory clientele coming off the Ventura Freeway.

The three-story hotel originally was designed with rooms opening to the outside. But hearing opposition, the hotel chain upgraded the building’s architectural design, which now has the rooms opening off an interior corridor.

The hotel chain said the rooms are designed to cater to patrons who plan to stay an average of two weeks at a time, often to do business in the area.

City officials said the next part of the 1.3-million-square-foot project scheduled to go before the city for permits is the retail space to be developed by Caruso Affiliates.

Developer Rick Caruso is expected to go before the Planning Commission with his designs on Dec. 4.

Kilroy Realty Corp., the project’s developer, will be responsible for construction of the business park on the west side of the project, which also includes a civic center that may house a permanent city hall and library.

Now that Calabasas Park Centre is moving steadily toward becoming a reality, city officials estimate construction might be underway by early next year, with completion on the first portion of the project as soon as late summer.