Hotel Developer Will Buy Much-Debated Property

The Los Angeles Department of Water and Power has accepted a local hotel development company’s $4.5-million bid for a 10-acre parcel in Seal Beach.

The prime real estate at the northwest end of Seal Beach next to the San Gabriel River channel has been vacant for 30 years and was the subject of debate over how the land should be used.

A petition signed by 600 residents opposed to hotel development and worried about increased traffic was presented to the city and endorsed by Councilman Shawn Boyd in November. At the time, the city was considering purchasing the property but it was later determined that the purchase would not be an appropriate use of city funds, said City Manager Keith Till.

The Department of Water and Power, which is in the process of retiring $4 billion in debt, had been receiving offers between $2 million and $12 million for the ocean-view property. DWP spokesman Frank Salas said the department accepted the $4.5-million offer from Bay City Partners last week because the Seal Beach development group appeared to be more likely to accept the land’s partial-use zoning.

Current zoning would allow a 150- to 170-room hotel complex to be built on 30% of the parcel. The remaining property would be designated for public recreation and open space. In January, Mayor Paul Yost, who is a member of the San Gabriel River Conservancy group, presented plans for a wilderness park.

“We want to sell the property as is and let others worry about the zoning,” Salas said. “We don’t want to be involved politically.”

The Los Angeles City Commerce, Energy and Resource Committee must first agree on the offer and then present it to the Los Angeles City Council for approval.

Real estate company CB Richard Ellis is representing the DWP. Bob Dubbins, the company’s vice president, said the property is “not technically off the market.”

Dubbins says that Bay City Partners has not disclosed its plans for the number of rooms and size of the hotel complex.

Alex Murashko can be reached at (714) 966-5974