South Park isn't the only neighborhood seeing a lot of investment in hotels--the Santa Monica Daily Press reports that Downtown Santa Monica could see four new hotels in the coming years. The news couldn't come at a better time as Santa Monica hotels are running at more than 91 percent occupancy. The new properties could bring 550 new rooms to the beach city (the Fairmont Miramar Hotel is getting remodeled too, but that will actually lead to a net loss of rooms in SM). Aside from the new Shore Hotel on Ocean Avenue, which is almost fully constructed, "plans for Colorado Avenue and Fifth Street would remove the Midas car repair shop and a pre-existing office building and replace them with two mid-price hotels, a Hampton Inn and Courtyard by Marriott" (coincidentally or not, Downtown LA is getting a Marriott and possibly a Hampton Inn).
As most hotels in Santa Monica are high-end, a Hampton and a Courtyard would serve as more affordable options for travelers. They'd also sit across the street from the eventual Expo Line terminus (nearly 70% of tourists get around sans car, according to the city's convention and visitor's bureau).
The fourth proposed hotel is near Wilshire and Seventh, and if a development agreement is hammered out, a mixed-use building would be converted into a boutique hotel. Cities love hotels as they're huge moneymakers, bringing jobs, taxes, and money-spending tourists.
· Four New Hotels Slated for Downtown [SMDP]
· Santa Monica's New Shore Hotel Fancier Than Envisioned in 2007 [Curbed LA]
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