Megamansion developer overhauling Hollywood hotel

A motel on Western Avenue that was once a popular gay cruising spot is now slated for what could be a very high-end renovation.

City records show that the Coral Sands Motel just north of Hollywood Boulevard on Western Avenue sold in December for $16.5 million. The buyer is an LLC connected to Dean McKillen, the Irish real estate investor who developed the Bel Air spec mansion that Beyonce and Jay-Z paid $88 million for in 2017.

McKillen, the son of billionaire real estate mogul Paddy McKille, also built a home in the Bird Streets that Calvin Klein purchased in 2015 for $25 million.

Rooms at the Coral Sands Motel start at about $100 a night, but the hotel’s booking website shows no availability after today.

In March, permits were filed with the city to renovate the two-story, 60-room hotel. (The permits are pending.) Changes detailed in the permit application seem standard—new electrical, new fixtures and furniture, and adding a deck to the building’s Western Avenue-facing facade, which sits just north of the Ralphs shopping center. But considering McKillen’s high-end past projects this makeover could prove to be quite lavish.

GayPages.com describes the Coral Sands as a “gay friendly spot [that] prides itself on privacy.” The motel’s status as a pickup spot appears to have faded, with at least one review on TripAdvisor lamenting that the location is “no longer suitable for cruising,” citing the presence of families and kids at the hotel and in its whirlpool, as well as the disappearance of porn from the TV lineup.