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Developer Bob Olson says he’s “bullish on Orange County” as he sets his sights on two major hospitality projects in Newport Beach and Dana Point.
“The hospitality industry has gone through a lot,” Olson, chief executive of Newport Beach-based R.D. Olson Development, told the Business Journal. “We’ve learned a lot over the 25 years that we’ve been developing and owning hotels, and customer preferences change and evolve. You have to keep moving.”
One place that’s evolving is the Lido House, a high-end hotel with a beach-house vibe that he built and opened in 2018. It replaced the former city hall. Olson is expanding the property to include five townhouses on the grounds of the old city fire station next door to the hotel.
Olson recently closed on the city-owned land in a deal financed by PNC. The fire house, which was roughly 10,000 square feet, was torn down in early March at a demolition event hosted by Olson.
The old station will make way for 10 new public parking stalls next to the incoming townhouses.
The new private cottages will join five existing accommodations that span up to 1,500 square feet each with two bedrooms, two bathrooms, a living room, a dining room and a full kitchen. Bookings currently cost about $1,700 per night.
Olson aims to complete the multi-phase project in about 18 months.
The fire station first opened in 1953. A newer location was built for the city’s firefighters about two years ago which moved them out of the original firehouse.
Other construction projects at the Lido House include a new greenhouse on the side facing Newport Boulevard that will increase the hotel’s total meeting space.
“You’ll see that (at) each of our hotels, we continue to improve and renovate where we need to, reinvest and invest,” Olson said. “I walk in our hotels daily and see what can we do better.”
R.D. Olson has also developed the Marriott Irvine Spectrum, which features Hive and Honey rooftop bar, and the Paséa Hotel & Spa in Huntington Beach.
Approvals by Fall
In Dana Point, Olson is in the final rounds of approval on a $160 million development of two new hotels in the city.
“We’ve been fully approved at the Coastal Commission, which took some time to do, but we’re pleased that we’re through that, and hope to have our complete approvals by fall,” Olson said.
Next will be acquiring building permits so construction can start. Plans include the 130-room Dana House—“it’s everything that we’ve learned so far from Lido House,” Olson said—and the 169-unit Surf Lodge, “a fun, hip hotel meant for an active lifestyle.”
Both will have a rooftop bar as well.
The two properties will be the first new ground-up hotels along the coast of Orange County since 2018. Their combined cost is expected to run about $160 million, according to Olson.
R.D. Olson is one of three Newport Beach-based developers operating as the Dana Point Harbor Partners group heading the revitalization of the county-owned harbor whose total cost is expected to reach $550 million.
The other two developers are Bellwether Financial Group and Burnham Ward Properties.
“(We’re) really looking forward to what we bring to the Dana Point community,” Olson said.
Thoughts on Hospitality Landscape
“You can’t be on the top if you’re not continuing to evolve. So, we’re proud of what we’ve done in Orange County,” Olson said.
“10 years ago, hotel developers would just put a hotel up without thinking about the customer and they succeeded.
“Our focus starts with the customer, both what they want and taking out what they don’t want,” he added.
“I couldn’t think of doing anything else, honestly, because it’s every day. We’re in the hospitality business. So, to be a hotel developer, you have to be optimistic.”