New upscale Healdsburg hotel approved by planners

Healdsburg is in line to get a new hotel that not only will help meet market demand for more lodging, but provide highly sought, affordable housing next door.

The city Planning Commission this week voted 4-0 to approve a 122-room “upscale” hotel along with a 42-unit, affordable housing project on a four-acre site off Dry Creek Road, just east of Grove Street.

Seaview Investors, an Orange County developer of hotels in Southern California, plans to break ground in early 2017 and complete the $22 million construction project a year later.

“This is a very special project because of the mixed use,” Seaview vice-president Hannah Greenberg said Thursday. “It’s no surprise Healdsburg, as well as the rest of Sonoma County, is facing a housing crisis. We are proud to offer the affordable units to the community.”

Healdsburg Planning Director Barbara Nelson said the added housing is “a major positive” that will add needed rental dwellings.

“It brings a lot to Healdsburg,” she said, adding that the hotel fills a niche and “enlivens the Dry Creek corridor.”

The four-story hotel is designed to fill the gap between existing economy lodging and luxury hotels in Healdsburg, with rates anticipated between $200 to $350 per night.

It will include a breakfast and lounge seating area, meeting space, 800-square-foot swimming pool, bocce court and fitness center.

As a condition of approval, the hotel and the affordable housing have to be built at the same time.

There will be a mix of one- to three-bedroom units, with rents tied to between 80 to 120 percent of area median income.

Greenberg said monthly rents will range from $1,450 for a one-bedroom, to between $1,800 and $2,750 for a three-bedroom, depending on family income.

“There’s no public financing, or subsidy,” she said of the affordable, deed-restricted housing project. But she acknowledged that without the hotel revenue, the project would not pencil out.

The site at 110 Dry Creek Road is currently occupied by Engelke Construction and Domenichelli Masonry.

The site is bordered by a Travelodge to the west, a mini-storage to the south, and the railroad right-of-way and Foss Creek to the east.

Only about a half-dozen speakers addressed the Planning Commission Tuesday, but there was no opposition.

Questions centered on traffic and parking associated with the project.There will be 131 parking spaces for the hotel, including valet, and 77 spaces for the affordable housing project.

To cut down on vehicle trips, the hotel plans to offer shuttle service to the downtown.

The hotel site has pedestrian and bicycle access points from Dry Creek Road and from a planned connection to the Foss Creek pathway to the east.

A pedestrian bridge over Foss Creek will be built to connect the multifamily project to Grove Street.

The hotel is expected to generate approximately $1.3 million in room occupancy taxes annually for the city, most of which will go to park and recreation programs.

Editor's note: This story has been updated to correct figures on the apartment rental rates.

You can reach Staff Writer Clark Mason at 707-521-5214 or clark.mason@pressdemocrat.com.