Inside Irvine’s First Full Service Hotel in a Decade
THE NEW $120 MILLION IRVINE SPECTRUM MARRIOTT IS THE FIRST FULL-SERVICE HOTEL TO HIT THE MARKET IN A DECADE, AND DEVELOPER R.D. OLSON SAYS THAT IT FILLS A BIG HOLE IN THE MARKET.
The first full-service hotel in more than a decade has opened in Irvine. R.D. Olson Construction has completed construction of the Irvine Spectrum Marriott, a $120 million 15-story full-service hotel. The project fills a void for high-end product in the market, which is popular for leisure and business travelers. It will specifically target millennial travelers with a host of amenities and food and beverage options.
“Our vision was really to create a hotel that fit in with Irvine Ranch. There is a rich history of Irvine Ranch, which has gone from ranches and farms to universities,” Bob Olson, president of R.D. Olson Development, tells GlobeSt.com. “It has been a great evolution. Our vision was to create a hotel that is reflective of where we are. To be able to reflect that history through the artwork and the design was a lot of fun.”
The absence of full-service hotel development in Irvine says more about economic prosperity than demand, according to Olson. Select-service is more cost effective to build, and as a result, more of that hotel product type has come to market. “To be honest, investors prefer select-service hotels. I though the full-service piece was missing in the market,” explains Olson. “There was not a full service hotel to the extent that it created an opportunity for us. It was really a big hole in the donut, and we stepped up and filled it. We met what the market wanted, and that can be hard to determine. We found that a lot of travelers in this market were not staying in the area because there wasn’t high enough lodging, and that was especially true for business customers.”
The developer felt the demand justified the project. Since, the market has seen healthy growth, especially in the office sector, inflating the need for full-service hotel. “We pulled the trigger on this project three years ago, and at the time, the economy was healthy, but growing at a sluggish pace,” says Olson. “There wasn’t the confidence then that you see today in the hotel market, but we felt confident in the Irvine Spectrum market. We thought that long-term, it was a great place to do business, and today, it really is becoming the business center of Orange County. I think that this will emerge as one of the leading business centers in Southern California.”
While there were some pessimists about the project, Olson says that the positive traction has already proven the success of the hotel. “Our customers love the hotel. Guests are going to run into both locals and travelers on the rooftop bar,” he says. There is a great pulling together and a sense of place.”
The developer plans to hold the property for the long term.
Sense of Place Hugely Important for Hotels
IRVINE, CA—Three current and upcoming R.D. Olson Orange County hotel projects—the Irvine Spectrum Marriott (which recently broke ground), the nearly complete Paséa Hotel & Spa in Huntington Beach and the approved Lido House Hotel in Newport Beach, which will begin construction in Q1—are very different, but each will be successful because they reflect the regions they serve and provide something those markets are lacking, company executives tell GlobeSt.com. We spoke exclusively with Bob Olson, founder and CEO of R.D. Olson Development, and Bill Wilhelm, president of R.D. Olson Construction, to get their take on the projects, how they are alike and how they differ, as well as their thoughts on how the hotel industry is changing.
GlobeSt.com: How are these three current and upcoming hotel projects integral parts of three evolving areas in Orange County?
Olson: Each of these hotels is unique to what the market demand is. Our focus isn’t to bring a pre-set idea to a market, but to bring what the market is lacking. For example, in Huntington Beach, there was no truly lifestyle hotel that actually had the ability to hold large weddings, meetings and outdoor events in an oceanfront setting. That’s a category we felt was lacking, so that’s where Paséa Hotel & Spa comes in. We liked what Shorebreak has done, and it actually gave us some confidence that the demand was there, but the market needed much more meeting space and ocean views. Shorebreak was successful, but this piece was missing.
For the Irvine Spectrum Marriott, we had developed a Courtyard there, and it was very well received by the business and leisure community, but what was missing was the full-service category—this market hasn’t had a new one in 10 years. We saw the demand for that through the hotel we have there. Marriott has recreated the Marriott brand—the mothership brand for Marriott—and they’ve made a big push to reinvent the brand to today’s travelers. We are the first rebuild of this new brand. It incorporates new rooms with wood flooring (no carpet), open closets, everything that appeals to today’s traveler. Marriott is the best in the business when it comes to understanding today’s travelers and keeping up with their demands. They have great research teams for every brand. We’re the first new build of that new brand, and combined with the shortage of full-service hotels in the market and what we knew from Courtyard, it gave the market what it was missing.
In Newport Beach, no new hotel had been built in 50 years. What we felt was missing there was a destination brand hotel where people go to really experience Newport Beach, what it has to offer, and to feel like they’re really in the fabric of Newport Beach. Many people think of Newport Beach as Fashion Island, but the reason people came was right here, on the peninsula—Lido Village and out to the Balboa Pavilion. People took the Red Car Trolley down from L.A., and the Pavilion was built in 1906. There really had been nothing to accommodate guests of a high quality in this area. We felt this was a great opportunity to do a destination brand that brought Newport Beach to Newport Beach, if you will. This hotel will celebrate its history, but also today’s fabric of Newport Beach, which makes up everybody from the surf crowd to the yachting group and even skateboarding. There’s a tremendous eclectic mix of so many culture, and this is a great way to bring that together.
Wilhelm: Each of these hotels is in a very unique community that is thriving and working together to enhance the community experience. The Irvine Spectrum area has developed and will continue to develop a great community—a live/work/all-around experience. You’ve now got a full-service hotel that will really enhance the experience of holding the community together: you’ve got the live/work aspect and part of the white-collar experience of Irvine Spectrum; the tech industry is also starting to expand its horizons in that area. I believe that having a full-service hotel brings things to full circle there and takes the game up a notch or two.
With the Paséa Hotel—Huntington Beach has always been a very cool surf city. Over the last several years, it has grown a number of residential single-family communities and condos in the area. The city has always done a great job at trying to enhance the experience in Surf City—people use dot go there to surf, play volleyball and grab a burger. Today, there are hotels and condos and also a great retail experience with Pacific City. Paséa will be one of the top-rated hotels in Southern California, and there are a Hyatt and a Hilton next door to each other, which is enhancing the hospitality experience. The Paséa is looking to capture individuals who want to stay a number of nights.
As for Lido Village, the peninsula is a great place to hang out, but it has struggled with having a new identity. It had been kind of a sleepy town, but there have recently been some very impressive movements form the development side. They’re expanding and bringing to the forefront what Newport Beach is all about. There are lots of areas like Newport Coast that have been experiencing liveliness, but the peninsula has lagged. Lido Village will really help; it’s the gateway to the peninsula, and Lido House will really help launch that gateway. It’s a beach community property where you’ll know you’re in Newport Beach because the designers are focused on making the community a part of the design. They have really pulled the community into the project. Read the entire story at Globe St.com
R.D. Olson Breaks Ground on $120 Million Full-Service Irvine Spectrum Marriott
271-room Hotel Will Be First Full-Service Hotel Built in Irvine in Last Decade
Irvine, Calif. – R.D. Olson broke ground today on its latest hotel development, the 271-room, full-service Irvine Spectrum Marriott at 7905 Gateway in Irvine, California. Executives from R.D. Olson Development, Irvine Company, Joseph Martelli Real Estate Investments, Inc., project general contractor R.D. Olson Construction, project architect WATG, and Marriott International joined civic leaders including Irvine Mayor Steven Choi at the ceremonial groundbreaking.
Located next to the Courtyard by Marriott Irvine Spectrum, which opened in 2014 and was developed by R.D. Olson in partnership with Joseph Martelli Real Estate Investments, Inc., Irvine Spectrum Marriott represents the first ground-up construction project in the nation featuring Marriott’s new Millennial-focused design elements. R.D. Olson Construction plans to complete construction in summer of 2017.
“We are proud to launch the first full-service hotel project in Irvine in more than a decade,” said Bob Olson, founder and CEO of R.D. Olson Development. “With its rooftop lounge and bar, high-end amenities, and Marriott’s excellent service, Irvine Spectrum Marriott will provide a unique hotel experience that has not yet been offered in Irvine.”
As is customary for all R.D. Olson Development hotels, Irvine Spectrum Marriott is designed around a theme that pays tribute to the local area, in this case the iconic Irvine Ranch. The interior design celebrates the rich history of the Irvine Ranch through design elements, as well as food and beverage selections. The hotel’s full-service restaurant will feature locally-sourced options for breakfast, lunch and dinner.
The 15-story, 206,332-square-foot hotel is designed with a room mix that includes 50 suites with full kitchens, 121 king beds, and 100 double queen bed configurations. The room mix caters equally well to weekday business guests and weekend leisure and group travelers. Guest rooms will offer views of Saddleback Mountain, Laguna Canyon or Spectrum Center.
Guest rooms include technology features at the forefront of hotel design, including WiFi, big screen TVs with full connectivity and the ability to stream Netflix and Hulu without charge, convenience plugs, iPhone/iPod docking stations and more.
The new Irvine Spectrum Marriott will offer a variety of event and pre-function spaces to accommodate the needs of guests, as well as local businesses. A large rooftop lounge, featuring a full-service bar, offers unobstructed views of the Irvine Spectrum. The hotel will also feature more than 13,000 square feet of meeting and pre-function space, including a large event lawn. Both the rooftop lounge and event lawn are well-suited for corporate events, parties and weddings.
R.D. Olson Development began developing hotels in 1997 and has been especially active over the past five years, including the development of the Renaissance Clubsport, a full-service hotel in Aliso Viejo, California. Additional recent completions at Marriott brand hotels include Courtyard by Marriott hotels in Irvine, Oceanside and Goleta, California, and Maui, Hawaii; Residence Inn by Marriott in San Juan Capistrano, California; and Residence Inn by Marriott and Fairfield Inn & Suites hotels in Tustin, California. In December 2015, R.D. Olson Development received Marriott International’s most prestigious award, the Partnership Circle Award, to recognize the organization’s support of Marriott hotel brands and dedication to embodying the spirit of the company’s philosophy of providing outstanding customer service.
In a co-development with Pacific Hospitality Group, R.D. Olson Development is scheduled to complete Paséa Hotel & Spa, a 250-room upscale boutique hotel in Huntington Beach, California, at the master-planned Pacific City project in 2016. In spring of 2016 R.D. Olson Development is scheduled to complete the 200-room Residence Inn by Marriott in Wailea, Maui, Hawaii, and the 144-room Residence Inn by Marriott in Old Town Pasadena, California.
R.D. Olson Development recently broke ground on the 204-room Residence Inn by Marriott Silicon Valley in San Carlos, California. R.D. Olson Development and R.D. Olson Construction are planning to break ground on several other hospitality projects throughout California and Hawaii in Q1 2016, including the 130-room Lido House Hotel resort in Newport Beach, California, and the 118-room Residence Inn by Marriott Santa Barbara/Goleta in Goleta, California.
In addition to R. D. Olson Construction’s work with R.D. Olson Development, the Irvine-based general contractor recently completed work on the full-service Bicycle Hotel & Casino in the heart Bell Gardens, California. The firm is currently under construction on additional regional hospitality projects including the 94-room Hampton Inn & Suites in Glendale, California; the 161-room Homewood Suites in Irvine, California; and the 174-room Country Inn & Suites by Carlson in Anaheim, California.