Coastal Commission approved a local private development group’s plans to redevelop the restaurant—located on a bluff on Green lantern Street that overlooks the harbor—into a 100-room resort, now with a new environmental focus.
The green light comes more than a year after the commission rejected the initial plans submitted by the group—made up of architect Joe Lancor and businessman Steve McGillin—largely due to a lack of lower cost rooms included in the hotel’s proposal.
Eco Focus
The new plans designate 25 of the 100 rooms to be more affordable at about $130 per night.
In addition to the more budget-friendly inclusion, the developers made several eco-friendly additions, including paying for employees to take public transportation and incentives for those who carpool; storm capture and drought-resistant landscaping; and electric vehicle charging stations.
The 10,000-square-foot Cannons closed in 2019 and will be replaced by a nearly 45,000-square-foot, five-story structure, city filings indicate.
Amenities include a café, spa and a 1,600-square-foot restaurant.
Hotel Wave
A handful of other hotel projects are in various stages of development in Dana Point, including a boutique project by Newport Beach-based Berk Development that will go up on land next to the Strand at Headlands residential community.
The 35,000-square-foot project, called The Wave, is projected to hold 57 rooms.
Berk Development received approval from the city in 2017 to begin construction on the 1.4-acre project. It will also include 4,000 square feet of restaurant space, 2,851 square feet of outdoor dining, an 800-square-foot visitor center and a 52-bed hostel.
The developer is also planning to build the Main Strand Hotel, a 90-key, 110,750-square-foot luxury hotel not far from the Wave.
Another pair of hotels built by R.D. Olson Development are slated to open as part of the highly-anticipated Dana Point Harbor renovation plan that’s valued well in excess of $300 million.
The overhaul of the county-owned property, led by Olson and two other Newport Beach real estate firms—Burnham Ward Properties and Bellwether Financial Group—will also include the addition of new restaurants and shops to the area, in addition to a marina and other improvements.
