Businessman Mo Honarkar, a Laguna Beach resident who’s among the city’s largest real estate owners, said last week he added seven new properties along South Coast Highway to his portfolio, including the iconic Hotel Laguna.
Honarkar’s Laguna Beach Co., a locally-based real estate investment firm, said last week it closed on a long-term land lease agreement that gives his firm control of all but one building between Laguna Avenue and Legion Street in the Central Bluffs neighborhood of the city, all along Coast Highway.
Financial terms of the deal made with Porterville-based E.W. Merritt Farms—which owns the underlying land that the buildings are located on—were not immediately disclosed.
The six properties consist of a mix of commercial, residential and hotel properties.
The most prominent building Honarkar is taking over is Hotel Laguna, a 64-room property next to the Main Beach Park in the heart of downtown Laguna.
It’s one of the oldest and best-known buildings in the city, its roots dating back to the 1880s. Its current structure was reportedly built around 1930.
It was last run by Andersen Hotels Inc., a Laguna Beach-based firm that had operated Hotel Laguna for more than 30 years. Its contract ended around the end of 2017.
The Hotel Laguna property includes restaurants, meeting space and wedding facilities. It’s been closed for about a year, after a prior group of locals—businessmen Joe Hanauer and James “Walkie” Ray, and filmmaker Greg MacGillivray—failed to come to terms with Merritt Farms over a long-term operating deal.
Honarkar said the hotel is “an important component to our local economy and we look forward to restoring it to its former glory.” He said he’ll be “working with the artists and local small businesses in the area, hear their thoughts and concerns and support them through the transition.”
The new owners are “passionate about creating projects and opportunities in our hometown to encourage a sustainable future and foster our unique creative culture,” he said.
Honarkar also heads 4G Ventures, an Irvine-based firm that was initially focused on wireless services but in recent years has built a sizeable commercial real estate and hospitality portfolio, with much of its holdings in Laguna Beach.
The Laguna Beach resident’s other holdings include the Royal Hawaiian restaurant in Laguna Beach, as well as the Seven-Degrees event venue at 891 Laguna Canyon Road, a well-known wedding spot.
