A $5 million room redo and a new brand for the former Avenue of the Arts Wyndham Hotel in Costa Mesa mark the latest upscale moves in a section of the city’s South Coast Metro district anchored by Segerstrom Center for the Arts.
The hotel will be renamed “Avenue of the Arts, a Tribute Portfolio Hotel,” with the change set for the end of this month.
Tribute is a boutique brand launched by Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide Inc. in April. It aims for “lifestyle” customers, typically younger and said to be seeking upscale, contemporary settings and experiences.
“Tribute is going to resonate with the Millennials,” said Alan Reay, president of hotel consultant Atlas Hospitality Group in Irvine.
Starwood markets Tribute—the 10th brand in the Stamford, Conn.-based hotel owner and operator’s fold—with a “Stay Independent” slogan.
The hotel is “accessible to John Wayne Airport, the beach, shopping, freeways and a central business district, and we want to elevate all that,” said Paul Sanford, general manager. “Our guest likes exquisite, unique experiences with walkability to the arts.”
The Segerstrom Center fills that bill, and nearby South Coast Plaza puts a world-renowned retail lineup within walking distance from the hotel.
Rooms at the Avenue of the Arts hotel were recently listed on its website from $219 to $294 per night.
Rooms at a Tribute hotel in Miami Beach start at about $209 and run to $499, according to its website.
“In that location—and what’s going on in the area—the result is going to be a much hipper hotel,” Reay said.
Development
Projects in the area stand to get a boost from the renovation of the public plaza at the Segerstrom Center, and the eventual addition of a new home for the Orange County Museum of Art next door.
Rosanna Inc., an affiliate of Hong Kong developer Wincome Group, paid $21 million for the Avenue of the Arts hotel and a vacant parcel at a 2009 foreclosure auction.
The company’s plans currently call for a luxury condominium on the adjacent land.
The hotel’s pending upgrade and switch to Starwood’s Tribute flag will come less than 18 months after a $16 million full-scale renovation of the property concluded.
That makeover brought the hotel its first AAA Four Diamond rating last year.
Sanford said Starwood wants Rosanna to upgrade furniture and other elements of the hotel’s 238 rooms, including 35 suites that are being reconfigured.
Rooms are set to have new hardwood floors, granite bathrooms, and a funky fusion of art nouveau and art deco design elements, Starwood said in a statement.
Rooms are expected to come out of service in stages until work is finished in the spring.
Homes
Sanford said the 23-story, 100-unit luxury condo tower and a six-story, 422-space parking structure for which Rosanna Inc. filed plans with the city this spring aren’t ready to go yet.
An existing three-story parking structure would be demolished under those plans, possibly affecting room counts at Avenue of the Arts for a time. For-sale condos would run 900 to 2,650 square feet; a completion date of 2018 was set, filings said.
Also on tap for the area is a five-story, 250-unit upscale apartment project to replace a 23,000-square-foot retail center across from the Segerstrom Center.
Foster City Legacy Partners Residential Inc. closed on the 2-acre parcel for $21.3 million in April.
The developer has said the project will cost about $100 million to build.
A second midrise, high-end apartment project is planned nearby on land owned by Santa Ana-based Sakioka Co.
Another hotel in the area, the Westin South Coast Plaza, completed a $20 million renovation this year and plans work on its restaurant and common areas.
It gets guests from traveling troupes performing at Segerstrom to add to its bread-and-butter, midweek business traveler and weekend family guests.
Arts Garden
A strong stone’s throw from the soon-to-be renamed Tribute hotel and residential projects is a 1.6-acre parcel planned since about 2008 as the new home of the art museum.
The museum has been negotiating with multifamily developer Related California to sell the 2 acres it now sits on at Newport Center near Fashion Island.
The land could be worth as much as $20 million if Related can develop condominiums there, but offices are possible. And the Irvine Company, owner of much of the nearby land, which holds office buildings, has previously been rumored as a bidder if Related’s plans fall through.
A spokesperson for the museum said discussions with Related continue, and the museum expects to have its new building in Costa Mesa up and ready for occupancy by 2019.
The renovation of the Segerstrom Center’s plaza, meanwhile, will get under way, thanks to a gift from George and Julia Argyros. Plans call for a cafe and a stage for regular public performances, among other new features.
