The Orange County Register
03/01/16

Huntington Beach Hilton to Undergo $140 Million Expansion, Adding New Tower
By Hannah Madans

http://www.ocregister.com/articles/beach-706366-resort-waterfront.html

The Waterfront Beach Resort, a Hilton property in Huntington Beach, has completed a $140 million financing deal to add a suites-only tower.

Irvine-based Robert Mayer Corp. owns the 290-room resort. The changes will include a nine-story, 152 room all-suites resort tower, a restaurant, ocean-view lounge, pool deck and event lawn on an adjacent 3.5-acre parcel south of the existing hotel.

The project lender is Newport Beach-based Pacific Life Insurance Co. Davis Reed Construction Inc. will be the builder.

Existing public spaces also will undergo a makeover. The pool and pool deck will be rebuilt and a grab-and-go market will be added.

The project is expected to take about 18 months to complete.

“The expansion of The Waterfront Beach Resort will enable us to enhance our services and accommodations, and expand our contribution to tourism in Surf City USA, Huntington Beach, California,” said Robert L. Mayer, Jr., Chairman of The Mayer Corporation, in a statement.

The Waterfront Beach Resort is located at 21100 Pacific Coast Highway, just across the street from the Paséa Hotel & Spa, a much anticipated high-end hotel, which will open later this year.

Once completed, the Paséa will have 250 rooms and a Bali-inspired Aarna Spa.

The hotel will offer 34,000 square feet of event space, as well as dining options. Tanner’s, a signature restaurant, will serve fire-inspired coastal food. Tanner’s Treehouse, an outdoor bar, will also be on the property.

Alan Reay, president of Atlas Hospitality Group, an Irvine-based real estate company that specializes in hotels, said The Waterfront Beach Resort had talked about expanding for a long time, but is doing it now “to be competitive with the Paséa.”

“The economic fundamentals really work in favor of these projects today,” Reay said. “The financing is readily available at competitive rates, which is really leading to these new developments all over Orange County. And existing hotels are putting a lot of money back into renovation and re-fresh programs.”