Pacific Grove council OKs plan for hotel near Holman site

A revamped proposal for a hotel in downtown Pacific Grove by developer Nader Agha received a guardedly favorable review by members of the Pacific Grove City Council.

[Dan Miller]

Who elected Robert Huitt? That's right nobody. Who really cares what his opinion is or if he has to be convinced. The reason the City is in debt? Robert Huitt and the Council he served on for eight years. Why wasn't he asking questions about the size of Forest Hill Manor when he was on the Council. I want anybody to drive by it and tell me how it fits in with the surrounding area. Bob Huitt indeed.

[George]

Without including the original building into the development plans I do not understand how he can proceed. The idea is to save the Holman Building not just build a separate hotel. I agree with Bob it seems too big for the site and PG

[Bob Loblaw]

Hey Carmel Valley incorporation supporters - take note: "cash-starved city" and "development". See how those two things go hand-in-hand? Dummies.

[PGjack]

This would be a dramatic change for PG downtown. Probably a change for the good. But our sleepy little downtown would be gone.

[albert shark]

History? Since when does that matter. Size DOES mean everything.

[Mr_PG]

There are plenty of hotels, inns, and motels in Pacific Grove. Another is not needed. I think Agha is not telling all the truth. The Holman building has plenty of life left, he is either cheap or won't remodel the inside of the building. Attracting a major tennant to the building is what he needs to do. Like a Fry's Electronics for instance. It would be something people would drive to and shop, thus benefiting the other busineses in PG.

[Joe]

Next time maybe the City will listen to the Committee and hire a professional golf organization

[Susie Q]

This proposal deserves to be considered. One of the main draws to PG is the fact that businesses are locally owned and not part of chains stores that can be found anywhere. PG would be wise to place something like this in town and focus on small privately owned business that will draw people not looking for the generic city experiences. The mall in Monterey is close enough. The size does seem to be a problem, but I imagine it was presented this way expecting to be pared down.

[I approve this comment]

Once the hotel is built, Agha will push to tear down Holman's. That has been his greedy plan all along.

[pgobserver]

"he described the existing store building as "an old building at the end of its economic life." His attempts to remodel it and attract tenant retail businesses, Agha said, have not been successful"

He hasn't tried to remodel it, he has pimped it out with a detracting monarch window, rust-leaking bas reliefs on the side depicting Victorian buildings, the most hideous antenna/flagpole imaginable, and a couple of his famous large animal sculptures on the sidewalk. A real class act!

By all means, let's put the economic future of PG in Agha's hands.(That's sarcasm.)

Meanwhile, cracks near the base on Grand Avenue get longer,

[Dan Miller]

Mr_PG wrote:

There are plenty of hotels, inns, and motels in Pacific Grove. Another is not needed. I think Agha is not telling all the truth. The Holman building has plenty of life left, he is either cheap or won't remodel the inside of the building. Attracting a major tennant to the building is what he needs to do. Like a Fry's Electronics for instance. It would be something people would drive to and shop, thus benefiting the other busineses in PG.

A Fry;s Electronics? Are you kidding me? As if PG could support such a business. Let's get real folks. The people who have served on the Council and the City Managers atached have allowed the economy of the City to suffer long before the economy as a whole. I have said for years, keep allowing the spending to happen and the day will come when the previously thought to be abhorrent will become acceptable. It seems the day has arrived.

[Robert]

All this so the city can spend another $1.7 million/year? Let's cut costs before we move on this. Did you hear that the city is now in debt for $38 million to CALPERS? And it is growing every year. Nice work!

[Iconoclast]

Not all old buildings are created equal. Many of PG’s old downtown buildings are beautiful and should be celebrated and preserved, but the Holmans building is an ugly old relic. Look at the turd – you can tell that it was once a one-or-two story building that was added onto in a hap-hazard way. It has plumbing piping exposed on the outside of the building. It’s just a crappy old dump of a building that should be torn down and replaced with something modern and useful.

[Nick]

Are we focusing on the PG Hotel while neglecting the tens of millions of dollars that PG owes. This is another pipe dream that may never get approved. Small town compatibility, Water Credits, Coastal Commission, State regulations, Marine Sanctuary anyone?

However, this topic seems much more interesting than talking about how to rectify recent council decisions on: the excessive Fire Dept. Deal, police raises, underfunded library and the elephant -expensive CALPERS contract.

At best the hotel is years away. We need to solve the budget problems this year.

[nobama]

Nick wrote:

Are we focusing on the PG Hotel while neglecting the tens of millions of dollars that PG owes. This is another pipe dream that may never get approved. Small town compatibility, Water Credits, Coastal Commission, State regulations, Marine Sanctuary anyone?
However, this topic seems much more interesting than talking about how to rectify recent council decisions on: the excessive Fire Dept. Deal, police raises, underfunded library and the elephant -expensive CALPERS contract.
At best the hotel is years away. We need to solve the budget problems this year.

Good ness knows we have the minds of the council that can do it. With them and the new city manager/property manager, we will be out of the wods in no time.

[Nick]

If I do the math right; 300-450 rooms = 500-675 cars + 750 - 1,100 people in town.
Take a look at Carmel. The business property owners will be able to raise rents and attract a better class of shops. Good bye resale and pet stores.