Proposed Lodi hotel project inching forward
Construction on a proposed hotel and retail project eyed near the former General Mills plant may not happen until 2022, Lodi city officials said Wednesday night.
The Lodi City Council voted 3-0 to approve a professional services agreement with Basecamp, Inc., which will prepare an environmental impact review of 2201 W. Turner Road.
The 8.8-acre property, located across the street from the former plant and currently home to trees and a small power plant, could be the future home of the “Lake House” project proposed by developer Celia Hung.
The Lake House includes a four-story hotel with 92 suites, an 80-seat ground floor restaurant and 18,500 square feet of commercial space.
The hotel’s second story would feature a banquet room for about 240 guests, and a proposed parking garage and surface parking lots would provide a total of 220 spaces for customers.
In addition, the project proposes to create a residential apartment complex of 150 units with one to three bedrooms. Each unit could be as large as 1,700 square feet in size, and the complex would also include administrative offices, a lounge and gym, and an outdoor pool.
There would be 280 residential parking spaces, with 130 of those located under the complex and 30 on the surface for guests.
City Manager Steve Schwabauer said the environmental impact study to be completed by Basecamp, Inc. is necessary in order for the city council to ultimately consider whether or not to approve Hung’s proposal.
“The project will go through 3-6 months of review and come back to council to consider the process, and then after that she will be able to start submitting building plans,” he said. “It’s a ways out from actual construction, probably at least a year and a half before we would begin construction, probably longer.”
The total cost of services provided by Basecamp, Inc. will not exceed $104,224.25, according to Wednesday’s staff report.
The bulk of environmental work has already been completed, according to the staff report, and the fees for service cover document preparation.
According to the staff report, a draft environmental impact report will be submitted to the city on Jan. 16, and a 45-day public review period of the document will begin Feb. 16. A final EIR should be submitted by April 15, and the
Lodi Planning Commission will review the document in May. The council will review the EIR in June.
Councilman Mark Chandler said the existing power plant on the site may be problematic for the residential development element of the project, but noted Hung and the Northern California Power Authority have worked together to address any issues, primarily pertaining to sound.
“I’m really happy to see this project in the phase where it is because it’s such a fabulous location and the developer has expressed so much willingness to work with the city and work with NCPA,” he said. “We believe that (sound) issue can be mitigated, and it’s a very highend project that would generate a lot of wonderful tourism for our local economy. So I'm looking forward to the results of this (study) and hopefully it succeeds.”