IMPERIAL BEACH PROJECT GAINING MOMENTUM
Mixed-use development at El Camino Motel site delayed for several years
A mixed-use hotel and apartment development where a famous Imperial Beach motel once stood has been stalled for years, but new property owners say they can now bring the project to fruition.
Developer Addison Technology Properties recently obtained a City Council-approved extension to start building the foundation of the project, dubbed Blue Wave.
Builders plan to transform a vacant lot into a mixed-use, Z-shaped complex with 47 hotel rooms, 51 residential units, more than 100 parking spaces and nearly 7,000 square feet of commercial space.
The site, composed of three parcels on the north side of state Route 75 near Seventh Street, was once home to El Camino Motel. HBO’s short-lived 2007 surf-drama series “John From Cincinnati” was filmed there. The motel opened in the 1960s and ceased operations in 2006.
Repeated building code violations and crime at the motel prompted its demolition in 2012. The site has since sat vacant.
A father-son development company then came up with Blue Wave. The idea of having a mixed-use development was that the apartments would take some of the pressure off the hotel during the offseason.
City Council members approved the proposal in 2019, but plans were delayed by the pandemic. Last year, the development company filed for bankruptcy “with the intention of either refinancing or selling all parcels” and sold the property for an estimated $4 million to Addison Technology, according to court documents. The property had previously been marketed for at least three years with no real offers.
Addison owner Ed Fleming said he secured the property on Jan. 9 through foreclosure.
The extension granted Jan. 18 gives Addison six months to “vet the property,” meaning developers will have to obtain building permits, install a foundation and have it inspected, said Deputy City Manager Tyler Foltz.
Mayor Paloma Aguirre urged Fleming to stay on track with the development because “it’s a project many of us have been anticipating (for) almost four years.”
Council members said the project will turn around an area of the city that needs blossoming, add more housing, and boost its hotel room inventory — a goal the city has prioritized to boost its tourism industry.
Fleming told the City Council he is committed to advancing the project. He hopes to start the landgrading process in the summer.