Manchester debuts plans for 36-story bay-view hotel that would be one of the largest in San Diego
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Two years after selling off much of its 12-acre site downtown, Manchester Financial Group will soon submit plans for a 1,150-room hotel near Broadway and Pacific Highway.
Developer Doug Manchester, who is responsible for building San Diego’s single biggest hotel, is close to submitting plans for a new 36-story, 1,150-room hotel tower that would be located just a block from the downtown waterfront.
While a large convention hotel was always destined for what is a Navy-owned site going back more than 30 years ago, it was only in the last few years that the Manchester Financial Group began working on — and designing — the current $550 million project.
It will also likely be the last big hotel development undertaken by the 80-year-old Manchester, says Ted Eldredge, president of the financial group. Manchester developed the 1,628-room Manchester Grand Hyatt near the city’s bayfront convention center, as well as the Fairmont Grand Del Mar in Carmel Valley. He no longer owns either one.
What remains a big unknown is whether Manchester Financial will be able to secure financing and an equity partner in the current economic environment of rapidly escalating interest rates and construction costs.
The near-term plan, Eldredge said, is to submit plans to the city of San Diego some time in November for the purpose of eventually obtaining building permits. If Manchester Financial Group is successful in securing financing next year, the hotel could potentially be under construction by the very end of 2023 or early 2024, Eldredge estimates.
He expects that construction would take about 30 months.
Manchester Financial is currently in talks with a luxury hotel chain to operate the property, he added.
Designing the new hotel is San Diego-based Gensler, which describes the look as a contemporary design, with Art Deco and mid-century modern influences. The all-glass facade is accented with bronze and gold tones, and the lower level of the structure has a creamy limestone exterior. Interior spaces are embellished with plush blue fabrics, backlit crystal and large-scale art installations.
The more contemporary look is a definite change of pace for Manchester, whose previous projects bespoke a more old world grandeur with heavier, more ornate furnishings.
“We wanted to create a sense of place unique to the waterfront, so the design relates to our climate in terms of having meeting space and restaurants and bars that open to the outdoors and spill out onto the plaza and the park, so it’s not just glass walls,” said J. Kevin Heinly, a managing director with Gensler. “The use of bronze metals and their warmth harken back to art deco, and the bronze cap on top of the building will be illuminated. So bronze is used throughout the project, whether it’s decorative metal around the elevators or in the restaurants and bars.”
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