Give Now
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
Available On Air Stations
  • Full Schedule
Watch Live

Major Developer Says Condo Hotel Trend is Over

By Alison St John / Reporter,  KPBS Public Broadcasting
Published March 17, 2008 at 11:29 AM PDT
This story was published more than 16 years ago.

Up and down San Diego's coast line, developers have been fighting the Coastal Commission to get permits to build so-called "condo hotels." But now, one of San Diego's major developers says the condo h

Up and down San Diego's coast line, developers have been fighting the Coastal Commission to get permits to build so-called "condo hotels." But now, one of San Diego's major developers says the condo hotel trend is over. KPBS reporter Alison St John has more.

Developers originally liked combining condo ownership with hotel rooms because it helped them get up-front financing for major projects.

But the California Coastal Commission has dug in its heels, saying condo hotels are a way of introducing private ownership along the coast, where public access should be the priority.

Advertisement
Become a KPBS sponsor

San Diego developer Doug Manchester proposed one of the biggest condo hotel projects on the waterfront downtown.

But Manchester spokesman Perry Dealy says the developer no longer plans to include condos in his project.

Dealy : The age of the condo hotel has come to a screeching halt. Doesn't mean that there won’t be some projects but by and large they are being eliminated from new project development, they are eliminating the condo component from the hotel.

Dealy says the liability of dissatisfied condo owners turned out to be greater than the benefits of up front financing. He says lenders are now shying away from such developments.

Dealy argues that Manchester's waterfront development does not need a Coastal Commission Permit because the permit was already granted in 1992.

Advertisement
Become a KPBS sponsor

The Coastal Commission disagrees and has not yet issued its decision on the project.

Alison St John, KPBS News.

Alison St John
Alison St John currently serves as a general assignment reporter and occasionally co-hosts KPBS Midday Edition. She fell in love with KPBS Radio when she arrived in San Diego in 1985 and first heard NPR. She has been a voice on KPBS Radio since 1989, and has served as a news reporter for radio, TV and the web, as well as anchoring, hosting, producing and editing. Alison has reported on stories about North County and was based in the KPBS' North County Bureau. Alison covered the metro beat during the critical period of the San Diego City pension crisis, and the education beat while Alan Bersin was the controversial Superintendent of San Diego City School District. She covered health when the industry was converting to managed care and told welfare reform stories in the late 1990s when Clinton was “ending welfare as we know it.” She has covered land use issues extensively, looking at the challenges of meeting a growing population while preserving community character, and developing a better transportation system to meet environmental concerns. She has done many stories on the military in San Diego, and the series she edited on the challenges veterans face returning from active duty to civilian life won “Best of Show” from the San Diego Society of Professional Journalists. She occasionally hosts the KPBS Roundtable and KPBS Midday Edition. Alison has won awards from the San Diego Press Club, the Society of Professional Journalists, the Associated Press TV and Radio Association, and the California Golden Mike Awards. Alison was born in Tanzania, brought up in Scotland, and earned her degree in psychology and sociology from Durham University in England. Her postgraduate diploma is in student counseling. She worked in England, Nigeria, Switzerland, Belgium, India, and Japan before moving to the United States in 1981. She now lives in Oceanside and enjoys how her community is growing and changing.
More News