BY BRIAN HEWS
HMG-LCCN has learned that La Palma has signed an exclusive negotiation agreement with Eight88 Hospitality, the Mission Viejo-based developer whose manages several hotels and restaurants in Laguna Beach with a client list that includes the Queen Mary and Holiday Inn.
The agreement calls for buildings inside Centerpointe, at Valley View and Orangethorpe, to be replaced by 1,000 condominiums and a luxury hotel.
The five-year agreement allows the two to negotiate a proposal for renovating the 114-acre site, which is now a mix of offices and industrial parks.
Eight88 wants to create a mixed-use area that could feature four condominium towers and a 300-room hotel, with restaurants, shops, entertainment venues and a park. Eight88 also plans smaller restaurants and food truck areas.
“We are in the very early planning stages,” La Palma City Manager Laurie Murray told the OC Register. “We anticipate that negotiations will take a good three years, during which time we will not enter into talks with any other developers.”
According to Council staff report, Eight88 would pay La Palma $1 million per year for three years to offset revenue losses during construction.
Revenue projections when the project is finished is expected to be four times more than what is being collected now.
“This project would diversify our revenue and cement our fiscal sustainability,” Murray said.