CH Projects, responsible for the recent transformation of the historic Lafayette Hotel on El Cajon Boulevard, will need a variance from the City Council to overcome objections from the San Diego Airport Authority
Fresh off his $31 million transformation of San Diego's Lafayette hotel into a mega dining and hospitality destination, restaurateur Arsalun Tafazoli has set his sights on a Little Italy block where his company wants to develop a boutique hotel, offices and wellness center.
Trouble is, San Diego airport officials say the project planned for the northeast corner of Kettner Boulevard and West Juniper Street is incompatible with land use regulations adopted 10 years ago to increase safety in neighborhoods under the flight path in the event of a possible plane crash. Undeterred, Tafazoli's company, CH Projects, has filed an appeal in hopes that it can persuade the San Diego City Council to override the determination made by the San Diego County Regional Airport Authority. San Diego's Development Services Department this week published a notice that an 'overrule hearing' has been requested so that the project can effectively deviate from the maximum land use intensity designated for the planned project. CH Projects is hoping for a hearing in April or May, said land use consultant Marcela Escobar-Eck, president of San Diego-based Atlantis Group, which is advising the developer. 'The bottom line is we feel that what we are asking for is consistent and compatible with the people-per-acre distribution that already exists in that community, and we're not exacerbating that situation out there,' said Escobar-Eck, who for many years worked in San Diego's Development Services Department. 'We are essentially filling in a doughnut hole to provide valuable community uses for that area.' Because the project — dubbed Dreamboat — is still in the very early stages of planning, there aren't a lot of details. What is known is that in addition to a hotel, wellness center and possible rooftop garden, CH intends to make the half-acre Little Italy site its corporate headquarters. Also planned are two restaurants and underground parking, with all uses occupying 43,090 square feet on 0.57 acres, according to an Airport Authority report. 'The focus is on this being our base. That was the idea, that it will be our long-term permanent home,' Tafazoli said. 'This will also be our first ground-up building and our first project that won’t revolve around food or drinks.' CH is best known for its large portfolio of popular restaurants — among them, Born & Raised and Ironside, both in Little Italy — and distinctive bars like the speakeasy Raised by Wolves and False Idol. More recently, it debuted in June an ambitious makeover of the Lafayette, which, when its final phase is completed later this year, will have seven new restaurants and bars. Last year, an LLC formed by Tafazoli called Inside Voice, acquired six properties on Kettner, Juniper and India at the northern end of Little Italy at a cost of $13 million, according to the commercial real estate firm CoStar. Among them are a couple of single-family homes and smaller commercial buildings. Atlantis confirmed that all six parcels would be incorporated into the project, if approved. In a letter last month explaining why the Dreamboat project would violate existing airport land use regulations, Airport Planning Manager Ralph Redman said that the development's height is not an issue nor are its expected noise levels. What is a problem, Redman concluded, is the intensity of the uses. The hotel, for instance, cannot have more than 32 rooms, and the wellness center is too large as well under the airport's rules. 'The office and restaurants are additional uses, and the ALUCP does not consider any additional uses for a hotel within Safety Zone 2 to be compatible. Therefore, the proposed project is not compatible with the safety zone use limitations of the ALUCP,' the Airport Authority concluded in what is considered an advisory finding. Sjohnna Knack, director of Planning & Environmental Affairs for the airport, pointed out in an interview that the location of the project is in what is considered a more sensitive safety zone because it falls directly under the flight arrival path at the end of the runway, so 'it has a pretty low threshold for density.' The area where CH would like to build its new hotel is also located in a slightly quieter part of Little Italy where there are smaller commercial storefronts. But it's also fairly close to larger dining destinations like Crack Shack, Juniper & Ivy, and Herb & Wood, which all draw significant volumes of people. The Little Italy Association, for one, is supporting the Dreamboat project, said Marco Li Mandri, the association's chief executive manager. 'Over the past 20 years, Kettner Boulevard in Little Italy has transformed from an older industrial area to an excellent office, retail and restaurant corridor,' he said. 'The proposal from Arsalun Tafazoli is exactly what the corner of Kettner and Juniper needs. 'Though the FAA is doing their best to ensure that incidents don’t happen in the flight path, the Laurel Parking center, which is five stories and sits at the corner of Laurel and Kettner, poses a much greater obstacle to landings than a project that is at least 600 feet to the south of Laurel and Kettner.' Manny Rodriguez, who chairs the Downtown Community Planning Council, is equally enthusiastic about the prospects of a new Little Italy hotel and offices. 'Arsalun has a solid track record of transforming unimpressive properties into vibrant gathering spaces, whereas the airport has been a challenging entity to work with in downtown,' said Rodriguez, who was speaking for himself and not the planning council. 'I personally look forward to 2345 Kettner becoming a vibrant gathering space that attracts downtown residents and visitors. It's my hope that this transformation will extend to its neighboring properties, which are woefully underutilized right now.' The Dreamboat development is not the first time Tafazoli has had to overcome objections from the Airport Authority over a Little Italy project. Eight years ago, the airport's land use rules threatened to kill plans to transform the former Nelson Photo into what is now Born & Raised because officials concluded that occupancy of the 8,000-square-foot space could only be 84 diners, compared with the more than 130 that were planned. CH ultimately prevailed when the City Council, in an 8-1 vote, cleared the way for the restaurant, overruling the airport's objections. Mayor Todd Gloria, who was then on the City Council, said at the time, 'This really doesn’t pass the common sense test. A significant amount of money and time had to be spent on this, and this is why sometimes people are skeptical of government.”
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