Hotel Sequoia rehab plans OK’d in Redwood City

Commissioners voted 5-0 to grant Sequoia Main Street LLC, the applicant behind the Hotel Sequoia renovation plans, the necessary permits and approvals it needed to move forward with construction. Commissioner Kimberly Koch recused herself from the discussion because she lives near the site and Commissioner Rudy Espinoza Murray was absent from the meeting. 

Hotel Sequoia renovation plans include the expansion of the site from a 23,835-square-foot, 53-room hotel turned single room occupancy housing site into a 71,452-square-foot, 82-room boutique hotel. Three additional floors would be added to the hotel, creating space for more rooms and a rooftop penthouse, bar and event space. A new basement level would also be constructed to house a dining and meeting room, fitness area, wine room and other utility uses. 

Owning and renovating the historic hotel has been a longtime dream for Alyn Beals, CEO and co-founder of the development firm Beals Martin, said Dani Gasparini, his wife, a former Redwood City mayor, and one of the many brains behind the rehabilitation plans.   

“The project has never been about developing a building. It has always been about restoring an iconic building to the glory it was once talked about in the early 1900s, a grand hotel,” Gasparini said. “We wanted to make sure we brought this hotel back from a place it had been forgotten and maybe underutilized in some cases.” 

The hotel was first built on a 12,035-square-foot lot at the corner of Main Street and Broadway in 1912 and was marketed as a grand hotel until the 1950s, Gasparini said, noting that’s when she believes the hotel began to be used for more long-term housing. 

Most recently, 18 people called the site home, some for decades, Gasparini said. All have been relocated, she said, with the help of a consultant hired by Sequoia Main Street LLC who offered assistance over a span of about 18 months. Some have remained in Redwood City, receiving support through local housing nonprofit HIP Housing, while others moved out of the area, Gasparini said. 

Ground floor commercial spaces are still being occupied by a tobacco retailer, vacuum and sewing retailer, nail salon, convenience store and a butcher shop. Those shops will be replaced by a restaurant fronting Broadway, a small retail space fronting Main Street and a remodeled foyer and bar at the corner entrance. The ground floor would also have a kitchen, reception and office area and a central meeting room with a skylight and light well extending the full height of the building. 

Once operational, the hotel is expected to bring in about $1.1 million worth of tax revenue into the city. Gasparini could not publicly announce the name of the company that will run the site given that the parties haven’t signed an agreement but described the likely partner as “local and fabulous.” 

Beyond the retail and aesthetic improvements, Glenn Babbitt, a member of the Historic Resources Advisory Committee, said the proposal offers a key opportunity for the city to protect a historic structure given that the plans would include retrofitting the site. 

“I feel a sense of urgency. I feel we’re very lucky to still have an unreinforced masonry building, 100 years old, still standing and I think our opportunity for historic preservation could be lost at any moment knowing California’s geography,” said Babbitt, noting that while he supported the project as a committee member, he also supports it as a resident. 

A handful of business owners neighboring the site and people familiar with Gasparini also came out in support of the project despite the years of construction they’ll have to endure before the space is opened. Gasparini said she and the project team plan to work closely with neighboring businesses and residents to establish “meaningful solutions” for dealing with the commotion. 

Commissioners agreed with Babbitt and other project supporters, praising the project’s listed amenities they say will help revitalize the area and aging structure, and those behind it for approaching the project and relocating former residents with care. 

“It’s a really fantastic project,” Commissioner Isabella Chu said. “The two words I really came up with were love and respect. It’s just such clearly a labor of love.”