Rejuvenation sought for an old hotel: Well-known Peninsula hotelier proposes revitalization for an aging San Mateo lodge

The aging Los Prados Hotel at 2940 S. Norfolk St., a Best Western brand offering about 120 rooms, has been slated for redevelopment for years. After property owner Founders Investment Corp. switched architects and revamped the proposal, the Planning Commission will hold a study session Monday, Feb. 27.

Now, the plans submitted in January will eventually need City Council approval as the new proposal has increased to constructing a single five-story building with 182 rooms and 142 parking spaces. A prior 2015 proposal suggested a four-story structure with 158 rooms atop the oddly shaped 2.3-acre lot currently hosting three buildings spanning two to three stories.

Peninsula hotelier Solomon Tsai, managing director of United Pacific Hotel Group, is driving the revamp and is well known in the area as a proprietor of four existing or under-construction hotels in San Mateo and Foster City.

He said the Los Prados property near the intersection of Highway 101 and Hillsdale Boulevard has outlived its useful life, and a new 182-room Hampton Inn and Suites is now planned to attract the modern business traveler.

“There’s definitely a strong demand, ever since 2011-2012 after the recovery from 2008 slump. But overall, the Bay Area, especially Silicon Valley, which we are not at the heart of, but we are like the tertiary market. We also have very strong companies here like Visa, Franklin Templeton, Gilead, Oracle just to name a few; Kaiser, Bank of America, SolarCity; there’s quite a bit of companies in this 92/101 corridor,” Tsai said.

Neighboring Belmont has two new hotels in the works near Highway 101, and Tsai is driving the 121-room TownePlace Suites, Extended Stay Hotel in Foster City expected to open later this year.

The community and Planning Commission will be given a chance to weigh in on the new proposal next week before a range of studies — including on parking, traffic and an environmental review — are prepared, said Tricia Schimpp, San Mateo’s senior contract planner.

Tsai is seeking a variance to allow a height increase to 55 feet, which is allowed but requires City Council approval, but the taller building will reduce the footprint of the structure, she noted.

The last 55-foot proposal the city received was to create a five-story housing complex known as Hillsdale Terrace; which was very controversial but the City Council ultimately approved this year.

A neighborhood meeting and commission study session on Tsai’s project was held in years past on the smaller proposal, and although the public had age-old concerns, there was an interest in seeing the outdated Los Prados Hotel revived, she said.

“Most people seemed to be supportive of having an updated hotel there. The city does need hotels. There is concern about traffic always in the area because traffic is already a problem there. So we will be having traffic studies, circulation studies, parking analysis, all done as part of the project,” she said.

Tsai noted during the prior meetings he was actually encouraged by planning commissioners to consider a taller building, which prompted them to redesign their proposal.

Tsai’s group is also seeking a variance to reduce the number of parking spaces needed for the hotel. Per city codes, a total of 184 parking spaces would be required, but the proposal suggests just 146 on-site spaces, Schimpp said. However, transportation demand management plans will be outlined as part of the traffic study, she said.

During his 40-year career, Tsai said he often finds hotels are “over parked,” with many spaces sitting vacant. They also run a shuttle service between the airport and all of their hotels, that are in a relatively small vicinity, which greatly reduces the number of single vehicle trips and parked cars. Most of his business customers don’t have cars and are employees of airlines with which he contracts, such as flight attendants or pilots from San Francisco International Airport there for short-term stays. Plus, he noted, many businesses travelers use ride-share and taxi services, or are picked up by colleagues, he said.

He also suggested the city, which currently receives about $500,000 from Los Prados Hotel through its 12 percent transient occupancy tax, could nearly double that if a newer facility were created.

The proposed hotel is geared toward those visiting for work, and Schimpp noted San Mateo planning documents have considered additional hotels.

“Our General Plan does encourage more hotels and most of the hotels or motels are pretty outdated. So there is a need to have updated modern hotels and this one is the business-type model. It will not be like a convention center or have banquet facilities or a restaurant. It’s not a destination hotel, it’s for the business person,” she said, adding the next step would be for the commission to review the studies. “There’s a whole process so the public can have input too.”

The Planning Commission meets 7:30 p.m. Monday Feb. 27 at City Hall, 330 W. 20th Ave., San Mateo.

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