Hotel proposal in Westlake Village
well-received––so far––by city council
By Michael Picarella
Acorn Staff Writer

Castle and Cooke, the architectural firm and affiliate of Westlake Village’s Dole Food Company, proposed more detailed plans for a first-class hotel and health spa to the Westlake Village City Council last week. Councilmembers looked at Dole’s preferred concept plan and four alternatives.

In October 1996, the council approved development of the Dole Food Company headquarters facility on a 29.92-acre site located at 5411 Lindero Canyon Road in Westlake Village. The 160,500 square-foot building sits on 10.26 acres of the lot and was to be the first phase of a larger office complex to come.

But since then, Castle and Cooke and ultimately Dole have proposed not only different office complex projects, but also a hotel on the remaining 19.66 acres of their land. Only recently did Castle and Cooke propose to build a hotel and health spa by itself, without an office complex.

"I know that the whole council is real excited about having a hotel," said Mayor Pro Tem Chris Mann.

But much work must be done before anyone breaks ground.

"The purpose of the concept review was just to get some feedback from the council about issues," said City Manager Ray Taylor.

"The concept review would not necessarily result in any action by the council … they wouldn’t make any decisions until there is more complete plans and an application filed."

One of the issues, according to City Councilman Mark Rutherford, is the height of the proposed hotel. Castle and Cooke’s main concept plan includes a 99-foot tall hotel and designs range downward to 79 feet high. The general height restriction throughout the city of Westlake Village is 35 feet, according to Taylor.

"That’s been exceeded in a number of locations," Taylor added, "including the Dole headquarters building, which is 51 feet in height."

Building plans that exceeded the restricted height in the past were approved because they were located in a business area, not residential location, sources said.

Dole’s preferred concept depicts a 280-room hotel, comprised of seven above-grade floors. The ground floor would include a lobby and registration area, one or more full-service restaurants, conference or banquet rooms, meeting rooms and other areas typical of quality hotels.

Also on the ground floor and below ground would be a health spa, which would feature a nutrition and fitness center, a pool, a health-oriented café, massage and facial treatment areas, and more.

The upper six floors would feature guest rooms and suites.

The design would mirror the U-shaped Dole headquarters building across the way, sources said.

Alternative designs include: a 253-room, six-story hotel, 89 feet high with a separate two-story spa including 32 additional suites; a 186-room, five-story hotel at 79 feet tall with a separate two-story spa including 32 additional suites; a 255-room, five-story hotel at 79 feet in height with a separate spa building including 32 extra suites; and a 287-room, five-story hotel, 79 feet tall with a separate spa building.

Each concept has a different design occupying a different footprint on the parcel.

Due to limited space for a parking lot, a parking structure would no doubt be included in each of the five concepts, sources said. And the architects would like to keep the structures at least 30 feet from Lindero Canyon Road to accommodate landscape screening.

Other items the council must consider before further action could take place include: traffic issues, a zone change from a business park to commercial, authorization of onsite sales and consumption of alcoholic beverages and more.

"I think we’re going to see some more revisions in the future," Mann said.

If the architects can create a design that meets requirements of the city, Rutherford said, he would most likely be in favor of the project. Traffic shouldn’t be a problem, Rutherford said.

Another hotel in the area would be a good source of revenue, Rutherford said. Mann agreed.

Cities often embrace hotels and motels because of the bed tax dollars they generate, without the heavy traffic associated with retail stores.