New hotel planned for 101 Freeway
near Malibu Canyon Road

Staybridge Suites by Holiday Inn

A new 100-room hotel would soon provide services to numerous Calabasas companies, Pepperdine University and other guests spending time along the 101 Freeway corridor from Thousand Oaks to Calabasas, according to Steve Morse, executive director at the Calabasas-based Johnston Group.

The company would build the project that Morse expects Los Angeles County to approve in the next month, he said.

Staybridge Suites by Holiday Inn, which would be located on Agoura Road in unincorporated Los Angeles County, is a plan that’s been in the works for about four or five months, Morse said. Several other hotel chains were looking for a location in this area, he said. The Johnston Group, a real estate investment and management firm that’s been around since 1962, took advantage of the situation.

"There was a lack of similar type facilities around here," Morse said.

The hotel is to be a part of TJG’s office complex in Calabasas, according to Johnston Group officials. It would be situated on the last remaining parcel in the Corporate Center at Malibu Canyon, fronting the 101 Freeway, between the Malibu Canyon and Lost Hills ramps.

"There is the added benefit of appealing to the traveling public for weekend stays, as the hotel will be providing regular shuttle service to the beaches in Malibu," said Cal Johnston, chairman of the Johnston Group.

The hotel would include studio, one-bedroom and two-bedroom suites, a breakfast/great room, a pool and sports courts. Conference and meeting rooms will also be added to serve guests of local businesses.

"We are looking to provide the finest all-suite lodging between Woodland Hills and the Oxnard plain," Johnston said.

A firm date hasn’t been established for completion of the hotel, but Morse said he predicts it will be open for business toward the end of 2004.

––Michael Picarella