On the water -- Working on the Inn

June Casagrande

After what seems like a long time of waiting quietly and quaintly by

the sea, there may soon be some activity at the Balboa Inn.

Owners of the landmark hotel on the water on the peninsula, a staple

sight to Balboa Peninsula beach goers, have long planned for a face-lift

and expansion on the 1929 structure.

The hotel, placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1986,

will get an added 2,000 square feet of retail shops, 11 high-end guest suites and a 24-car parking garage as part of the $1.5-million

rejuvenation. The work will coincide with the city’s $8.8-million

improvements in the area on everything from parking to pedestrian

walkways.

“We’ve just received today the final conditions of Coastal Commission.

So we are now in the process of choosing an architect,” Raymond Pabusa, a

representative of the Balboa Inn, told City Council members on Tuesday.

Of course, until the architect puts blue ink to paper, possibly as

soon as this week, the new face of the inn will remain abstract. But,

according to Pabusa’s report, the end of the waiting and wondering could

be in sight: The Planners are hoping that construction will begin before

year-end.

“We are still in the planning process,” Pabusa said.

The project has been controversial because some officials and

opponents say it will obstruct scenic views of Newport Harbor. In

January, the Coastal Commission disagreed with this idea, voting against

their staff’s recommendation to allow the work to move ahead.

And many local leaders agreed that the work would be a boon to the

whole area. Among them were Newport Beach Mayor Tod Ridgeway and Newport

Beach Chamber of Commerce President Richard Luehrs, who said in January:

“It deserves a face-lift and expansion.”