A six-story Hilton Garden Inn could be the ninth hotel to come to the Huntington Drive corridor if plans announced by an Orange County-based developer are successful.
Construction will start in October on two four-story hotels on North Second Avenue. The Hilton Garden Inn and Fairfield Suites were given final approval by City Council Tuesday.
An armed robbery Wednesday led to an all-night standoff with the police when the two suspects fled to an Arcadia home and held resident Pat Plumley hostage.
The addition of a new hotel on the corner of Second Avenue and Santa Clara Street in Arcadia would bring an additional 159 rooms to an area which already boasts eight hotels along a one mile stretch of the Huntington Drive corridor.
Ground-breaking ceremonies were held on January 22 to celebrate the start of construction of two new Arcadia hotels - the Hilton Garden Inn and Fairfield Suites.
Marriott seeks two hotels in Arcadia. Andrew Chang, of Continental Assets Management, and owner of Santa Anita Inn, is proposing to build two Marriott hotels on the property. His proposal seeks to add 110 rooms to the West Huntington Drive property and would include a six-story Residence Inn and a four-story Fairfield Inn and Suites (Marriott brands). The Santa Anita Inn was built in 1955. The project will require approval from the Planning Commission and City Council.
Proposed redevelopment of the Santa Anita Inn, formerly Ramada Inn at 130 West Huntington Drive, Arcadia, won't take place until after the Olympics next August.
Arcadia City Council will be asked to determine whether they want to extend a "resolution of inducement for tax-exempt financing" for the proposed Ramada Inn (now Santa Anita Inn) project.
Two men and two juveniles were arrested on suspicion of committing more than eight armed robberies in the Arcadia and Monrovia areas since late January.
An Arcadia family was terrorized and victimized at gunpoint in a home invasion robbery. The robbers choked the father of the family until he gave them cash and threatened to return to kill the family if they called police. The robbery occurred in the 100 block of West Forest Avenue. It is not known if this crime is related to the robbery of an elderly couple in Arcadia last week.
With Councilmen Dick Haltom and Dave Hannah dissenting, the Arcadia City Council approved a resolution of inducement for tax-exempt financing for the proposed Ramada Inn project.
The 121-unit Marriott Residence Inn is scheduled to open for business on January 23. An "all-suites" hotel, the inn offers kitchens in every unit to entice "extended-stay" travellers.
The Santa Anita Inn was purchased 2 weeks ago by developer Charles Bluth, who is already implementing plans to turn the hotel at the corner of Huntington Drive and Colorado Place into a four-star inn. Renovation (with a New Orleans motif) should be completed by January.
Arcadia Police Department's Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) team responded to a Home Invasion Robbery in progress at a residence on South Third Ave.