Goodbye 50-year-old sequoia trees. Hello Marriott development. Santa Anita Inn, including some 50-year-old healthy Seqoia trees, will be demolished for the development of a Marriott hotel with 220 rooms. The Sierra Club thinks minimal consideration was given to the ecology or preservation of the environment. Jason Kruckeberg, Assistant City Manager, addressed the environmental concern, stating the city followed a "compliance process (in 2014) with the California Environment Quality Act (CEQA)."
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.
Projected Marriott hotel development breaks ground in 2018; Seqoia trees already down (on site of Santa Anita Inn). The developer did try to save some redwood trees on the site.
A statue to honor Anita M. Baldwin, daughter of Arcadia's founder Elias J. "Lucky" Baldwin, will be built at the new Le Meridien Hotel, a luxury hotel in Arcadia. The artist/sculptor is Alfred Paredes, who also created the Elias J. "Lucky" Baldwin statue.