A New York developer has acquired a historic downtown San Diego hotel touted as the city’s tallest building for several years after its 1913 opening, with plans for a significant renovation retaining its vintage components.
Dovetail + Co. made its first California purchase this month as it acquired the 11-story property originally known as the St. James Hotel at 828-830 Sixth Ave. in the Gaslamp Quarter. CoStar data and public filings show the 99-room hotel was acquired from San Diego-based Trilogy Real Estate Management for approximately $15.4 million.
“We’re attracted to San Diego as a dynamic growth market, and are excited to bring the St. James Hotel back to prominence as a marquee landmark of the Gaslamp Quarter,” Dovetail founder and CEO Phil Hospod said in a statement.
The Victorian-style hotel has been operated as a Ramada since 2013 but retains several of its original St. James fixtures installed nearly 110 years ago, which the new owners plan to retain as part of an extensive renovation. Those features include its original two-story neon exterior St. James sign, chandeliers, intricately designed tin ceilings, stained-glass windows and marble staircases.
“The bar in the lobby is of special interest to guests, as it was purportedly owned by actress Joan Crawford,” said a June 2021 web post by the Gaslamp Foundation, which works to preserve landmarks in the 16-block historic Gaslamp Quarter. “It still has marks left by her stiletto heels as she danced on the bar top.”
The hotel will be renamed Palihotel San Diego after the renovation is completed later this year, with developers planning new elements including a restaurant and rooftop gathering space, according to the statement. The company did not immediately respond to CoStar News' requests for details including renovation timetables and expected development costs.
According to the Gaslamp Foundation and San Diego State University library archives, the St. James was billed as San Diego’s tallest building for several years after it was built in 1912 and opened in 1913 by owners Morris Meyer and Isaac Davidson.
The property is the successor to an earlier St. James Hotel that was built in 1885 on the same street and subsequently demolished. Some San Diego historical sources list the tallest building of that time as downtown's 11-story U.S. Grant Hotel, which opened in 1910 at 326 Broadway.
The region's tallest building today is Irvine Co.'s 34-story One America Plaza office tower at 600 W. Broadway, built in 1991 and standing 500 feet high. Under Federal Aviation Administration rules, the downtown area has a 500-foot height limit due to its proximity to San Diego International Airport.
Dovetail + Co. also owns hotels, bars and restaurants in Rhode Island, Hawaii, New York and Bermuda. The company statement said it is developing a “sleeper cabin hotel” in New York City’s Bowery neighborhood.
The local acquisition comes as San Diego has seen a steady rebound in hotel occupancy and revenue during the past year, after its hospitality industry was hit hard in the first year of the pandemic. The region had $1.1 billion in hotel property sales in the past 12 months, up 7.3% over the prior year, according to CoStar Market Analytics.