Mike Zislis is coming to town.
Zislis, the entrepreneur who launched the boutique Shade Hotel and an array of restaurants that have become central components of Manhattan Beach’s thriving downtown, is once again raring to go. But this time he’s ready to make it happen in Redondo Beach.
One of the most clear-cut results of the passage of Measure G is that it allows Zislis to quickly move forward with his plan to build a Shade Hotel along the Redondo waterfront. The ballot measure, approved Nov. 2 by Redondo voters, gives the harbor area clearly defined zoning after more than eight years of uncertainty that followed the messy defeat of the city’s Heart of the City development plan in 2002.
Zislis plans to submit his design for a 45-room “eco-hotel” featuring solar, wind, and a cutting-edge fuel cell technology called Bloom energy to the city by January. He plans to begin a “deconstruction” of the current building – not a demolition, because all the material from the former Red Onion/Camacho’s restaurant site will be reused in the new Shade – on Earth Day.
Zislis has waited the better part of a year while the seemingly intractable politics of the city’s harbor zoning finally played out, ending not only a decade of stalemate in the area, but three decades of decline in which little new investment occurred. He believes his hotel is a harbinger of things to come.
“I think you are going to see a lot of investment,” Zislis said. “I mean, it’s the last of the beach communities, and you have to have rules if you want to play. Now there are rules. I don’t want to say I have the Midas touch, but I see things for what they are, and Redondo is the next up-and-coming area. I am glad to be a part of it.”
Councilman Steve Aspel said that several developers have already approached the city regarding possible proposals, including at least one who is interested in the infamous octagonal “Pad 10,” a dilapidated, long-vacant site on the pier.
“What we are going to have to decide is if we have to send out different RFP’s [request for proposals] for different projects, or work with individual developers that come in,” Aspel said. “But there is a lot of interest in the harbor area now. I am not at liberty to say just what yet, but it’s pretty cool and very tasteful, mostly upscale. We have not had one inquiry about residential or timeshares, by the way.”
Technically, the city’s coastal land use plan that was approved in Measure G still faces two hurdles – final election certification and approval from the California Coastal Commission. Both are expected by December. The Coastal Commission, in fact, tentatively signed off on the zoning by adding 17 of its own modifications last year, including the requirement for a public boat ramp.
Councilman Steve Diels said that one of the keys facets of Measure G’s passage is the fact that the coastal land use plan will give the city local permitting authority. Previously, all development plans faced not only the city’s approval process, but also the Coastal Commission’s.
“It is a victory for local control, absolutely,” Diels said.
Diels called the election “a turning point” for the city.
“I think it’s turning from stagnation to progress, from decay to rejuvenation,” he said. “The negative dialogue had dominated until Measure G. The people with the negative message kept winning. So this is a bunch of positive energy and ‘can do’ Redondo, where previously it was ‘can’t do’ Redondo. The point is we want people to be attracted to come here.”
Aspel said that Shade’s arrival in Redondo also represents a turning point.
“You can touch it, you can feel it,” he said. “This is not like the Heart of the City, just a zoning – this is a real live investor who has a track record and it’s just going to be big for Redondo Beach. He would have gone away had G lost. There are too many other places that would have welcomed him with open arms, because of his bankroll and track record. Why come here if he’s going to get jerked around? Now the obstacles are gone.
Zislis originally had a three-year plan for building his hotel. He lost a year while waiting for a political outcome, but now that the dust has settled, he thinks he can build the hotel within two years – by Nov. 18, 2012. It’s a day that has significance for him.
“It’s the day I met my wife, the day I married my wife, the day I opened Shade Hotel, the day I opened Rock N’ Fish, the day I opened Muchos, the day I conceived my child,” Zislis said. “It’s my day. So I try to do everything on Nov. 18. So we are hoping to open on that day. I think we can do it.”
He isn’t superstitious, but Zislis isn’t taking any chances, given the beleaguered history of the Redondo harbor area.
“I’m bringing a Shinto priest to bless the land, because I think it’s cursed,” Zislis said. “I mean, it must be. We are going to do whatever it takes to get this place going.” ER
