The Hotel Californian, one of the anchor points of Santa Barbara’s thriving Funk Zone, just changed hands in what Lee and Associates Central Coast, a commercial real estate group, is calling “one of the largest ever sales of hotel property in Santa Barbara.”
The deal, which closed September 1 for an undisclosed amount, was led by local Santa Barbara commercial real estate firms Radius Commercial Real Estate and Lee & Associates Central Coast, with Austin Herlihy and Chris Parker of Radius representing the seller, and Steve Leider and Clarice Clarke of Lee & Associates representing the new owner, Bill Foley.
Foley is the founder of Foley Family Wines, which owns several vineyards across the world and locally in the Santa Ynez Valley. Foley is also the chair of Foley Entertainment Group, which oversees sports properties, leisure properties, and restaurants across California, Nevada, and Montana.
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The 121‐room hotel includes more than 21,000 square feet of retail and restaurant space.
The redeveloped, landmark property was originally home to the historic Hotel Californian, which was built in 1925 and destroyed shortly after in a major earthquake that rocked the area. The property sat vacant until it was purchased as a major development project titled “La Entrada” in 2011 by 35 State Street Hotel Partners.
“We are thrilled to welcome Hotel Californian to the Foley Entertainment Group family,” said Foley Entertainment Group co‐CEO Randy Morton. “Hotel Californian has embraced the incredible opportunity of being part of the renaissance of Lower State Street and the growth of Santa Barbara’s Funk Zone. We look forward to innovative collaborations with the Foley Food & Wine Society and other FEG entities to enhance the guest experience even further.”
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