Long Beach : Hilton Expansion Begins

Owners of the Queensway Bay Hilton Hotel are scheduled to break ground today on a two-phase expansion that would eventually add 355 rooms to the 200-room hotel.

With the ground breaking, J. Jay Feinberg, co-owner of the family-run Hilton, would meet the one-year deadline for construction set by city officials when they approved the project on Jan. 17, 1985.

Feinberg received approval for a new, 37-story tower a year ago, but a spate of new local hotel projects prompted him to change his plan last fall.

The Harbor Commission and Planning Commission each approved a less ambitious, two-phase project last month after Feinberg paid the port $80,460 in overdue rent on the existing hotel.

“He’s up to speed on his payments, and I don’t see anything that’s going to hold up the expansion,” said planner Byron Buck, project manager for the Port of Long Beach.

Buck said documents show that Feinberg has financing for the expansion.

The $50-million expansion plan calls for construction of 209 rooms in an eight-story tower and three four-story clusters, much like the ones at the existing Hilton.

The first construction phase would also include a scaled-down central facilities center that would have convention space, offices and a restaurant.

The hotel market allowing, a second phase would be built within two years. That phase would add 146 rooms to the tower, bringing its height to 32 stories.