Local News in Brief : Huntington Beach : Condos, Nightclub OKd for Golden Bear Site

A multilevel entertainment complex and 160 condominiums will be built where the landmark Golden Bear Nightclub once stood in the heart of downtown, the City Council decided Monday night.

The development, in keeping with the rest of the downtown redevelopment area, will have a Mediterranean look and will be located on the inland side of Pacific Coast Highway at Main Street--directly across the street from the Huntington Beach Pier. The 90,000-square-foot project will be three to four stories high and include a movie theater.

A restaurant and nightclub will be housed on the first floor of the entertainment complex. The first and second floors will hold retail shops fronting Main Street and Pacific Coast Highway. Office space will be located on the third level and mezzanine.

City planners favored this proposal, which the council approved by a vote of 6 to 0 (Councilwoman Grace Winchell was absent). An alternative proposal presented at the sparsely attended council meeting called for an 8-story, 160-suite hotel, an equal number of condominiums, and retail and office space.

However, the City Council announced recently that it had all but abandoned earlier plans for a 300-room hotel because developers’ studies showed that such a hotel would only draw a seasonal population.