Long Beach : 393-Room Hilton Planned for World Trade Center

Construction of an elegant, “international-style,” 393-room Hilton hotel is scheduled to begin early next year at the World Trade Center on Ocean Boulevard, a key part of an exhaustive plan to revitalize downtown Long Beach.

With the unanimous approval of the Long Beach Planning Commission secured last week, ground breaking is expected to occur before spring and completion is planned by the summer of 1991, said Jere Walters, project manager.

Developers plan a 3,900-square-foot, “three-meals-a-day” restaurant, a ballroom, conference rooms and retail space. Instead of the traditional pastel decor common to Southern California hotels, the Hilton will reflect a “New York, international” ambience of heavier colors, Walters said.

“It will be something the international traveler will be used to seeing as he travels the world,” he said.

The hotel is the second of a five-phase World Trade Center project. The remaining phases are expected to be office towers, but could change with the market’s demand, he said.