SAN CLEMENTE : Plan Would Turn Mansion Into Resort

The historic Casa Romantica, sold for $8,000 in the 1940s, will bring the city an estimated $6 million if an offer is accepted to turn the mansion into a resort complex.

In addition, about $1.2 million in annual tax revenue would flow into city coffers from a 160-room hotel, 60 condominiums and retail and office space planned for the Casa Romantica site, according to plans released Monday by the Ratkovich Co. of Los Angeles.

The project is part of the city’s efforts to revitalize the so-called Pier Bowl, a rim of bluffs overlooking the San Clemente Pier and railroad station. City officials say they want to make Casa Romantica, an aging 20-room cliff-top mansion that was the home of city founder Ole Hanson, the centerpiece of the popular pier area.

The financial package the Ratkovich Co. offered the city would include $3 million in cash, and $3 million for constructing public amenities such as a museum on the six-acre site.

The Ratkovitch Co. would either own the property or sign a long-term lease. The city paid $2.5 million in February for Casa Romantica and two metered parking lots.

Ratkovich officials maintain that Casa Romantica, built in the 1920s, will not be significantly changed by the renovation. The complex will wrap the hotel around the 8,000-square-foot historic home, which will act as a lobby for the hotel. The former mansion would also house the museum, according to the plans.