SAN CLEMENTE : City Gets Proposal on Casa Romantica
In their continuing effort to make Casa Romantica the “heart of San Clemente,” members of the Historical Society are proposing to buy the landmark mansion from the city for $5 million and turn part of the site into a luxury hotel.
After years of talk, the San Clemente Historical Society submitted its first-ever written plan to city officials Friday, detailing grand visions for Casa Romantica, the palatial residence built in 1927 by Ole Hanson, a former Seattle mayor who founded San Clemente 66 years ago.
Under the proposal, the Historical Society would seek a two-year lease option to buy Casa Romantica for $5 million. In turn, the Historical Society would seek a major hotel company to develop part of the three-acre Casa Romantica site into a 90-room luxury inn, with ocean views from every window and with underground parking.
Historical Society President Charles Ashbaugh said most of the money to buy the mansion would probably come from any deal made with a hotel developer, although no specific funding plans have been made at this point.
Ashbaugh and other members of the Historical Society say the mansion is the perfect place for shops and two museums, one depicting the colorful history of San Clemente and the other the life of former President Richard M. Nixon.
“We’d like to see Casa Romantica as the heart of San Clemente, with the luxury hotel there and places for tourists,” Ashbaugh said. “We’re so afraid the city would sell it to some developer who would tear it down.”
Since the city bought Casa Romantica for $2.5 million about four years ago from George Welsh, who rented rooms to retirees, the city redevelopment agency has planned to turn the property into a cultural centerpiece for the Pier Bowl area.
The city now leases the 20-room mansion for $10,000 a month to Maureen Gates, who rents out part of the estate for weddings and other functions. But recently, officials have put the city’s plans on hold because of budget problems.
Council members have also said they don’t want to consider any proposals for the mansion until a detailed land-use plan for the Pier Bowl area is completed by next October.
