BOLSA ROW development at Bolsa Avenue and Brookhurst Street in Westminster, as originally proposed and approved (City of Westminster).

By Shanya Rod

The Westminster Planning Commission took a unanimous vote Wednesday evening to move forward with the Bolsa Row project development, on the condition that improvements be made to the building’s vertical elevations.

The Planning Commission held a public hearing to discuss the requests of the project applicant, IP Westminster LLC. The applicant sought a development review, administration adjustment, and conditional use permit amendment to make a number of changes to the site’s layout, architectural design, and amenities.

The Bolsa Row project will be located at 10000 and 10010 Bolsa Avenue, on the southwest corner of Brookhurst Street. The project consists of two separate buildings: The Bolsa Row Hotel and Bolsa Row Terrace retail building.

Some of the main differences from the previously approved plan are the relocation of the banquet facility from the retail building to the hotel, removal of the “Celebration Bridge,” and the inclusion of more hotel rooms, an underground parking structure in the retail building, and a rooftop “sky lounge” in the hotel.

According to the applicant’s project description, the revised hotel will be a five-story building with around 292,000 square feet and will consist of 149 guest rooms, a banquet facility, an outdoor event garden terrace, meeting rooms, a restaurant, rooftop lounge, pool, and three-level parking structure.

The revised two-story retail building will be around 39,286 square feet with several retail tenants and one level of underground parking. There will be a jewelry center, restaurants, police subsection, and additional back of house space on the first story; the second story will have an outdoor food court, outdoor seating, and public restrooms.

Along with the hotel and retail buildings, the Bolsa Row project that the City Council approved in 2018 included a 200-unit luxury apartment complex. A city staff report states that the apartments are currently under construction and expected to be finished near spring or summer of 2022; they were not included in the current revision proposal.

IP Westminster LLC is a real estate development office led by the Pham family who aspires to make this a cultural destination spot for Vietnamese Americans, reminding them of Old Saigon before 1975.