NICKELODEON HOTEL planned for Harbor’s west side (City of Garden Grove).
By Jim Tortolano
Orange County Tribune
Spongebob Squarepants, wake up. We might have some big news for you.
When the Garden Grove Planning Commission meets on Thursday, it will consider three actions which could have a big impact on the city’s hotel district and municipal coffers.
Planners will hold public hearings on a long-awaited project to build a Nickelodeon-themed 500-room hotel on a 3.72-acre site on Harbor Boulevard at the northwest corner with Twintree Avenue, south of the existing Sheraton Hotel.
The planned development would also include 17,715-square feet of ballroom snd meeting rooms; restaurants that can seat up to 600 people and the Nick Studio theater, a studio hall, and 8,532 square feet devoted to retail and a fitness spa.
Kam Sang Co., Inc. is asking the commission for approval of a planned unit development, site plan and supplemental environmental impact report
.
The project was originally approved by the panel in July 2022, but the legal battles that followed delayed the beginning of construction for nearly four years.
Nickelodeon was the first pay television channel for children. Established in 1979, it’s branched out to a wider audience with five “sister channels” and now also operates several theme park operations in the U.S. and Europe. It’s home to the popular “Spongebob” animated TV show also produced live for the stage and motion pictures. For those who are unfamiliar with Nickelodeon, getting “slimed” involves getting a green semi-liquid substance dumped on your head, either to celebrate or humble the slime-ee.
The hotel, once completed, was estimated in 2022 to be able to generate $3.5 million annually in revenue to the city by its third year of operation in a combination of “bed tax” charged to hotel guests, sales tax and property tax.
The commission will meet at 7 p.m. in the Community Meeting Center, 11300 Stanford Ave.
