NICKELODEON HOTEL planned for Harbor’s west side (City of Garden Grove).
By Jim Tortolano
Orange County Tribune
The long-delayed Nickelodeon project planned for the Harbor Boulevard hotel district in Garden Grove took another big – perhaps the final – step toward putting some sticks in the ground.
On Tuesday night the City Council voted 7-0 to approve the second reading and adoption of an ordinance approving a planned unit development for the construction of the 23-story, 500-room hotel project at the northwest corner corner of Harbor at Twintree Avenue in the west side of Harbor, immediately south of the existing Sheraton Hotel.
It will be built on a 3.72-acre site.
The development will also include 17,715-square feet of ballroom and 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 fitness spa.
The studio will be used to create and broadcast Nickelodeon TV properties. They include shows such as “Spongebob Squarepants” and “Paw Patrol.”
It’s a property of Paramount, which is owned by Skydance Corporation.
The process has been a long journey. The city council originally approved a disposition and development agreement in 2002, but the COVID-19 epidemic and other challenges delayed the project.
The project holds the prospect for a big boost in tax revenue to the city through “transient occupancy tax” paid by hotel guests.
In 2022, the total tax revenue flowing to the city from the project was estimated at $3.5 million annually, with $236.4 million over a 30-year period.
