Napa adds three hotels as tourism swells

NAPA — Within the next two years, three new hotels are set to open in Napa County, adding more than 350 rooms and generating significant tourism revenue.

The upscale lodging facilities — Archer Napa downtown, VieVage Napa Valley in Carneros and Las Alcobas in St. Helena — will be tapping into the increasing number of tourists visiting Napa Valley.

'Each of these new hotel properties will provide yet another set of high quality, unique lodging experiences for visitors to choose from when coming to the Napa Valley,' said Clay Gregory, president and CEO for Visit Napa Valley. 'In addition, they will generate a very significant economic impact to Napa County, as well as many additional employment opportunities.'

In 2014, the Napa Valley visitor industry generated $1.63 billion in total visitor spending inside the county, most of which came from overnight hotel guests, who spent an average of $389 each daily.

These new properties will also positively impact tax revenues for governmental entities in Napa County, Gregory said. Last year, Napa Valley's visitor industry generated $64.2 million in taxes, which includes transient-occupancy (TOT), sales, property and transfer taxes.

Archer Napa

Groundbreaking this week is set for Archer Napa, the centerpiece of a 350,000-square-foot mixed-use development on First Street in Napa, by far one of the largest construction projects in the heart of Napa since the former Copia museum and The Riverfront shops, offices and housing.

The entire project around the hotel, called Napa Center, will add more than 40 shops and restaurants to the area and is estimated to cost $140 million.

'We're creating a new district,' said Andrew Mazotti, who leads acquisitions for Zapolski Real Estate, the project's developer. 'Given the location, this [development] is in a significant position, right in the center of downtown. Going in, it's truly a catalyst for activity.'

The hotel portion of the project, described as a 'high-end, four-star boutique,' is planned for the 1200 block of First Street, centered on the site of the long-vacant former Merrill's drugstore.

The five-story, 183-room hotel will include a restaurant, retail shops, swimming pool, rooftop bar, a terrace and meeting spaces. Guest rooms will feature 8-foot recessed balconies with outdoor fireplaces — details that Archer officials said will cater to an upscale clientele. The estimated building cost is $70 million, and it is scheduled to open in fall 2016.

The project is the vision of real estate developer Todd Zapolski. In 2012, he and his partners bought the beleaguered Napa Town Center. The deal included much of the shopping center and a string of adjacent commercial buildings on First Street, including the former Merrill's store. In 2013, Zapolski purchased the Gordon Building at the corner of First and Coombs streets.

Subsequent renovations to the renamed center included a complete remodel of the common areas and store interiors, and removal of the rotunda to add more light. There have been $30 million in façade enhancements, new landscape was brought in, and public art by local artists specifically curated for Napa Center. The façade of the former Merrill's building next door to the center was preserved and will be incorporated into the hotel design.

In December 2013, Zapolski announced an equity partnership with Trademark Property Co., a national leasing and development company based in Fort Worth, Texas. They have also joined with hotel developer LodgeWorks, who previously developed the five-story, 141-room Andaz Napa, formerly the Avia hotel, two blocks farther west on First Street.

In a recent deal with the city, Archer Napa guests will be able to park their cars in a city-owned parking garage, an arrangement expected to raise $3.21 million for the city.

In ongoing expansion, Zapolski recently acquired Kohl's Parkway Plaza, which is adjacent to Napa Center. Future Zapolski acquisitions adjacent to center could be forthcoming.

'We're always looking for opportunity,' Mazotti said.

VieVage Napa Valley

Auberge Resorts Collection plans to break ground after this fall's winegrape harvest on VieVage Napa Valley, a new spa resort in the Carneros district. It is set to open in summer 2016.

The resort will feature 120 stand-alone cottages on 95 acres of the 712-acre Stanly Ranch. The cottages will be set among vineyards and gardens, with bicycle and walking paths. Outdoor gathering spaces will have fire pits, barbeques and a bocce court. The plans also include a spa and fitness center.

'It will be a communal and fun place, a very social environment cutting across generations,' said Mark Harmon, founder and managing partner of Auberge Resorts Collection.

Cost for the resort is more than $100 million. It will have its own onsite winery and tasting room, partnering with a vintner yet to be named. According to Harmon, the city of Napa has allowed flexibility on standard tasting room hours, so the resort will offer late-night tasting and food-pairing events.

'This will not be the usual walk-in-and-stand-at-the-bar tasting,' he said. 'It's going to be very interactive and dynamic.'

The resort will also feature a casual restaurant and bar and a bakery with a wood-burning oven for making artisanal breads.

VieVage Napa Valley will be the second resort from the new VieVage brand. The first was in Los Cabos, Mexico.

Las Alcobas

In St. Helena, Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc., plans to open Las Alcobas, a 70-room hotel in its Luxury Collection line, in spring 2016.

The project broke ground last year on the 3.3-acre property formerly known as Grandview Hotel & Spa. It's next door to the Beringer Wine Estate and within walking distance of Culinary Institute of America at Greystone.

Originally approved for 57 rooms, the current project to add 13 more rooms was approved by the St. Helena City Council earlier this year. The developers had already paid $750,000 to the city's affordable housing trust fund and agreed to pay $300,000 more for the extra rooms.

Rates are expected to average $700 a night, generating an estimate $1.73 million a year in hotel taxes for the cash-strapped city,

The redesigned historic Acacia House will house seven of the guest rooms, the hotel's lobby, restaurant, spa, fitness center and a 3,500-square-foot state-of-the-art meeting space and a grand ballroom. The remaining guest rooms will be spread across the property's cottages, according to Guneet Bajwa, chief operating officer for Presidio Companies.

The multimillion-dollar renovation is a joint venture between Presidio and Las Alcobas Hotel Group.

Plans call for renovating existing structures, while preserving the Georgian and Victorian architecture and adding modern touches. Last fall, seven 100-year-old Canary Island date palms were transplanted to Corison Winery along Highway 29.

The hotel, designed by Yabu Pushelberg, will resemble Las Alcobas in Mexico City.