Commission approves Mission Bay South plan amendments to allow Soma Hotel to convert suites into more rooms

The Commission on Community Investment and Infrastructure voted July 21 to approve three linked amendments to the Mission Bay South redevelopment plan and related agreements that allow the under‑construction Soma Hotel on Block 1 to convert interior suites into additional individual hotel rooms.

Gretchen Heckman, a development specialist with the Mission Bay Group at OCII, told commissioners the conversion would raise hotel capacity from 250 rooms toward 300 by dividing existing 1‑ and 2‑bedroom suites into individual rooms. ‘‘The conversion will not result in an increase in building area nor will it have an effect on the exterior of the building,’’ Heckman said, describing the change as an interior reallocation of space that will be implemented through interior walls and doors. Staff noted the requested increase is rounded to a 50‑room figure in plan documents.

The three resolutions approved were: a report to the Board of Supervisors on the redevelopment plan amendment, an amendment to the redevelopment plan itself, and authorization of an eighth amendment to the owner participation agreement with the project owner. Each resolution was moved by Commissioner Scott and seconded by Vice Chair Rosales. Commissioner Brackett abstained on all three votes; Commissioners Scott, Rosales and Chair Miguel Bustos voted yes. Each motion carried with a recorded tally of 3 ayes, 1 abstention.

Heckman said the hotel currently under construction includes meeting space, a restaurant and publicly accessible rooftop space, and that the project began construction in 2018 with anticipated completion in early 2021. She said 28 of 37 suites would be subdivided into 49 individual rooms (staff documents round that incremental change to a 50‑room increase for planning purposes) and that the building’s total square footage would remain unchanged because changes are interior only.

Commissioners asked about ground‑floor retail activation and local hiring. Vice Chair Rosales asked whether the approximately 4,000‑square‑foot retail space would become restaurant space; Eric Smith, the hotel’s director of operations, said no tenant or concept has been finalized and that food-and‑beverage uses and a ground‑level kiosk coffee bar are among the options being considered. Commissioner Brackett pressed staff on local hiring numbers. George Bridges from OCII’s contract compliance team said the overall project committed to 52% SBE participation initially, but construction stage participation for SBE/MBE/WBE is currently about 14.5%; Bridges said OCII projects typically run about 16% local hire on construction and that tenant‑improvement work remains available to local small minority‑owned firms. He said staff has met with the Mayor’s Office of Economic and Workforce Development and would return to the commission next month with additional strategies.

Heckman said subsequent approvals will be required for amendments to the BCSD and major phase design documents and that the matter will proceed through the planning review process, the Board of Supervisors, the Oversight Board and the California Department of Finance as appropriate. The commission’s votes forward those recommendations and the package now moves on to the remaining review steps.

The commission recorded no public comments on the item during the remote hearing. The commission’s action on the Mission Bay South items was procedural in nature and limited to amending plan documents and authorizations described above; it did not change the project envelope or exterior design.

What happens next: staff will present BCSD and major phase amendments to OCII for consideration at a later date and the package will proceed to the Planning Department and the Board of Supervisors for final approvals and any required financial determinations before the mayor’s signature.