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Council approves 600‑room Empire Grove convention hotel and related entitlements
Summary
After staff presentations and more than an hour of public comment raising concerns about subsidies, traffic and greenhouse‑gas impacts, the City Council approved the CEQA addendum, development agreement (PDA23‑005), Empire Grove specific plan (PSP23‑001) and development plan (PDEV23‑039) for a 600‑room convention hotel near Ontario Convention Center.
The City Council approved a bundled entitlement package for the Empire Grove project: an addendum to the Ontario Plan 2050 supplemental EIR, the development agreement (PDA23‑005), the Empire Grove specific plan (PSP23‑001) and the development plan (PDEV23‑039) for a proposed 600‑room, full‑service convention hotel at Guasti Road and Holt Boulevard.
Staff described the 10.43‑acre site, a maximum build of roughly 600,000 square feet with 553,000 square feet for hotel uses and 46,000 square feet for local‑serving retail, and 932 parking spaces. Jennifer Hiramoto, the city’s executive director of economic development, summarized the development agreement’s minimum obligations (including a not‑less‑than‑500‑room convention hotel, a branded full‑service operation and specified amenities) and warned that failure to meet those obligations could allow the city to terminate the agreement. "If the developer does not deliver on any of those minimum obligations, then the city can terminate this agreement," she said. Opponents—including union representatives and residents—pressed staff on vehicle‑miles traveled and greenhouse gas mitigation, and raised concerns that tax rebate or transient‑occupancy tax (TOT) forgiveness in the development agreement could effectively subsidize a large share of construction costs. The council discussed those objections, asked staff about process and past planning steps, and ultimately took a verbal vote; the mayor announced the motion passed unanimously.
The record includes technical findings in the CEQA addendum prepared for the project; staff said the addendum concluded the project would not introduce new significant environmental impacts beyond those in the 2022 SEIR and listed VMT and greenhouse gas analyses consistent with the Plan 2050 thresholds. Multiple public speakers asked for stronger VMT and GHG mitigation and sought greater clarity on the size and duration of any TOT or parking‑fee rebates described in the development agreement. Staff and council members said the project represents a strategic economic development investment tied to an expanded convention center and large regional events and emphasized required developer performance standards and public‑benefit provisions in the agreement.
