Feb 6, 2007

Buyer has big plans for Franklin hotel

Downtown landmark to serve high-end business travelers

By Will Oremus / Daily News Staff Writer

San Mateo's historic Benjamin Franklin Hotel is poised to be remodeled into a hotel and furnished apartment building with short-term rentals aimed at high-end business travelers.

The nine-story downtown landmark was purchased on Friday by the Lembi Group, a San Francisco real estate acquisition firm with roots on the Peninsula. It will become part of the group's CitiSuites line of overseas hotels and corporate housing, which includes Nob Hill Place and the Nob Hill Chateau in San Francisco.

Taylor Lembi of the Lembi Group said he's thrilled to acquire the Ben Franklin, having grown up in neighboring Burlingame.

"We used to go to the Ben Franklin all the time, for (occasions) like Mother's Day," Lembi said. "They always had great restaurants there, and it's always been an attractive building."

Lembi said details are still being worked out, but he envisions, among other things, "great common areas that will be a place for people just going out for drinks to hang out." That likely means keeping the existing restaurant and revamping the Fireside room, pool and deck area as a "lively meeting place" for both hotel residents and the general public, he said.

The 99-room hotel, one of San Mateo's most prominent buildings, has stood mostly vacant for several years after serving as a layover facility for United Airlines employees until that company's bankruptcy in 2002. Plans by previous owner AF Evans to convert it to condominiums in 2005 were stymied by a lack of on-site parking.

Participants in a recent public workshop on the future of the city's downtown cited the reopening of the Ben Franklin as a key goal.

"I think it reflects well on the viability of downtown San Mateo that a hotel group wants to come in and says they feel there's a real market here," said City Manager Arne Croce. "It's kind of a unique opportunity when you consider other cities on the Peninsula ... for people looking for a more downtown-style experience to still stay close to the airport."

Lembi said the CitiSuites model is typically directed at big cities such as San Francisco, but San Mateo's position between the city and Silicon Valley makes it a prime spot as well.

The hotel will likely offer daily, weekly and monthly stays. Lembi said he plans to tackle the parking problem by offering valet service to nearby garages.

E-mail Will Oremus at woremus@dailynewsgroup.com.