A Hard Rock Hotel is coming to Downtown Long Beach with an opening date set for the second half of 2027, city and business leaders officially announced Monday.
The incoming hotel was previously reported by the Long Beach Post, but the official announcement was made by Mayor Rex Richardson at an event near the future construction site on the corner of Ocean Boulevard and Pine Avenue.
The project, at the currently vacant site of the former Jergins Trust Building, “taps into our music roots,” Richardson said.
Richardson announced that the famed Jergins Tunnel that used to connect Downtown to the Pike would be repurposed as part of the Hard Rock project. He said it’s expected to be a speakeasy with music that “ties into our local vibe.”
The tunnel has been closed to the public since 1967 but gained renewed attention last year after pop star Lana Del Rey referenced it in her single: “Did You Know That There’s a Tunnel Under Ocean Blvd” from her 2023 album of the same name.
This is the first major hotel construction in Downtown in more than 30 years, according to Richardson.
Construction on the 31-story music-themed hotel, which has been in the works for nearly a decade, is slated to begin next summer, according to Gregory L. Steinhauer, president of Washington-based Steinhauer Properties, the developer of the project.
“As a hotel developer, the single most important decision you can make other than a great location is what flag you pick,” Steinhauer said during the event. “This is an iconic brand. It’s known around the world.
The glass tower will include 429 rooms, 50,000 square feet of dining and meeting space as well as an outdoor pool and a three-story atrium. The outdoor rooftop bar and lounge will be the highest on the West Coast, according to the announcement.
There also are plans for a main floor restaurant called Sessions, according to the Long Beach Convention and Visitors Bureau.
During his remarks, Richardson noted Long Beach’s storied musical history — with acts such as Snoop Dogg, Sublime, War, Jenni Rivera and Vince Staples launching their careers in the city. The Long Beach Arena also once hosted the likes of Run DMC, The Rolling Stones and Iron Maiden.
And though Del Rey is not from Long Beach, the singer has referenced the city in numerous songs, her latest album and her 2020 poetry book.
Jon Lucas, chief operating officer of Hard Rock International, which has been owned by the Seminole Tribe of Florida since 2007, was on hand for the event and said the brand has 300 venues — including 25 hotels, 10 hotels-casinos, five casinos and 180 cafes — in 70 countries around the world.
The brand uses parts of its 85,000-piece memorabilia collection to decorate new hotels it opens, making sure the items displayed “relate to the artists that are from this general area,” Lucas said.
Lucas stressed that, despite the name, the company is “not just about” classic or hard rock. He said the company is open to all music from DJs to pop to rap — “everything from Halsey to Pavarotti.”
“This will be such a perfect addition to the city,” Steve Goodling, president and CEO of the CVB said in a statement. It reminds me of the hotels in New York that look over Times Square. It’s going to add an additional element of sophistication and coolness to the Downtown area.”
The Hard Rock Hotel will be at 100 E. Ocean Blvd.
Editor’s note: This story was updated to correct Jon Lucas’ first name and to correct the year “Did You Know That There’s a Tunnel Under Ocean Blvd” was released.