[Oceanside, CA] The Hill Street Country Club (HSCC) is proud to announce that the California State Coastal Conservancy has unanimously approved funding for the Hill Street Arts Hotel Feasibility Study, a major milestone in the effort to create a new lower-cost, arts-focused coastal accommodation in Oceanside. The Conservancy authorized a grant of $236,400 to HSCC to conduct community engagement, evaluate potential sites, and complete a feasibility study for the future Arts Hotel.
The funded study will explore the development of an affordable, culturally rooted hotel along or near Oceanside’s historic Coast Highway—formerly Hill Street—within the City’s designated Cultural District. According to the Conservancy’s staff recommendation, the project directly supports the agency’s statewide goals to expand lower-cost coastal accommodations and improve equitable access to the California coast, particularly in areas like San Diego County where demand far exceeds supply.
A New Model: Arts, Hospitality, and Social Enterprise
The Hill Street Arts Hotel represents an expansion of Hill Street Country Club’s longstanding work supporting artists and creative communities. Through this project, HSCC is extending its mission into the world of social enterprise, piloting a new model in which hospitality infrastructure directly supports a thriving creative economy.
The Arts Hotel aims to achieve three interconnected goals:
Building an Arts Ecosystem and Creative Economy
Hill Street Country Club has spent more than a decade supporting artists through exhibitions, workshops, youth programs, and cultural gatherings. The Arts Hotel expands this work by creating permanent infrastructure—rooms, shared spaces, programming areas, and public amenities—that support artists, cultural practitioners, and visitors while strengthening the region’s creative ecosystem.
Rewriting the Developer Script
Rather than measuring return on investment solely in financial terms, the Arts Hotel proposes a different metric of success: opportunities created for artists and cultural workers. The project seeks to generate jobs, creative commissions, and platforms for artistic production—turning tourism infrastructure into an engine for the regional arts economy.
Offering an Alternate Experience of Tourism and Hospitality
The Arts Hotel will offer a distinctly Oceanside experience rooted in local culture. Visitors will encounter art installations, workshops, performances, and community programming integrated into the guest experience—creating a model of tourism that prioritizes authenticity, cultural exchange, and belonging.
A Community-Centered Vision for Coastal Access
For more than a decade, HSCC has served as a creative anchor and community hub, hosting workshops, exhibitions, youth programs, beach clean-ups, healing gatherings, and cultural events. This spring, through a series of public conversations and workshops, the feasibility study will engage residents, artists, tribal partners, and regional stakeholders in shaping the Arts Hotel’s vision and reflect the diversity of North County San Diego.
Topics will include pricing models, room configurations, cultural programming, workforce development opportunities, and amenities and practices that increase access to the coast—such as kitchen-equipped rooms, community market space, coworking areas, and connections to transit.
Addressing Barriers to the Coast
The Conservancy cited extensive research showing that nearly 60% of Californians never stay overnight when visiting the coast, with that number rising to 75% for people earning under $25,000 per year. Affordable lodging in coastal San Diego County remains limited and high in demand.
The Arts Hotel seeks to address these barriers by offering a welcoming, culturally vibrant alternative that reflects the authentic character of Oceanside’s creative community.
A Collaborative Team
The feasibility study brings together a multidisciplinary team spanning architecture, hospitality, cultural organizing, and community engagement. In addition to Hill Street’s team of community leaders, artists, and organizers, the project is led by architecture firm Object Projects (www.object-projects.com).
Led by architects Sarah Hirschman and Ann Worth, Object Projects is a women-owned California-based architecture studio focused on strengthening social infrastructure through design. The firm partners with mission-driven clients invested in nurturing their communities. Their approach combines community listening sessions, spatial research, and strategic planning to help organizations translate cultural ambitions into built form and long-term institutional impact. Object Projects frequently works with clients to identify enterprise opportunities that amplify a project’s social and economic impact.
The broader project team includes:
Sunny Street Outreach — led by Sunny Soto-Briscoe
A community engagement organization rooted in food justice, cultural programming, and grassroots organizing. Sunny Soto-Briscoe, a member of the Juaneño/Luiseño community, serves as the project’s Tribal Equity Coordinator, helping ensure the Arts Hotel reflects Indigenous perspectives and equitable community participation.
Website: https://sunnystreetoutreach.org/
Corner Booth Hospitality — led by Carolyn Schneider
A hospitality consulting studio specializing in boutique hotels and culturally driven hospitality concepts. Founder Carolyn Schneider has worked with brands including Ace Hotel Group, Proper Hospitality, and Sydell Group, and has helped develop destination hotels across California and the Southwest.
Website: https://www.corner-booth.com /
Campana Studio — led by Jay Bell
A San Diego-based nonprofit and development practice focused on creating platforms and economic opportunities for artists. Bell brings decades of experience in community development and cultural infrastructure projects, as well as firsthand leadership in regional arts initiatives.
Website: https://campanastudios.org/
KPFF Structural Engineers
An internationally recognized engineering firm known for innovative and collaborative structural design. KPFF brings extensive expertise in complex civic and cultural projects across California and beyond.
Website: https://www.kpff.com
Widespread Regional Support
The project has garnered strong support from civic leaders, educational institutions, arts organizations, cultural districts, and economic development partners across North County San Diego.
Supporters note that the Arts Hotel has the potential to:
● Foster a new creative ecosystem supporting artists, cultural workers, and hospitality jobs
● Strengthen regional collaboration between arts organizations, schools, and community partners
● Expand access to arts education and cultural programming
● Serve as a model for equitable coastal access rooted in art, community care, and inclusive design
Next Steps
With the feasibility study now funded, HSCC will begin community engagement, site exploration, and economic modeling needed to identify a viable project path. Findings will inform future phases—including site selection, partnership development, design, and fundraising—toward realizing the full Arts Hotel project.
“This study allows us to imagine a different future for tourism on the California coast—one that centers artists, community, and access,” said Dinah Poellnitz, Director of the Hill Street Country Club. “The Arts Hotel is about building a place where creativity and belonging shape the experience of the coast.”
To stay informed about this project as it continues, subscribe to The Hill Street Country Club’s newsletter, If you’re a resident of Oceanside, consider answering the survey below as well.
