Take Two.

George Clooney and Brad Pitt are not involved in a makeover of the Boom Boom Room in Laguna Beach, as reported in this space last week. Publicists for both actors denied the report, which was first published in the Orange County Business Journal.

But Steven Udvar-Hazy, the billionaire airplane-leasing tycoon from Beverly Hills who also has a mansion in Monarch Beach’s Ritz Cove, has purchased the popular gay bar, the adjoining Coast Inn and two other parcels in deals totaling $25 million, according to Scott Hook, the real estate agent who represented the sellers of the bar and inn.

Udvar-Hazy beat out another bidder, Santa Monica restaurant investor John Alderson, said Hook, senior director of Marcus & Millichap Real Estate Investment Co.’s national retail group in Newport Beach.

Hook said that Alderson, president of JAVentures, liked the parcel’s ocean view, liquor license and 18,000 square feet of commercial space. “In Laguna, it’s unheard of,” Hook said.

Udvar-Hazy’s agent, Joe Smith of Monarch Beach Realty, said that his client has a plan for the site that includes “an upscale boutique hotel.” A restaurant or other elements could come into play after Udvar-Hazy sits down with his architect, Smith said.

The offer by Udvar-Hazy, chairman and chief executive of International Lease Finance Corp., was about $500,000 less than Alderson’s, but more attractive to his clients because it was in cash and the deal would close quickly, Hook said.

Udvar-Hazy and Alderson did not return calls for comment.


Orange County Business Journal