The Mian Plaza and Convention Center of Camarillo project suffered a major setback April 12 when the structure of what was to become a faour-story 122-room Home2 Suites by Hilton burned down.
“I lost $25 million in the blink of my eye,” said Tahir Mian, chief executive of Mian Cos., which was constructing the hotel.
The Home2Suites by Hilton is just one element of a larger plan in the development being built opposite the Camarillo Premium Outlets mall. The 75,000-square-foot Home2 Suites was the first structure in the project to be completed and the only one destroyed by the fire.
A resident of Camarillo, Mian was relaxing at his Spanish Hills home when he first learned that the structure was on fire.
“I got a call from my security guard,” Mian said. “The Camarillo Premium Outlets’ security guard called my security guard.”
Mian drove down to the site, located just off the 101 freeway at Las Posas Road and Ventura Boulevard.
“Once I got on the highway, I could see the smoke. I thought a little area got burned,” Mian said. “When I got there, 11 fire trucks were there. Smoke was going up like it was Ukraine.”
The fire department put out the fire, but the hotel structure was not salvageable.
At press time, the fire department was still investigating what started the fire but the last person on the site left at 5:39 p.m.
“The welders were the last to leave,” said Mian, who is quick to add that he is not casting blame on anyone until after the fire department has finished its investigation.
Given the enormity of the loss, Mian remains upbeat and the situation has only steeled his resolve to create the project.
“We are going to rebuild it,” Mian said.