UC buys Ritz-Carlton hotel in Half Moon Bay: reports

HALF MOON BAY, Calif. - The University of California's investment division has reportedly purchased the Ritz-Carlton hotel in Half Moon Bay for $193 million, according to reports from the San Francisco Chronicle, CoStar and Coastside News.   

The coastal hotel property was put up for sale after the city rejected relief for its previous owner, who had racked up an unpaid $2 million hotel occupancy tax bill.   

Last year, UC Investments paid $175.8 million for the 331-room Residence Inn Berkeley, next to the UC Berkeley campus. University officials said at the time that the hotel would not be converted to student housing.

UC Investments oversees an investment portfolio valued at $300 billion. 

Neither sale went before a UC Regents vote. Individual real estate purchases do not require approval from the UC Board of Regents. The Regents have delegated investment authority to the system’s chief investment officer.