Hopeful Undersea-Hotel Pioneer Seeks New Start

SAN FRANCISCO-When Joseph Cala journeys to San Francisco in a few days, it won’t just be for a vacation.

The Oklahoma City-based entrepreneuer has a plan for the City by the Bay: He wants it to be ground zero for development of his Undersea Hotel and Resort empire. From the minute his plane touches down on Sept. 18, Cala says he will be on the lookout for office space from which to run his business, the Cala Corporation.

But undersea hotels? Are such things possible? Sure, Cala says, although he claims his is the first company to do such a thing. “The future of tourists is eco-tourism,” he tells GlobeSt. “What people want is to interact with the dolphins, with the sea life. They want to feel like they are under the ocean.”

Cala says the best way to combine those dreams and his dreams is by actually building a part of the hotel under the ocean and taking advantage of the nautical view by using glass walls, Cala said. He projects locking up his first deal in Maui, Hawaii, within the next six months. What about San Francisco? “No. Not here,” Cala says. “These waters, you can’t see anything in them.”

Cala, who already owns a home in Silicon Valley, wants to live in the region to gain proximity to venture capitalists and other entrepreneurs. That benefit outweighs the fact that San Francisco is one of the most expensive office markets in the world, says Cala, who is eyeing several office spaces, mainly in the city’s financial district, but also in Redwood Shores. Still, coming from Oklahoma City where he rents for $1/sf, it’s hard to take.

“Jesus. It’s like day and night,” says Cala. “San Francisco is a ripoff.”