Redevelopment of the former Green Dragon Art Colony in La Jolla got off to a rough start when work crews starting construction unannounced July 20 were forced to stop because dirt, noise and visual obstruction were negatively impacting Brockton Villa restaurant next door.
“This project has been in the works to be developed for more than 20 years,” noted Megan Heine, who, along with husband David, co-owns Brockton Villa and a sister restaurant, Beaumont’s, in Bird Rock. She noted project developers had “some pretty specific requirements and directions” on how to operate during construction “in order to protect our business, Brockton Villa.”
Heine said those conditions, at the outset at least, were not properly met.
“They were supposed to do mitigation for disturbances, including putting up fencing,” she said adding construction began “right next to us without notification.”
Heine said customers, complaining of noise and dust, were soon forced from the restaurant’s patio once construction commenced, with many having to be comped because of the untimely disruption.
At Heine’s request, construction was halted, and didn’t resume until several days later once new fencing, of an appropriate height, was erected to prevent restaurant guests from observing construction activity.
Construction crews were also parking on Coast Boulevard, taking up on-street parking there that is tight even in good times, and virtually non-existent during the peak of the summer tourist season, Heine said.
Project architect Paul Benton, of Benton & Alcorn Architects in La Jolla, noted that the project contractor, Turner Construction, is “capable and well-organized and their project manager has been talking with Dave (Heine) daily once they got onsite. I am sure they will be responsive to any other needs that the Heines may have. They will do the usual construction activities, and there are no secrets about what the work is that has to be done, and how they will go about it.  We will continue to talk with the Heines, and see that their needs are being met.”
Benton added the Heines were initially “quite concerned in their review of the project,” noting David Heine personally appeared at the Planning Commission hearing where their needs were considered, “and ultimately the building permit was duly issued for that project.” 
“The owners have been quite concerned about all of the history (Green Dragon Colony) and they want to preserve the record of that as well,” said Benton pointing out provision has been made “for archaeological monitoring of the site as the contractor could very well find artifacts from both the times of the Native American and the Green Dragon periods. They are also mindful of the sensitive location fronting the ocean, and the requirements for scheduling the work to accommodate the summer- and weekend- traffic in the area.”
The former Green Dragon Art Colony at 1241-1249 Coast Blvd. is being transformed into mixed-use retail with condominiums. It is being altered by the addition of three town homes that will face Coast Boulevard and the ocean above the Cove.
The project, in which the town homes are referred to as Jack O’Lantern, Gables and East Cliff, involves three detached residences on a developed site at 1241, 1245 and 1249 Coast Blvd. (west of 1255 Coast Blvd.).
Project deviations include construction of three new driveways added to an existing driveway along Coast Boulevard. Also proposed in the project is ground-floor residential, not retail, on the lot fronting Coast Boulevard.  The town homes will have individual parking garages and balconies and entrances looking over Coast Boulevard.
 Architect Benton said the three town homes onsite will be built conforming to the design that uses the historic design elements that were approved by the State Historic Sites Board and the Coastal Commission in 1992.
“Plus, both agencies reviewed the current updated design in the application that was finally approved in 2014,” said Benton adding town homes “will all have modern conveniences and range in size from approximately 3,100 to 5,000 square feet, with special care to create a design that continues the historic tradition of the Green Dragon colony. 
“All town homes have their own elevators and underground parking garages,” Benton said. “The large concrete wall fronting Coast Boulevard will be reduced substantially in height, so that each town home will have direct access to Coast Boulevard.” 
The three town homes will each have a unique style, with their own decks and balconies, wood detailing, and trellises facing the street, noted Benton.  “These will be available for long-term lease, and it is expected that the first showing of the units will be when we get further along in construction,” he said.
The former Green Dragon art colony, one of La Jolla’s most noteworthy early settlements, has had a long history.
Anna Held Heinrich, the governess of Ulysses S. Grant Jr.’s children, developed a collection of 12 cottages scattered along the hill there down to the ocean in 1894 she named the “Green Dragon Colony,” according to Wikipedia. The cottages were built between 1895 and 1906 during a Bohemian movement. Composers, actors, authors, architects and others came to spend time and practice their crafts while enjoying the La Jolla ocean view.
In 1981, the city designated the colony historically significant. In 1989, the San Diego City council voted 6-2 against a plan to condemn the 1-acre site and then sell it to the Chart House restaurant chain. The remaining four cottages were ultimately demolished in 1991. The 12 Green Dragon Buildings once occupied a loose collection of galleries and boutiques in La Jolla’s downtown Village.
Benton said project construction on Jack O’Lantern is expected to take 20 months adding, “by next summer (2017) we should really be off-site and working inside the buildings entirely.”