City officials, business owners and residents linked arms in a show of pride and unity recently, raising nearly $56,000 for the Ocean Beach Community Development Corporation’s ambitious Entryway Fund.
The gala fund-raising dinner, held at Thee Bungalow on Aug. 8, generated a $35,000 contribution from the city of San Diego that was presented by Second District Councilman Kevin Faulconer, along with nearly $21,000 in private and community donations, according to Ann Kelsey, a member of the OBCDC board of directors.
The latest round of donations pushes the OBCDC ever closer to its estimated goal of $800,000 to complete the entryway project.
“This was an extremely successful event,” said Kelsey. “I know all the members of the board of directors were pleased with the community outpouring and with the recognition of so much hard work that has gone into the planning on this project. It was definitely a community coming together.”
The entryway project, scheduled to be launched early next year, will include myriad elements, including the unification of the northern entryways into Ocean Beach, the improvement of traffic flow, and enhancement of access to Robb Field.
The goal is to create an entryway and streetscape that reflect the unique flavor of the community, said Kelsey.
CDC officials hope to have the first phase of the entryway project completed by mid-2008, she added.
“Actual completion of the project as a whole is more difficult to pinpoint,” Kelsey said. “That will really depend on how quickly we are able to reach our funding goal, as well as other factors like inflation and its impact on materials and labor costs. But obviously our goal is to complete this as soon as possible.”
The lion’s share of the funding generated during the Aug. 8 fund-raising dinner came from the city.
This latest installment is part of an estimated $250,000 in grant funding secured from the city, county and federal levels and will be applied toward construction documents, project management and actual construction, according to CDC documents.
To date, CDC officials have also collected at least $150,000 in private funding from citizens, the Ocean Beach MainStreet Association and the OB Town Council, Kelsey said.
The recent fund-raising dinner drew 110 celebrants, including a mixture of representatives from the city, the OB MainStreet Association, OB Town Council, OB Planning Group, People’s Market, OB Dog Wash and the OB Hotel, according to Kelsey.
All together, CDC officials raised nearly $21,000 from the dinner and the sale of bricks and tiles ” which will bear the names of donors and personal messages ” that will be embedded on a community wall of the Ocean Beach entryway.
The dinner, wine and location were donated by David and Leslie Cohn of the Cohn Restaurant Group, according to Kelsey.
Residents may view the entryway plan, along with the mission statement and past projects, by visiting www.obcdc.org.