The Port District held several meetings over the month of September to discuss several interesting projects on its planning plate — with time frames ranging from immediate to speculative to the distant future — that might best be described as a lot of food for thought. First up for discussion was the initial stage of the grand North Embarcadero beautification program. Previous meetings have brought attention to a possible expansion of Seaport Village and projections toward an upturn in the cruise ship business. The Joint Powers Authority (JPA) for the North Embarcadero Visionary Plan was advised that the first phase will transform the San Diego bay front from the Navy Pier to the B Street Pier. It includes a 105-foot-wide esplanade with formal gardens, plazas, shade pavilions and a waterfront promenade.  Also presented was the conceptual design of Lane Field, a 1.66-acre park that will be created at the foot of West Broadway and North Harbor Drive.  JPA members include San Diego City Council President Pro Tem Kevin Faulconer, Centre City Development Corporation Board of Directors member Laurie Black and Board of Port Commissioners Chairman Scott Peters. Seaport Village and the surrounding waterfront area, including the old police headquarters, have been designated for major changes, pending a November financial deadline. A Carlsbad developer reportedly is racing to obtain $40 million for the transformation of the 72-year-old complex into a vibrant downtown destination. Terramar Retail Centers, which operates Seaport Village, has an option with the Port District to redevelop the city’s former police headquarters building. It is lining up high-profile restaurant tenants that it believes will help cement the financing it needs to complete the mixed-use project by as early as late 2012. “It will really enliven that area, which is a very critical part of the waterfront and is under appreciated and underused by locals,” Peters said. “Up to now, people haven’t had the confidence to invest, and now Terramar has found people who believe the conditions are right and optimistic enough to go forward.” Over the past several years, Terramar has invested more than $10 million in marketing, option agreements and preliminary construction work to clean up the interior and remove partitions, jail cell doors and fixtures. Port Commissioners were told by the planning firm Bermello Ajamil & Partners, Inc. that the cruise business was in “the bottom of the trough” and it was time to find the potential for recovery and growth. Trend lines might indicate the beginning of a turnaround by 2015. “Cruise ships are an important business for San Diego,” said Peters. “It’s good to see there is light at the end of the tunnel — even though it’s a longer tunnel than we’d like.” Business has slumped because of the struggling economy and strife in Mexico — a common destination for cruises departing from San Diego.  Cruise ship traffic peaked in 2008 with more than 916,000 passengers on 254 sailings, but a report noted this level of activity may not return until the late 2020s. This year, the volume is projected at 307,000 passengers on 104 sailings. That volume of cruise activity is expected to bring more than $200 million into the local economy. The Port oversees two maritime cargo terminals, a cruise ship terminal, 17 public parks, various wildlife reserves and environmental initiatives, the Harbor Police Department and the leases of more than 600 tenant and subtenant businesses around San Diego Bay.