The Unified Port of San Diego’s board of directors unanimously approved on Oct. 7 the construction of a 424-space parking structure along North Harbor Drive. Construction has started as part of a bigger project that includes marina improvements and a restaurant in the area. The board also gave the go-ahead for marina developers to come up with a paid-parking management plan for the area, according to port documents. The parking structure, slated to be built at the site of the former Westy’s lumberyard at 4975 N. Harbor Drive, is part of the second phase of a two-phase project planned for America’s Cup Harbor. The first phase includes marina-related offices, the construction of a restaurant, a 16,000-square-foot park, short-term anchoring for “dock and dine” services and an additional 50 boat slips, said Marguerite Elicone, a port district representative. The first phase is complete, Elicone said. The second phase includes a third building across the street for a restaurant or other commercial uses. The parking structure would also include commercial space at the bottom and parking above, according to tentative design plans and port officials. The project is one of many developments, including landscape changes to North Harbor Drive, that would improve the area, said Tom Driscoll, owner of Driscoll Boat Works and partner behind the Point Loma Marina improvement projects. “[The project] is going to be the catalyst for enhancement for that whole part of America’s Cup Harbor,” Driscoll said. He added that Port of San Diego tenants have invested millions into the area to improve the gateway to the marina, resulting in a lot of changes in the area. “Certainly from our perspective we want to see the maritime flavor stay and some of the water dependent uses stay as well…so we’ll have facilities for those people,” he said. Conceptual plans call for the multistory parking structure include a market, wind-powered electricity generators and solar energy panels. The Unified Port of San Diego stands to gain more than $450,000 in rent and fees from the parking structure, according to estimates. The company that will operate the structure has not been identified, port officials said. Though the projects are part of an effort by marina owners, developers and investors to redevelop sections of North Harbor Drive to include additional parking elsewhere, some Point Loma residents have said the projects aren’t needed. “They’re going to tear up and narrow [North] Harbor Drive for a period of six to nine months. The curved lane from Scott Street will be permanently gone. All to add about 185 paid parking spaces along North Harbor Drive,” said longtime Point Loma resident Tom Delahanty. Delahanty said parking spaces now available along the street don’t fill up with cars during a majority of the year — an observation disputed by some neighboring businesses. Still, Delahanty is sticking to his assessment of unused parking. “That makes even less sense to build a parking structure,” Delahanty said.