A new development along America’s Cup Harbor has brought the sport fishermen ashore with concerns over parking in an already crowded area.
Marina Green will replace an old shipyard with a 50-slip marina, co-op fish market, public viewpoint, promenade, park, and 24,000 square feet of office, retail and restaurant space. Opponents say the $9 million project will further frustrate the harbor’s parking situation by providing an inadequate number of spaces, while increasing traffic to the waterfront.
A meeting held by developer Tom Driscoll of Driscoll, Inc. at the San Diego Yacht Club April 6 reviewed the project and its reconfigured architecture by Seattle firm Miller Hall. More than 60 people attended, ranging from city officials to fishermen, residents and business owners. The motley crew sat patiently through the presentation, waiting until Driscoll addressed the parking issue to pounce.
“I think the only opposition is the parking,” Driscoll said. “[The opponents] are using the argument that before the Port goes and approves any more projects, they want to see a long-term parking solution.”
At issue are the 60 spaces allotted on Marina Green’s site, far less than the 170 required by the Port to accommodate boat owners, diners, shoppers and tourists. The outstanding 110 parking spots will be relocated to Driscoll’s adjacent development, Driscoll’s Wharf, which is in the initial planning stages. The Port agreed to such an arrangement because the two projects were initially proposed together and subsequently separated at their request.
Driscoll hopes to break ground on Marina Green in just three months and considers the current plans final. Planning for the wharf, however, is just the beginning and subject to change. All 110 Marina Green spaces at the wharf site are compact and might have to be enlarged, reducing the quantity of spots. Should the final count be lower than the Port’s requirement, Driscoll could limit the number of non-commercial fishing tenants at Marina Green to lessen the need for parking.
Kelly Faulk, representative from the Port’s real estate division, assured the audience that Marina Green will not receive permits if it does not provide enough parking. Both men noted that the problem does not stem from Marina Green alone, but rather a slew of development over the years.
“It’s all cumulative growth and some existing shortfalls,” Faulk said of the root problem. “We have to make sure that [Marina Green] parks itself to the criteria that we have established in our parking guidelines.”
The most vocal constituency at the meeting was the sport fishermen. Tim Ekstrom’s sport fishing business is heavily impacted by the lack of parking as development draws more and more people to Shelter Island.
“Permits keep being issued for new projects before the parking problem is solved,” he said. “The development moves forward, yet the parking problem is not addressed.”
Ekstrom is the co-owner of the Royal Star, a boat offering long-range trips for 18 to 24 anglers, and the New Lo-end, a larger boat accommodating 24 to 36 people on shorter trips of 24 to 36 hours. He estimates that the combined sport fishing fleet of roughly 40 local and 13 long-range boats serves more than 1,000 people on any given night during peak summer months, most of whom drive to Point Loma with their equipment and park their cars for the length of the trip.
“As a business owner, it translates to dollars and cents,” Ekstrom said of trying to attract customers from competition in Mission Bay and Oceanside. “Although we are the most modern, largest sport fishing fleet in the world, we have by far the worst parking of any sport fishing landing on the entire coast of California “” nothing even compares.”
Marina Green follows closely on the heels of another development completed in 2005, Sun Harbor Marina. Both are part of the larger America’s Cup Harbor Redevelopment Plan to renovate and update Shelter Island’s waterfront. In addition to adding more attractions, the Port is planning a $4 million realignment and beautification of North Harbor Drive. The project will add 185 new spaces along the frontage road, mostly metered.
Although the audience bemoaned the idea of paying for parking near their business or home, Driscoll insisted that was the only viable option.
“The day of free parking is coming to an end,” he said. “What we need is cost effective parking.”
Other solutions to the bigger picture for Shelter Island included a parking structure with 200 spaces across from Marina Green on a privately owned lot. To date, the Port has only conceptually discussed that option with Driscoll and the surrounding business owners, although he promised to further pursue the idea after prompting from the audience.
“A parking structure in Point Loma would be, I think, a great asset,” Driscoll said.
Sharon Cloward, executive director of the San Diego Port Tenants Association, encouraged those in attendance to pressure the Port for a parking structure and involve the city in the larger parking woes.
Regardless of what happens around Marina Green, Driscoll intends to push forward with his project and expects to receive the Port’s approval of his two-site parking scheme. He flatly rejected suggestions of removing proposed landscaping for more parking.
“We think it’s important to have the landscaping, the park, the public plaza and not take all this valuable waterfront property with parking cars,” he said.
Faulk said the Port selected Marina Green from other proposals because of its many beneficial uses.
“Just the park alone will add such a great community benefit, that and the connecting of the promenade,” he said. “Right now there are limited things, really, for people to come down to this area to see.”
To date, Driscoll estimates that almost $800,000 has been spent on design and architecture fees alone. This is in part due to the reworking of original plans that were inconsistent with Driscoll’s vision. Initial designs placed the structures parallel to the harbor, while the current design consists of three long buildings perpendicular to the waterfront to maintain view corridors from the street. The curved bay contributes to their irregular shapes, which create wedges of open space in between for a breezeway and public plaza.
“The idea is that the spaces go through,” said lead architect Bob Hall.
Hall said his inspirations were older marina structures that incorporate a range of diverse waterfront functions for a straightforward, honest feel, not at all stylized.
All of the elements honor fishing and boating, including the artwork. Local artist Melissa Smedley has designed three sculptures of knots to be cast in bronze aluminum. She chose the theme because it seemed to be of shared importance for fishermen and yachtsmen alike. They will be up to 17 feet in length and placed in the plaza and park.
The landscaping by Spurlock Poirier Landscape Architects also reinforces the working waterfront concept. Plants and trees will direct the eye toward the water and enhance the view corridors. Additionally, environmentally friendly materials will be employed, such as porous concrete that absorbs water instead of creating runoff, car parking stops made of recycled tires and recycled wood decking.
The project is Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certified. Other sustainable aspects include rainwater drainage collection and natural ventilation where possible.
For more information, contact the Port at (619) 686-6200 or Driscoll, Inc. at (619) 226-2500.