Below are a few updates regarding development projects at the Harbor from Ventura County Harbor Department Director Mark Sandoval. Director Sandoval wrote these updates on February 22, 2019.

Whale’s Tail

The project to rebuild the Whale’s Tail as Fresca’s at the Harbor is getting very close.  The lease will be taken to the Board of Supervisors for approval once all the requisite documentation has been submitted and reviewed.  To date, we have approved the construction plans and the construction estimate (budget).  There is one outstanding issue regarding the lease, and we are awaiting the financing plan and financial institution approvals.

Once we have received the outstanding items, and vetted them thoroughly, we will take the lease to the Board for approval.  We anticipate this action on March 19 or April 9, depending on when we receive the documents and how long the review takes.

The operator is anxious to get the project started, so we expect the activity to start at the site shortly after the lease is executed.

Peninsula Projects

The projects on Peninsula Road are moving forward at a steady pace.  We had hoped to break ground late last year, but that was not possible for a number of reasons.

There are three projects which will be under construction at the same time, and therefore need to be coordinated with regards to the construction schedule as well as controlled via construction and common area agreements.

The first project is the hotel/restaurant replacement.  The developer is moving forward with the building permits and should be ready to break ground once the associated agreements are finalized.

The second project is the replacement of the marina at the end of the peninsula.  This project is also in the building permitting stage and should be ready to begin demolition once the associated agreements are finalized.

The third project is the replacement of the rock revetment around the end of the peninsula.  It was believed that this would be a relatively minor project, but we found in September 2018 that this was essentially a total revetment replacement, involving the removal and replacement of twelve thousand tons of rock.  As a result, the project requires regulatory permits including the Coastal Commission, Water Quality Control Board and Army Corps of Engineers.  We have submitted these permit applications, and are anticipating approval by the end of March 2019 or early April 2019.  This work will be done from the landside, which will be less costly, will impact the active marina operation much less, and will be less of an impact to the waterway activity.  This project is estimated to cost $2.5 million, and will cost roughly $4 million if handled from the water, as well as being more of an operational interruption, as described above.

The common area and construction agreements will be approved by the Board of Supervisors once all of the construction and common area operational conditions and requirements are agreed upon by all parties.  These are detailed and complex documents, and we are currently working with both parties to finalize outstanding points.

The current schedule includes the following:

• Revetment project approval by regulators April 2019
• Agreements to Board of Supervisors May 2019
• Hotel demolition and abatement May 2019 to August 2019
• Dock removal and partial reconfiguration July 2019 to August 2019
• Revetment rebuild September 2019 to February 2020
• Ground stabilization for hotel February 2020 to March 2020
• Build hotel, restaurant and marina (partial) April 2020 to September 2021
• Complete marina December 2021