I am posting this here because Council Member O'Neil had an opinion write up in the Pacifica Tribune this week regarding the development of 3.1 acres of City owned oceanfront property at 2212 Beach Blvd.: The City Council Chambers building and the Old Wastewater Treatment Plant.
He was not in full knowledge of what the Pacifica Ocean Discovery Center (PODC) group was requesting. It was not Hotel vs PODC on the site as he presented it. We were not asking for the entire site, only a set aside of 20%.
In fact we are in favor of a Hotel. We are requesting that the City section off the same amount of space that was previously set aside for the Library on this site (30,000 sq ft), and give us a year to raise the money to purchase the site. (roughly 2.5 - 3 million)
In order for this last developer to make space on the site for the Library he had to eliminate 20 hotel rooms, reducing the number of 140 rooms down to 120. The trade-off of the 20 hotel rooms in order build an oceanfront aquarium seems like a "no brainer".
Plus having the Pacifica Ocean Discovery Center as a tourist attraction will bring visitors into the city, stay in the hotels, shop, and eat at local restaurants. This oceanfront Aquarium will help fill the rooms in the large hotel on this site, as well as rooms in the other hotels in town.
20 years ago the PODC raised 13k in grant money to prepare our proposal. We hired professionals to do architecture, engineering, sea water intake engineering, financial analysis; we had support letters from numerous environmental groups, schools and colleges. We even had a support letter from Dr. Sylvia Earle, the most renowned marine biologist on the planet. The proposal was thick as a phone book.
Back then it was large Hotel versus the PODC (with a 40 room hotel). Despite overwhelming support from the public, the City chose the Hotel. That Hotel developer backed out a year and a half later. The City has been trying to get a Hotel on the site for 20 years.
After the decision the PODC stayed together for a few years, but since we could not get an option on the property or support from the City, it became impossible to raise funding for this vision, the group and hope faded away.
When the vote last year for the Library to be built on this site failed, we realized that this section of the property could possibly become available. A couple of the founding members had a table at last year's Pacifica Earth Day event and discussed this possibility with the public, there was overwhelming support. Since then a new board of directors has been partially assembled, and in the process of having our non-profit status re-instated.
Do we have any funding at this point? No. About two years ago a member of a philanthropy team approached one of the founding members after hearing about the PODC proposal from years ago. There was this opportunity for 10 million dollars for this type of marine related project, but because the City had just entered into negotiations with this last Developer and set aside land for the Library, it was not possible to go for this opportunity.
Now that the Developer and Library has exited from the site, we believe if the City put wording in the RFP/RFQ supporting the PODC concept and showing the land space we would like to set aside, that there might be a possibility to go for this type of funding in the future.
Funding for such a venture is challenging, but we are in a different situation than 20 years ago, there was almost no internet. Today because of the internet there has been an explosion of wealth in Silicon Valley, San Mateo County and the Bay Area. YouTube is in San Bruno. We could care less if it was called the Zukerberg Aquarium, but that type of money is out there. It would require funding from several sources, and would require contracting with a Capital Acquisition professional.
How much would it cost? We base our proposed PODC almost identical to the two aquariums in Santa Cruz: The Seymour Discovery Center, and the fairly new Sanctuary Exploration Center that was built six years ago. The City of Santa Cruz donated the property and NOAA's Office of National Marine Sanctuaries (ONMS) and the National Marine Sanctuary Foundation provided funds to build the 12,000 sq. ft. $15.9 million Sanctuary Exploration Center. The proposed PODC would be roughly 15,000 sq ft first floor.
Both of the Aquariums cited rent out their facilities to help cover operation costs. In our proposal we would do the same. Mr. O'Neil was seeking a 200 room conference center as a preferred part of the development in the RFP/RFQ. In our proposal we include a 15,000 sq ft second floor as a 200+ room conference center multi-purpose room for the Hotel, additional use for City Council Chamber meetings, Library presentations, music performances, and other such as wedding receptions.
Lastly, it is all about the Pipe in the ocean, and the Pump House building that is required to stay on the property. The only reason the Pier was built was to carry a pipe that came out of the Pump House, and out under the Pier and into the ocean, so that we could send our secondary waste water into the ocean, thankfully we no longer do this. The Pier infrastructure and Pipe are a valuable asset that no other city has. We can use this pipe infrastructure for seawater intake/ outflow for the aquarium exhibits. It is why after all these years the PODC has wanted to utilize this aspect along with a section of the property. Also utilizing this asset would allow the City to apply for grant money to save the Pier.
This is our one and only chance at this!
If you support the concept of the Pacifica Ocean Discovery Center, please come to the upcoming City Council Meeting, Monday March 12th, 7pm, wear blue, and fill out a yellow card if you would like to speak in favor.
Thanks
-Mitch Reid
Pacifica Ocean Discovery Center
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