Words and photos by Rebecca Nordquist
San Clemente Times
One year after receiving the go-ahead to start construction on Marblehead Coastal, property developers unlock the padlocks to show their on-site progress
Beyond the tractors and the moving of dirt visible from Interstate 5, what’s happening behind locked gates at Marblehead Coastal? To get that answer, the SC Times toured the grounds with Mike McGovern, project manager for SunCal Companies, property developers. But to understand the significance of this project, one must start at the beginning.
“Cattle used to roam over [at Marblehead Coastal],” says Pat Bouman, who worked
at the San Clemente Police Department for 33 years and whose parents moved to San Clemente in 1949. “They would roam across the bridge over toward Marblehead [Inland] and one of our police officers—who was also a cowboy—would get his lasso and herd them back.” Bouman also recalls that the land was a tomato field—farmed by Japanese families—and it had plans for a Mormon college on land donated by the owner of Reeves Rubber Company, which was located nearby. In fact, Marblehead Coastal was known as Reeves Ranch for years.
But the most notable of potential occupants was the Nixon Library. On April 30, 1983, Los Angeles Times headlines read: “Nixon Picks Presidential Library Site: Complex Will Be Built Atop Bluff in San Clemente.” For myriad reasons, the former president and the Richard M. Nixon Archives Foundation changed the location to Nixon’s birthplace of Yorba Linda, Calif. “We were all crushed when we didn’t get the Nixon Library,” she says. “It was a sad day for San Clemente, but we still had the Western White House.”
And since that time in the early ’80s, the City of San Clemente vacillated on how the property should be developed. According to Garth Nagel, contract planner for the city, there were proposals for a destination resort with a golf course, 290 homes and a resort hotel and, at one point, plans for 1,000 residential units that would fill the canyons and open space with 60 acres for commercial uses. Finally in 2004, the city and the California Coastal Commission approved a plan set out by MT No. 1, LLC—also known as the Lusk Company run by the late Jim Johnson. “This plan preserved more of the canyons, sensitive habitats and open space,” says Nagel.
So when SunCal bought the 248-acre parcel in 2005, the plan for 313 homes and a commercial site was predetermined. And since receiving its Coastal Development Permit in March 2006, SunCal and Craig Realty Group—the company developing the commercial site, including a retail outlet center, movie theatre, several restaurants, a hotel and more—have been busy preparing the property and finalizing details. And that almost minimalizes the amount of sweat that’s gone into these projects.
Avenida Vista Hermosa Bridge
Connecting at Interstate 5 and Avenida Pico, Avenida Vista Hermosa will serve as the main road through Marblehead Coastal. And part of that plan is a 400-foot-long bridge that spans over Marblehead Canyon—which is home to a wetland, with a natural stream and several species including a bobcat, coyotes, gnatcatchers and more. The construction on the bridge started three months ago with a completion date of May or June 2008. “The bridge should lighten traffic on the freeway, [Calle] Frontera and Pico,” says McGovern.
Habitat Management Plan (HMP)
When SunCal received its Coastal Development Permit on March 27, 2006, it had to adhere to strict guidelines set out by the Coastal
Commission in conjunction with the California Department of Fish & Game and the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service. SunCal had to remove all non-native flora and replace it with California native plants, including coastal bluff shrub, sagebrush, opuntia (a cactus) and more. In fact, there are more than 25 different species being planted on site. It was also required to preserve 10 acres of existing coastal sage shrub (CSS)—whose numbers are declining due to statewide development and which provides a habitat for endangered species—and create approximately 72 acres of CSS, among other restoration projects. Every flag in this photo represents a newly planted native plant.
“The biologists’ word is law here,” says McGovern. “All of these plants are native to the coastal zone.” The coastal zone, which stretches 1,100 miles and includes approximately 287 miles of shoreline around nine offshore islands, is protected by the California Coastal Act of 1976. It was designed to protect and expand public access to beaches, and to protect, enhance and restore environmentally sensitive habitats. Marblehead Coastal has 200 acres or so that lie in the coastal zone. According to McGovern, there are approximately 120 acres of open space and parks on the premises. There will be four miles of public-access trails and sidewalks.
Custom and Production Home Lots
Canyon View Park will go in to the right of the traffic circle. There are 69 custom home lots—some of which are approved to be merged. According to SunCal literature, “On lots that are eligible to be merged, the merge maximum is 50 percent of the second lot, i.e. no buyer can merge two lots entirely—just 50 percent of the second lot can be combined with the first lot. The maximum size of any home on merged lots is 13,000 square feet. The maximum size of any home on single lots is 9,600 square feet.” Custom home lots owners will be able to choose their architect, but will have to meet specific criteria set out by SunCal.
Of the 313 lots on the premises, production home lots make up 244. When SunCal bought the property in 2005 from MT No. 1, the City of San Clemente and the Coastal Commission had already agreed on this plan. In this photo, these production home lots will line up against Marblehead Canyon, which almost bisects the property.
Water Quality and Basin
This is the largest of three basins on the property—with 2.6 acres on the inside. Designed to retain storm water and improve its quality, it will collect water from the residential and retail developments and Marblehead Inland. The water will enter the basin through the cement structure in the foreground—a 6-foot in diameter cement pipe (which is made of approximately $100,000 worth of concrete) that will slow the water down. The oils and particulates will settle to the bottom, and the cleaner water on top will go through the storm drains into the ocean. The basin will be cleaned every seven years.
Colony Cove
This is the site of much recent debate. Residents of Colony Cove (on left of photo), a community built in the late ’60s, were concerned that the custom homes in Marblehead would dwarf theirs and, ultimately, affect property values. On May 1, Colony Cove representatives, SunCal and City Council came to an agreement on a plan. “I’m happy that it was a unanimous City Council decision.I think that’s important,” says David Soyka, senior vice president of marketing at SunCal. “The plan that was approved is going to be better for the city, because it’s going to allow for flexibility in the design of the community—which was always intended to not make this a cookie-cutter approach. The process worked as it should have. It’s a democratic process: they’re all elected officials, there were people who had an opinion and a compromise was reached.”
Retail
This is a view over Marblehead Canyon and it shows the location of the hotel and a bridge that links the property. Groundbreaking for The Lodge at San Clemente, which will be built across the canyon on the far upper right, is slated for early 2008, with a tentative open date at the end of 2008 or the beginning of 2009. “There will be 129 rooms,” says Steve Craig, president and chief executive officer of Craig Realty Group. “They’re all custom, suite-size rooms with large baths that have separate showers.” Groundbreaking for The Lodge at San Clemente is slated for early 2008, with a tentative open date at the end of 2008 or the beginning of 2009. “There will be 129 rooms,” says Steve Craig, president and chief executive officer of Craig Realty Group. “They’re all custom, suite-size rooms with large baths that have separate showers.”
Another aspect of The Lodge at San Clemente is a proposed 14,000-square-foot community meeting place designed for weddings, events and more. “The city was highly encouraging to us—it’s something the residents wanted,” says Craig. “It hasn’t been completely signed, sealed and delivered because the final bid hasn’t been received, but that’s our direction.”
As for the bridge, Craig Realty Group is sending the project out to re-bid. It’ll be a small internal bridge that links the retail center to the hotel and will replace the interim bridge.
At press time, Craig couldn’t reveal the list of potential retail occupants. He did say that some of the stores will be outlets and some will be “unique to their area to fill in a niche that isn’t covered in the outlet industry.” Currently, Craig Realty Group is working on drawings for the project, which plans to include 10 to 12 restaurants, a movie theatre and a possible bookstore. “We worked for several years to work out a deal with Barnes & Noble, but we weren’t able to,” says Craig. “We’re talking to another book company now. The book business is tough right now with Internet book sales.” This will be the retail center’s main entrance off Avenida Vista Hermosa.
Jim Johnson Memorial Sports Park
Located between the 5 freeway at Avenida Vista Hermosa and Shorecliffs Middle School, the Jim Johnson Memorial Sports Park is one of four public parks on the premises—the others being Pico Park, Sunset Park and Canyon View Park. It will be shared by the City of San Clemente and Capistrano Unified School District. McGovern says it should be available to the public by the end of the year. It will have three soccer fields—one built with artificial turf—and a Courtney’s Sand Castle, which is a playground designed for children with disabilities and is named after Courtney Faye Smith, a local girl with spinal muscular atrophy. The parking lot also will be used for pickups and drop-offs at Shorecliffs. It will not be lighted.
Name the OutletShopping Center
For the past year, the retail portion of Marblehead Coastal has been known as Plaza San Clemente—but that was just a working name. Now Craig Realty Group is asking for the community’s help in naming the center, and it’ll award the winner $500. To submit an entry, go to www.namethiscenter.com. The contest begins May 11 at 12:01 a.m. and ends at midnight on July 8. All entries must be submitted via the official contest Web site and must include the entrant’s name and phone number. In the event of duplicate submissions of the winning entry, prize money will be awarded based on review of date and time stamp of entry submission. A selection committee will choose the winners.
HOT LINKS
www.coastal.ca.gov
www.craigrealtygroup.com
www.marbleheadonthecoast.com
www.san-clemente.org
www.suncal.com
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