Pro North Beach Vision Coalition

Reality: Playa del Norte consists of seven one and two story buildings built in Spanish Colonial architecture.  These buildings will host restaurants and culinary shops such as coffee shops, bakeries, wine and cheese shops, etc.  The total leasable square footage across all buildings is about 42,000 square feet, which is less than the size of an average grocery store.  There will be approximately 50% open space including courtyards, gardens, ocean view plazas, and grassy park.  All open space will be for public use.

Reality:  During the design and environmental review process the City had conversations with the California Coastal Commission.  As a result the parking structure was removed to avoid impacts on the Pico View Corridor.  At the same time the project shrunk in size and Playa del Norte is now able to meet its parking requirements using a surface parking lot.

The reason the City is building the parking is so it can collect the considerable amount of parking revenue that will be generated.

Reality:  The City chose to take the parking away from the LAB and will be keeping all the parking revenue.  The City has more than $8 million in a dedicated Beach Parking Fund that was collected from developer fees.  That money has been doing nothing for 20 years.  By investing in its intended use - parking - the money can start generating revenue for general City services such as public safety, recreation, and other vital City services.  Projections show a recovery of the original $4.1 million in four to seven years with revenue continuing years into the future.  Even though the LAB will not get any parking revenue, this is a fantastic return on investment for the City.

Reality:  The land was compared to a property that sold for $9 million in 2007. The property was in Newport Beach and was intended for mixed condo and commercial.  After adjusting for land use restrictions and infrastructure improvements, the North Beach land was appraised at $6.2 million.  That was in 2008.  Since then the real estate market has crashed, the LAB has invested $3 million in the project, and the land was reduced 30% to two lots instead of three (the Marblehead parking lot was removed from the deal).  So many things have changed the only way to properly determine the value of the property would be another appraisal.

Reality:  The land is going to be leased to the LAB with an option to buy.  The option to buy will only be after three years of operation (and no greater than seven years).  The purpose of the delay is to allow the value of the property to stabilize.  AT THAT TIME AN APPRAISER WILL ESTABLISH THE VALUE OF THE PROPERTY.  Depending on various market conditions, the price could range from an estimated $1.8 million to $13 million, with a most likely price range of $4-7 million based an "average" real estate market conditions.  There is a provision in the lease/purchase agreement that sets a minimum price of $1 million to protect the City from extreme downside.

Reality:  Naysayers point to the use of the Beach Parking Fund to help build parking.  However the City will recover this money in parking revenue very quickly, and then enjoy a considerable revenue stream for years to come.  The LAB will invest more than $18 million of private funds to build Playa del Norte.

Reality:  The City does not have enough money to build and maintain all the parks that are already planned.  It certainly does not have enough money to build a park that is NOT planned.  Informed citizens will ask which planned parks or facilities need to be sacrificed in order to afford a park in North Beach.  

Playa del Norte offers outstanding outdoor spaces with ocean views for people to meet and relax.