Last week a commenter on the OB Rag pointed out that it appeared that construction on the OB Gateway had stopped. So, your dutiful scribes here at the Rag decided to look into it.
According to information provided to us by Tony Manolatos in Councilman Kevin Faulconer’s office, the project is currently waiting for custom inscribed donor tiles that are to be provided by the Ocean Beach Community Development Corp. From city staff:
As you are probably aware, Phase 1 of the gateway plaza is open for public use in compliance with the timeline for the Prop 40 grant deadline. It is our understanding that the “punch list items” yet to be completed by the contractor are pending the arrival of the inscribed donor tiles to be provided by the OBCDC. Installation of sidewalk railing (along Sunset Cliffs Blvd.) and property line screen wall will be completed at the same time with the installation of the tiles.
Sources have also claimed that contractors on the project have not been paid for some of the work they’ve done. A representative from Native Landscape, the landscape contracting firm on the project, declined to go into detail about the company’s dealings with the City, but did intimate that there have been some issues receiving payment from the City. The representative did say, however, that the firm has been paid most of what it is owed.
For their part, representatives in the city’s Engineering and Capital Projects department were not aware of any issues related to payments to contractors.
The OB Gateway project was budgeted $435,000 for construction on the remodeled entryway. A total of $872,188 was set aside for the job, which included design, environmental impact study, permitting, and staff time. Funds were raised through a combination of sources, including Prop 40, a community block development grant, and private donations.
Groundbreaking for the entryway redesign took place last December, and was initially estimated to be completed by February, 2011. Despite that estimate, city staffers insist that the project is not behind schedule.
{ 7 comments… read them below or add one }
It’s looking great! With the exception of those awful black pedestrian lights. I don’t understand why those were chosen, and why they have no light filter? It shines right in your eyes as a driver and a pedestrian. Plus they don’t match the organic nature of the rest of the design. Oh well, it still looks awesome for the most part. Good job OB CDC!
Here’s our report on the groundbreaking on this project: http://obrag.org/?p=29164
I haven’t seen any workers at the site for days and days as I drive past there.
Andy, thanks for dropping everything and jumping on this. I know you did a bunch of research and phone calling – thankless work – only to find that not much was happening… probably.
When the old asphalt ramp was closed, they put up a sign that said it would be closed (as I recall) from March 29th to April 30th. I think they missed that deadline by 3 to 4 weeks.
But the project isn’t really behind schedule, because they are waiting for the custom tiles. Heck…you could even say that the project is ahead of schedule, because they finished the first phase well before the tiles were ready.
The sprinklers are working in the planter boxes with the new palm trees, but the drinking fountain is behind a chain link fence. Fear not. The drinking fountain is ahead of schedule….we’re just waiting on the fence guy.
Inscribed Donor Tiles.Where have I come across that before? Let me ponder. Oh,yea, it was around ’79 or ’80. Spaceman was painting a 4×8 piece of plywood nailed to the wall of the “San Vicente Inn” (Check your history for this location) When he came up with the “IDEA” to lay some cut in half bricks between the sidewalk and the curb on Newport and sell ’em. Mostly to tourists walking by. He was a veritable money making machine back then. He would charge a buck or whatever the traffic would bear to paint your name on the bricks there. Once the bricks were all sold and painted he was in a light weight jam. So what was his solution? He just waited until his most recent customer was gone up the street and he would white-out the first few bricks sold and re-sell them. I realize I wander off topic every once in a while (Brother Allen), but this might be a way we can pay for the OB Gateway’s up keep and also raise the cash for the Fire Rings too.
I have tried to call the number for the OBCDC but it is disconnected. Are tiles still available for purchase?