The Tidelands Archive

The Port of San Diego is considering four submittals to its request for qualifications to develop a 1,000- to 1,200-room hotel at the former Campbell Shipyard, off Eighth Avenue and Harbor Drive, just south of the San Diego Convention Center and southwest of the Ballpark Project. Estimated annual rent to the port from a first-class, waterfront hotel on the 13-acre site would be $6.7 million. Preparing development proposals (with their recent developments listed in parentheses) are:

• Maritime Venture Partners, to be formed by Mesirow Stein Development Services Inc. (Hyatt Regency McCormick Place in Chicago) and Clark Construction Group Inc. (at work on the $140 million, 750-room Hyatt Regency San Diego expansion), with hotel operator not yet named.
• Hilton San Diego Convention Center, to be formed by Hilton Hotels Corp., Portman Development (Westin Charlotte Convention Center Hotel), Phelps Program Management (Sheraton Grand at Sacramento), Waterford Development Co. (Del Mar Gateway Marriott), and Lankford & Associates of San Diego, with Hilton operating.
• TUDC, with Tishman Urban Development Corp. (Westin New York at Times Square) as general partner and THR Management as limited partner, with Sheraton Hotels & Resorts operating.
• M.L. Hotels, formed by Marriott International Inc. and Landmark Organization (Austin Convention Center Hilton Hotel), with Marriott operating.

The port bought out developer Doug Manchester’s option for a hotel on the site in a $5 million deal last year. Manchester is developing the Hyatt Regency San Diego expansion nearby. The Campbell project could involve tax-exempt financing with the port retaining ownership, and all four development plans are examining that.

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The National Marine Manufacturers Association predicts the industry may be unable to meet anticipated demand for new boats through the middle of the year, based on current inventory. NMMA President Thom Dammrich says the industry is poised for recovery based on the dramatic drops in fuel prices and interest rates.
In San Diego, Chuck Driscoll, vice president of Driscoll Inc., says, “We’re expecting a very good year. We had a record year in 2001.” For the local boating market, “I think it’s going to be fine. There’s going to be some that aren’t going to make it, though,” he adds.

Driscoll’s Kettenburg Marine yard has just completed dock improvements resulting in three 200-foot-long piers. “We’re shooting for more pierside large yacht repairs,” he says.

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The five members of the interim San Diego County Regional Airport Authority are Chula Vista Mayor Shirley Horton, Oceanside Mayor Terry Johnson, La Mesa Mayor Art Madrid, San Diego attorney Paul Peterson and San Diego City Councilman Byron Wear. They were selected by Thella Bowens, interim executive director of the authority and senior director of aviation for the port, which is to transfer the nation’s 27th busiest airport to the authority by 2006. A nine-member permanent board will take office in December.
“The port has relied on the airport trust fund for their administration,” Wear says. “We have to work on how to break the organization apart. Perhaps there’ll be no need to have three different police services, for example. We might find we don’t need the Harbor Police.”

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The Washington state-based aircraft carrier Vinson is due to arrive at an unspecified date this month at North Island, where three air support squadrons aboard the flattop are based. The Vinson was relieved after two months of Afghan air operations from the Arabian Sea by the North Island-homeported Stennis and six other warships based in San Diego last month. The Vinson battle group includes the San Diego-based guided missile cruiser Antietam. The carriers Constellation and Nimitz remain at North Island.

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The Antietam is due for six months of dry-docking, maintenance and upgrades at National Steel and Shipbuilding Co. beginning in March under a $5.1 million Navy contract with options up to $20.2 million awarded the General Dynamics subsidiary. Southwest Marine, NASSCO’s neighboring shipyard, will share the work, providing machinery maintenance and habitability help. NASSCO President Richard Vortmann says San Diego shipyards now can repair and upgrade all classes of San Diego-based Navy ships, including carriers and submarines.

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The Propeller Club meets for dinner at 5:30 p.m. Jan. 9 at Tom Ham’s Lighthouse, 2150 Harbor Island Drive, with Adm. Timothy LaFleur as guest speaker. The San Diego club is one of 57 in U.S. ports and 26 overseas seeking to promote and support waterborne commerce and national security. It’s in the midst of a membership drive. “We’re open to everybody that involves a marine screw,” says Stephen Kirkwood, club president. For dinner reservations ($25 per person) and membership information, call (619) 336-2220.

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January sees the last weekly shipments until September of Chilean avocados coming into the 10th Avenue Marine Terminal. Other commercial cargo arriving includes automobiles, cement, lumber, sand and automobiles at the National City Marine Terminal.

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The port’s Cruise Ship Terminal at the B Street Pier is scheduled to berth Royal Caribbean International’s Viking Serenade for its weekly visits Jan. 2, 9, 16, 23 and 30 and Vision of the Seas Jan. 6; Holland America Line’s Statendam Jan. 7 and 17; Crystal Cruises’ Crystal Symphony Jan. 3; Seabourn Cruise Line’s Seabourn Sun Jan. 7; and Princess Cruises’ Crown Princess Jan. 27.

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The square riggers Lady Washington and Hawaiian Chieftain will return for their annual visit to San Diego. Their arrival about 2 p.m. Jan. 24 off the Coast Guard Air Station should include a mock cannon duel able to set off hair-trigger car alarms a mile away. The ships then dock at the San Diego Maritime Museum. Three-hour battle re-enactment sailings are scheduled for 2 to 5 p.m. weekends, at $40 for adults and $20 for children. For more information, call (619) 234-9154.