On February 7, 2020, restoration of California‘s coastal heritage got a major boost when the Crystal Cove Conservancy received $2 million from the California State Coastal Conservancy to help restore the 17 remaining cottages along the North Beach of Crystal Cove State Park.
The Coastal Conservancy voted at their public meeting yesterday to approve $2 million in funding that will go towards the second phase of the project: the historic restoration of the 17 cottages.
The first phase of the project began in December 2018 after $19 million was secured through private donations and low-interest loans to fund the first portion of the project which includes hillside retaining walls, underground utilities and a 650-foot elevated pathway and boardwalk that will protect the 1930s – 1950s era beachfront bungalows from 2050 sea level rise projections of 50 feet.
The infrastructure construction phase continues to be on time, on budget and is expected to be complete in late June 2020.
“We are thrilled about the tremendous support from our longtime partners, the California State Coastal Conservancy,” said Kate Wheeler, President & CEO of Crystal Cove Conservancy.
“This funding will ensure that we will be able to seamlessly transition to the second and final phase of renovating the cottages, which will result in an additional 24,000 low-cost overnight stays for the public to enjoy,” she added.
The Coastal Conservancy has been a long-time supporter of Crystal Cove Conservancy and the work they do to ensure that as many people as possible have access to the coast. These are the first grant funds awarded under California’s Proposition 68 which provides funding for low-cost coastal accommodations.
Crystal Cove Conservancy continues their efforts to raise additional funds to support the project’s second phase and has identified about $12M of the $28M needed in total, with $16M left to acquire to fully complete the project.
The restoration of the 17 remaining cottages will complete the vision for Crystal Cove State Park, create a sustainable revenue stream to support conservation and education efforts in the park and result in an additional 22 affordable overnight rental units coming online.
One of these last 17 cottages, which is designed to operate as a hostel-style dorm will host overnight coastal engineering programs for underserved high school students from around Southern California.
“With our partners at University of California Irvine, we will be educating and inspiring students from inland and underserved communities about the challenges of sea level rise and future coastal change as they sleep mere feet from the ocean,” said Wheeler.
Crystal Cove Conservancy is the nonprofit public benefit partner to Crystal Cove State Park, employing a social enterprise model to fund important preservation, education and conservation initiatives that will cultivate our planet’s next generation of environmental stewards ensuring that
Crystal Cove, and places like it, live on for generations. The Conservancy, formerly known as Crystal Cove Alliance, was founded in 1999 to save the Crystal Cove Historic District from being developed into a luxury resort property.
The Conservancy works in partnership with California State Parks to provide stewardship support for Crystal Cove’s nearly 2,800 acres of public lands including: The Crystal Cove Historic District and beach cottages (a National Register of Historic Places site); 2,400 acres of pristine wilderness habitat and the unspoiled Moro Canyon watershed (a National Natural Landmark site); over three miles of rocky beach coastline and intertidal habitat; 400 acres of coastal bluff habitat; and special underwater and offshore areas including the Crystal Cove State Marine Conservation Area.
By being a stewardship partner for this Southern California jewel, the Conservancy has been uniquely positioned to develop a nationally recognized STEM education program that uses authentic field science and monitoring to immerse students and community members in the practice of conservation and open space management.
Images courtesy of Crystal Cove Conservancy.