After decades of meetings and plenty of hand-wringing, the mayor of the upscale Orange County city of Dana Point says the coastal community is closer than ever to seeing its long-held dream — updating an aging harbor without losing the local charm — turn into a finished reality. All it took was $700 million.
“I think that it’s long overdue,” says Mayor John Gabbard, who is helping to oversee the complete revamp of Dana Point Harbor. The long-awaited project is now well underway, and it’s already reshaping the area’s famous waterfront. “We are excited to see any investment in Dana Point, and the harbor is a very, very big one for us.”
Talks of renovating the town’s timeless cove — which dates back to the 1800s and namesake sailor Richard Henry Dana — and its more recent harbor began in earnest many years ago, and in 2018, a public-private partnership was mounted between the city, county and Dana Point Harbor Partners to tackle the giant project. The issue, everyone agrees, is that the original harbor (dedicated in 1971) was not only falling apart in places, it also couldn’t keep up with modern times. Boat slips were too small, accessibility was tricky and, economically, the waterside restaurant and retail area wasn’t as thriving as it could be — and that’s to say nothing of future-proofing the area for rising sea levels and El Niño surges.
In total, the harbor’s big redo stretches from Baby Beach in the northwest corner out to the Dana Point Shipyard along the eastern edge, with most public businesses tucked into the center in what’s known as Harbor Village. Much of the development work is being done at the structural level: bringing safety features and access points up to code and protecting the area from erosion and rising seas. The commercial area’s foundation alone is being raised by more than 3 feet to help resist water rise. In September, the city was forced to red-tag a handful of coastal homes due to destruction from strong waves and high surf…