Martinez looking to revitalize marina with new $500 million waterfront plan

MARTINEZ, Calif. (KGO) -- The City of Martinez is hoping to make it a city that is a destination for the entire Bay Area.

"Everyone has said for years that the Martinez Marina and our waterfront is a jewel of the East Bay. But honestly, when you go down there, it is so underutilized," says Mayor Brianne Zorn.

To fix that, a plan is underway to transform the waterfront with a proposed hotel, amphitheater, event center, restaurants and retail.

"It's a big deal, we have been talking about, or something like this, for decades. And now it's finally coming to fruition," says Mayor Zorn.

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The fishing pier dates back to the 1930s. The marina was largely built in the 1960s. Since then, its infrastructure, such as the seawalls, has deteriorated - with a price tag in the tens of millions of dollars to fix. Which the city says that's money they don't have.

"Without an outside investor, without a private public partnership, that we are looking into right now, we really don't have the funding to do this," explains Zorn.

Last month, the city signed an Exclusive Negotiating Agreement (ENA) with Tucker Sadler Architects. Now they have two years to work toward a final development agreement.

Part of the plan is to drive economic activity by creating synergy between the marina and downtown.

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"We are going to be able to create these nodes of activities. If there is a festival that is happening at the waterfront, there is going to be an aspect of it that'll be in downtown. That way we complement one another with the activities that are taking place," says Gregory Mueller, the CEO of Tucker Sadler Architects.

According to the city documents: "If a future Development Agreement is approved, the project could eliminate the City's ongoing General Fund subsidy for Marina operations (savings of about $650,000+ per year); shift responsibility for Marina reconstruction, including dredging and seawall/breakwater replacement, to the developer; and generate new long-term revenue for the City through transient occupancy tax, sales tax, possessory interest tax, and lease payments"

Mayor Zorn says the project's total cost is close $500 million. And there could still be some environmental challenges to overcome. But the city says its already aware of some of the big issues.

"The proposed vision that is already in place, does take into account a lot of those environmental factors that we have been told about over the years," says Eve Kearney, the Public Information Officer of the City of Martinez.

The city says there will be many opportunities for community engagement, beginning this week. The first community session will be this Thursday.

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