Harcourt Sells Marineland to Developer

Harcourt Brace Jovanovich Inc., which purchased Marineland last December and then closed it, announced Thursday that it has sold the approximately 100 acres of prime oceanfront land on which the oceanarium sits to an Arizona developer.

At the same time, the Orlando, Fla.-based book publisher and theme park operator said it is negotiating with Los Angeles city school officials to construct an animal-care center for beached and stranded marine animals on school district property. The center would replace the one that had operated at the Rancho Palos Verdes park and was the only one of its kind in Los Angeles County.

Harcourt said it sold the property to James G. Monaghan, who in the past has developed property in Arizona, Texas and Florida. Monaghan briefly owned the Circus World theme park in Orlando before he sold it to Harcourt in 1986.

Monaghan could not be reached for comment.

Peter Jovanovich, an executive vice president with Harcourt, declined to disclose the sale price. He said that more than a dozen developers had approached the firm to inquire about buying the property, for which Harcourt had paid $23.4 million last year.

Rancho Palos Verdes Mayor Mel Hughes said he met with Monaghan about two weeks ago. At the meeting, Monghan said that he has no firm plans for the property, but indicated that he might build a resort hotel and conference center that would allow public access to the area, Hughes said.

The land is zoned for commercial and recreational purposes, and such a development would fall within that category, Hughes said.

“I’m looking forward to beginning negotiations with a new player,” the mayor said. “Trying to deal with Harcourt has been impossible.”

Harcourt closed the 33-year-old Marineland in February, saying that more than $25 million in improvements would be needed to make the park profitable. The closure enraged many local residents, and since then the company has been pressured to either keep the animal-care center at the park open or to construct a new one elsewhere.

Care Facility Proposed

Under the proposal submitted to Los Angeles city school officials, Harcourt would build a new care facility at an undetermined location at a cost of about $750,000, and then give a foundation a $2.2-million grant to maintain and operate what would become an educational center.

Los Angeles city school spokesman Bill Rivera said the company approached the district about a month ago with the proposal. Among possible sites, district officials have discussed locating such a center adjacent to Angel’s Gate Park in San Pedro on land deeded to the district by the federal government, he said.

However, Rivera said negotiations with Harcourt are still in the preliminary stage. The matter is expected to be discussed by school board members on Monday.

Tim Desmond, vice president for Citizens to Save Marineland, was critical of the company’s animal-care center proposal, calling it a “p.r. maneuver” by Harcourt.

“We’re dissatisfied with the scope of the (proposal),” Desmond said. “We were looking for a regional educational, research and animal-care facility.”