A White Elephant at Mission Beach?

The city bureaucrat charged with its care and tending calls it “an ideal location in an ideal city.”

The description may not be far off: 18 acres of publicly owned property right on the ocean, just a wave away from wide and sandy South Mission Beach. For decades it was home to the Belmont Park amusement center, crowned by the Giant Dipper roller coaster and the Plunge swimming pool.

In the early 1950s, the park went to pot. In the mid-1980s, the San Diego City Council tried to reverse the neglect by marrying up with politically connected developers who promised a trendy little shopping complex. The deal went bad, quickly.

Neighbors wanted a tree-lined park and branded the project a monstrosity; Councilman Mike Gotch decided not to risk their wrath in a reelection campaign. Activists got a measure on the ballot, but it was too late to stop the bulldozers.

The San Diego County Grand Jury scorched the council for signing a sweetheart deal and forfeiting its duty to protect the public interest.

Through it all, boosters maintained that the $18-million complex would be a boon to the city, both financially and in rescuing the site from transients. But the numbers from the first seven months of operation are now in, and they are proving more unsettling at City Hall than an 8.0 earthquake.

Whereas the developers projected the complex would do $19 million in gross receipts, the actual figure is closer to $1.7 million. Visions have begun to arise of a beachfront white elephant: vacancy signs, turnover, squabbles among tenants (a lawsuit has been discussed), an agonizing civic reminder of what the site could have become.

Only 38% of the space is occupied, although that will increase if two restaurants make good on their plans to move in. If they do, the current owner-operator, a wholly owned subsidiary of San Diego Gas & Electric, may not be there to see it.

The subsidiary, Pacific Diversified Capital, is negotiating to sell out to an unnamed interest, subject to city approval. It is also selling a Kearny Mesa office building, fueling speculation that SDG&E; is unloading its San Diego commitments before merging with Southern California Edison.

Dick Korpan, president of Pacific Diversified, which bought the buildings and lease from the original developers, says that isn’t so. He says the prospective buyer approached him, not vice versa. He says the complex can be successful, particularly if the coaster returns.

Don Barone, lease supervisor with the city’s property department, is similarly convinced, particularly if the new operator is more experienced and aggressive. Still, concern is mounting on the City Council.

The council last week discussed the sad situation in closed session with the city attorney; more discussions will follow.

Move Over, Babe

In the beginning, there were the Baseball Hall of Fame and the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Then there was the Hall of Fame for Great Americans in the Bronx, the Rock ‘n’ Roll Hall of Fame, the Science Fiction Hall of Fame (no, there is not a Godzilla wing), the Crossword Hall of Fame, the Building Industry Hall of Fame (great hammers of the past), the Polka Hall of Fame (not to be confused with the Cleveland-Style Polka Hall of Fame) and even the Hall of Flame (innovations in fire equipment).

And now: the Attache Hall of Fame, run by the Defense Intelligence Agency in Washington.

Sam Frankel, a retired Navy rear admiral living in Rancho Bernardo, has just been inducted into the Attache Hall of Fame for his service as a Naval attache to both the Soviet Union and mainland China. He joins Pershing, Stilwell and Halsey as charter inductees.

Smart Angle

Why does a bail-bond company in downtown San Diego have its business signs lying nearly flat on its roof? The signs, in English and Spanish, cannot be seen from the street.

But a good advertiser knows its audience: Those with the best view are the prisoners peering down from the skinny windows of the 12-story Metropolitan Correctional Center.