Ventura Moves to Take Over 118-Year-Old Pier, Plans $3.5-Million Restoration : Commerce: Officials hope to add shops and concessions to attract enough tourists to make the historic structure self-sufficient.

Four years after the Ventura pier was ripped by a winter storm, city officials moved this week to save the historic structure from further destruction despite uncertainty over who will pay to keep it in good repair.

City Council members unanimously decided Monday night to take over ownership of the 118-year-old pier from the state to begin a $3.5-million overhaul to restore it to its 1,985-foot length.

Taking over the historic pier also means inheriting more than $100,000 in annual maintenance costs, said Barbara Harison, parks and recreation director.

The city must assume ownership of the pier to receive state grants allocated for its restoration, one of which has a June 30 deadline.

While a citizens group gathered more than 15,000 signatures in support of restoring the pier, officials said, some restoration supporters did not know that taxpayers would have to pay for its maintenance.

“I know we had 15,000 signatures in the petition, but I don’t think they knew it was going to cost them in the long run,” Councilman John McWherter said. “It could be torn down in the next big storm.”

The pier, built in 1872 as a private commercial wharf, has endured frequent storm damage in its history.

A 1934 fire charred parts of its landward section.

This is the second time the city has assumed ownership of the troubled pier. The city originally bought the pier in 1940, then sold it to the state in 1949 because of high maintenance costs.

In 1988, further deterioration in the pier, inflation and severe storm damage increased restoration costs by about $1.2 million.

The state was forced to make $150,000 in repairs to damaged pilings that year.

One key to providing a maintenance budget is to add more concessions when the pier is overhauled, Harison said.

Unless concessions are added, the city could end up paying for repairs, she said.

A market study prepared for the city last November indicated that adding concessions would help draw enough tourists and new revenue to pay for maintenance.

Estimates show 10,000 feet of restaurant space would generate $79,000 the first year and $210,000 in the 10th year of lease payments, enough to pay for maintenance, Harison said.

In addition, the study noted, improvements could attract tourists to businesses in other parts of the city.

History shows that the waterfront area is a lucrative source of revenue for city businesses, even though they are not on the beach.

Visitors spent nearly $25 million at Ventura’s restaurants in 1988 and could spend more if other concessions were added to the pier, according to the study.

Ventura’s three restaurant and retail stores at the pier generate enough business to make it the state’s 10th largest money-making concession, said Steve Treanor, state park district superintendent.

State officials receive $50,000 to $60,000 in lease payments each year from Sandy Hedrick, the concessionaire who operates the Pier Fish House Restaurant as well as a small bait and tackle store and a snack shop.

Hedrick, one of the main organizers of the citizens drive to restore the pier after it was damaged in the 1986 storm, said the pier could support increased business.

“We’ve seen steady growth every year we’ve been there,” Hedrick said.

Although businesses have not been asked to bid for concessions at the pier project, there is keen interest in it, said Jim Barroca, chamber of commerce executive vice president.

“Some people would argue in favor of nostalgia. I’d say, add a little gift shop or two,” Barroca said. “I think it would be very nice, there’s a lot of people who don’t fish, who just want to stroll.”