City Hopes to Speed Bluff Redevelopment

Hoping to expedite the redevelopment of Treasure Island Mobilehome Park, two city leaders will fly to New York this weekend to meet with representatives of Merrill Lynch Hubbard, which heads the partnership that owns the land.

“We’re going back to see what we can do to work together to expedite the project,” said City Manager Kenneth C. Frank, who along with Mayor Paul P. Freeman will make the trip. “There are certain priorities the city has for the project, and I think we should let them know that.”

The landowners recently submitted a scaled-back development plan for the ocean bluff parcel that calls for the construction of up to 97 homes and a 90-to-100-room hotel. The original plan called for 268 homes and a 300-room hotel.

While city leaders indicate they want to remain flexible about the development, some have expressed disappointment about the options offered so far.

“They’re talking a hotel [with] 100 rooms on three acres; I’m talking a world class resort on 10 or 12 [acres] with a lot of public access and public amenities,” Freeman said.

Officials here consider the redevelopment of Treasure Island to be a top priority, partly because it would generate tax money and would, for the first time, open that stretch of coastline to the public. Frank said Thursday that it is also important for the plans to include additional public amenities, such as a restaurant or perhaps a bluff-top park.

“People from here actually go to the Ritz Carlton a lot,” he said. “I think a nice hotel and restaurant along the ocean . . . would be a real asset for people living in the community. We’ve harped on that, I think, from day one.”

The City Council voted unanimously last month to send representatives to New York to try to move the project forward.

Frank said he expects the trip will cost the city about $1,000.