A groundbreaking ceremony was held at Alamitos Bay Marina on September 17, 2011.
If you’ve ever been involved in a laborious permitting and funding process you know all too well the feeling of victory and the heavy sigh of relief that comes once you receive your final OK to proceed. You’ll also know that without an iron will and a true passion for what you’re doing you’ll likely be eaten alive.
Anyone who’s spent much time at all with Mark Sandoval, Long Beach Marine Bureau Manager knows he’s a man of integrity and determination. After 10 years of planning and three years of delays, Sandoval received his final OK from Long Beach City Council to move forward with the first phase of his planned $90 million dollar renovation of Alamitos Bay Marina in Long Beach, CA.
Appointing a single source contractor can save a developer time and money.
Building or renovating a marina can be, and usually is, a long and complicated process. One of the major obstacles these days is the permitting procedure. In order to obtain the necessary permits to move forward a good deal of time and money is required to complete concept designs, impact studies and environmental assessments.
Permit approval brings a developer only to the starting line of a project and the next stage will usually involve a complicated mix of marina consultants, architects, engineers, contractors, sub-contractors and a whole host of “experts”. Apart from the obvious cost of all these experts, a huge amount of the developer’s time is required to define their input, coordinate their work and assess their recommendations. The result of this process is a specification or tender document, which is then sent out to various marina construction companies who spend more time and money reworking the designs to suit their particular dock systems. This can involve cutting corners and interpreting specifications to allow the very minimum possible so as to ensure a competitive bid.
This is not an ideal situation for a developer who wants a quality marina. There is no doubt that this tried and tested system works; however, it comes at a cost of both time and money.