No comments.
Crystal Cove Camp Construction To Begin — Again.
posted: October 7th, 2009 04:32 pm |
0No Comments
Construction of 60 campsites and parking on 35 acres of Crystal Cove State Park is about to re-start, nine months after the state budget crisis caused work to halt midway.
State officials met with contractors today, and work will commence in a few weeks, said Ken Kramer, district superintendent for California State Parks. The $11 million project was 40 percent complete when money ran out in January. It was one of 5,000 projects in the state that were suspended.
“The whole project was basically stagnant,” Kramer said. Then this week, the state’s Department of Finance released money for the project’s completion.
Kramer predicts the campsite will bring in tourism revenue immediately upon completion, which is why it was one of the first state projects to be re-started. “We expect to be booked at 100 percent capacity, year-round,” he said. “Clearly, it is a priority.” He said the campsite and parking lot could bring in $1 million each year.
Besides tourism money when the campsite opens late in 2010, Kramer said that the project will stimulate the local economy by employing hundreds of workers.
Crystal Cove State Park comprises 2,791 acres. Currently, overnight options include backcountry camping and the historic district cottages and dorms. The new campsite will replace the old El Morro mobile home park.
Kramer said that the work site was in good shape and would require a little basic cleanup and some rebar work before crews could move forward.
