‘Window to the bay’ revealed as Marina Park opens

After being fenced off from view along West Balboa Boulevard during a two-year construction project, Newport Beach on Saturday unveiled what it calls the window to the bay.

Hundreds of residents, city staff and elected officials gathered at 1600 West Balboa Boulevard Saturday morning to celebrate the opening of Marina Park with a ribbon-cutting, stand-up paddleboarding, sailing demonstrations, games and tours of the sailing center.

The 10.5-acre public park includes a 24,000-square-foot community and sailing center, basketball half-courts, a 23-slip marina, café and a nautical-themed playground.

“This is a facility unlike any other in Southern California, maybe even the nation,” said Mayor Ed Selich. “Marina Park will be a proud symbol of our nautical history for generations to come.”

The city broke ground on the $35-million park in February 2014. However, the history of the land and the timeline of the project began much earlier.

The city acquired the property in 1919 from the Pacific Electric Land Company and turned it into a campground, where families could stay for 75 cents per day, according to city records.

In the 1950s, the city converted the land into a mobile home park, which it remained until 2013.

However, in 1983 the city’s Parks, Beaches and Recreation Commission suggested that the area be transformed into a public park.

“More than 30 years later that recommendation is coming true,” said Laura Detweiler, the city’s director of recreation and senior services. “This begins a new chapter of Marina Park as we open the window to the bay.”

The view of Newport Harbor between 15th and 18th streets was for decades mostly shielded from public view during its time as a mobile home park. City officials said the Marina Park will provide necessary open space and harbor access for residents and visitors on the Balboa Peninsula

City officials previously weighed developing the area into a hotel, but in 2004 voters cast their ballots against that plan.

Selich said Marina Park as it stands today is the product of countless hours of public meetings and significant compromise about the features of the park.

However, the towering lighthouse attached to the sailing center was one feature where the city was unwilling to compromise. The California Coastal Commission, which has final say over projects along the state’s coastline, originally wanted to cap the height of the tower at the top of the sailing and community center building.

The city wanted to extend it higher, as it stands today, so it would be visible from across the harbor. Officials went back to the commission twice to fight for the lighthouse, which they say will provide a point of reference for boaters out on the bay.

Detweiler said that while the process has been arduous at times when visitors were spotted making their way to the park within an hour of the fences surrounding the project coming down last week, it became worth it.

“Just look at those views,” said resident Jeanette Glazer as she pointed to the pristine boats bobbing along the harbor in front of the sailing center. “I think this is going to be a very busy place.”