OC developers unveil “coastal vintage” look for Dana Point Harbor

Makeover with $450M priced tag to include waterfront shops, restaurants, marina and hotels

Burnham Ward Properties' Bryon Ward, Bellwether Financial Group's Joe Ueberroth and R.D. Olson's Bob Olson with a rendering of the redeveloped Dana Point Harbor (Burnham Ward, Bellweather Financial Group, RDO Development, Dana Point Harbor Partners)
Burnham Ward Properties' Bryon Ward, Bellwether Financial Group's Joe Ueberroth and R.D. Olson's Bob Olson with a rendering of the redeveloped Dana Point Harbor (Burnham Ward, Bellweather Financial Group, RDO Development, Dana Point Harbor Partners)

Dana Point Harbor may soon be revamped to look like a sun-bleached coastal village at a cose of $450 million.

Dana Point Harbor Partners, based in Newport Beach, unveiled the new look of its 240-acre harbor, marina and hotel redevelopment in Dana Point, the Orange County Register reported.

The proposed project, launched in 2018 with a 66-year lease, will include a redevelopment of 100,000 square feet of commercial waterfront, an upgrade of the 2,265-slip marina and the addition of two hotels.

The harbor makeover, redeveloped in conjunction with Bellwether Financial Group, R.D. Olson Development and Burnham Ward Properties, is expected to take years.

“The final project is uniquely Dana Point,” Bryon Ward, president of Newport Beach-based Burnham Ward Properties, told the Register. “It has a laid-back, sun-bleached feel, and you don’t feel like it’s over-dressed. And it will have some soul.

“I feel like what we’re ending up with is something that doesn’t exist on the West Coast.”

Under the public-private partnership, the developers will design, fund and build a new Dana Point Harbor, then run it through the end of the lease before it goes back to the county.

Burnham Properties will redevelop the harbor’s 74-acre “commercial core” at a cost of $200 million. Its “coastal vintage”makeover in pale gray includes a quay lined with antiqued warehouses and storefronts, with ample windows and terraces overlooking the harbor.

It will include rooftop bars, gathering spots for concerts and special events, and pedestrian boardwalks to Baby and Doheny State beaches. A museum would be dedicated to whales, dolphins and surfing. A parking garage and lots will serve 1,700 cars.

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Joe Ueberroth of Bellwether Financial Group, based in Newport Beach, is building the new marina. Bob Olson of R.D. Olson, based in Irvine, has proposed two hotels.

Bellwether Financial broke ground in August on the $100 million marina project, which includes demolishing and replacing docks, which have been redesigned to provide better access for boaters who can tie up to enjoy a meal, live music or harbor events.

R.D. Olson aims to replace the Dana Point Marina Inn with a boutique hotel and a surf lodge. The hotel projects, which have a construction budget of $150 million, await California Coastal Commission approval.

The commission has suggested adding 33 more rooms to the surf lodge to encourage more equitable access and public restrooms near the hotels.

“We certainly thought it would be approved by now,” Olson, who has worked with the commission for more than two years, told the Register.. “They want social justice programs on top of the affordable hotel. We’re trying to develop two hotels that make economic sense.

We’re optimistic, but we have to be realistic, too. We just don’t know where we’ll end up.”

— Dana Bartholomew