By Teresa Hidalgo Dance
The Capitola Wharf, which is the City of Capitola’s responsibility, suffered $1 million in damages when swells broke the wharf in half and knocked down all the railings, decking, and pilings at its front end.
The cost to the buildings on the wharf–the Wharf House restaurant and Capitola Boat and Bait–is yet unknown as they are still inaccessible.
Public Works Director Jessica Kahn said that before the storms happened, a $7 million renovation of the wharf was slated for September of this year, with grants from the California Coastal Conservancy and $3.5 million in federal aid.
The storm damage will simply be rolled into the renovation project.
Kahn said, “Luckily, the city had a project on the books for later this year, doing a big renovation project. We are not starting from zero. We already have a consultant. With the storm, we have to amend our plans but it’s not like we didn’t have plans so we are in a pretty good position from where we have the funding to be working on the wharf.”
However, opening the wharf this year is “impossible,” Kahn said. “Even if we start to build today, the rebuilding and renovation project will take eight to ten months.”
“We can’t start until we have FEMA funding in place as this will be the money to do the repair work,” she clarified. How much repair money is needed has yet to be determined. As a public works project, the rebuilding of the wharf will be bid competitively but not before this summer.
The renovation project will widen the wharf throughout its length from the current narrow walkway that only widens where the buildings are.
Some repair work was done on the wharf in 2020.
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Top Photo: Before the January storm, Capitola’s Wharf was in line for a $7 million renovation. • Photo Credit: Jondi Gumz