Seacoast Inn Replacement on Target to Open Doors Summer 2012

Right now it may just look like a large hole in the ground, but the new hotel to replace the Seacoast Inn is on schedule to be completed in August 2012.

Up to now most work has been underground, and in the next few months a frame will rise for the 78-room, four-story hotel to replace the Seacoast Inn, said Allison Rolfe, the Pacifica Companies project manager.

Stone column installation is complete, Rolfe said, and Pacifica is thankful for community patience because pounding that many stone columns in the ground was loud, calling it "the worst disruptive part of the whole construction project."

Dewatering operations are ongoing, and grading and soil export operation for the parking garage is now taking place on the site.

"Basically we are digging a huge hole in the ground and that is for our subterranean parking garage," said Rolfe. "The tiebacks to shore up the sides are almost done."

Rolfe said installation of sheet piles begin this week. Completion of underground plumbing and electrical piping conduits is expected by the end of the month then crews will begin laying the gravel base and waterproofing.

"We actually put down 24 inches of gravel then water proofing," she said. "Then we pour a 27-inch thick slab. That is set up for Sept. 14. We are expecting to have about 475 truck trips that day."

Using Imperial Beach Boulevard, truck trips will start at 5 a.m. and end at 9 p.m. Rolfe said they will do it with as little disruption as possible but it may inconvenience people that day. She said there are no street closures but the trucks will be backing up in the median.

Greg Wade, the city's Community Development Department director, said his last report requests a partial closure of Seacoast Drive for that day and rerouting of bus traffic directly adjacent to the hotel. He said it is no different from events such as next week's U.S. Open Sandcastle Competition, and final details of a possible closure will be worked out with Pacifica.

"The queing that Rolfe mentioned would be on Imperial Beach Boulevard in the median there between Second Avenue and Seacoast Drive," Wade said. "The entire traffic will be using Imperial Beach Boulevard."

Rolfe said this is a highly synchronized operation with the trucks and a superintendent on-site in constant communication with the drivers. She said the trucks could not sit too long or the cement could dry. Parking at Dunes Park will be closed since the park's parking lot will house the concrete pumping station. She said media outlets and neighbors within a 640-foot radius of the site will be sent letters explaining what to expect that day.

"We will get the word out that it is a very important day and there is a lot going on," she said. "After the slab, construction is more conventional. People will see the structure of the building shortly thereafter."

Councilman Ed Spriggs said since the project will be completed in about a year, the city, its residents and local business community should all start thinking about ways to maximize the benefit of the new hotel.

"It is a reciprocal relationship and the community obviously has a stake in the success of hotel," he said. Spriggs then asked why no groundbreaking ceremony took place.

"We have not done a groundbreaking ceremony," Rolfe said. "That is up to all of you. I did discuss it with the owner and we were talking about doing it when the frame comes up so there would be something for people to see. There is so much going on right now there is not a good place to hold a groundbreaking ceremony. I am a little concerned about safety."

Rolfe said possibilities included a ceremony when the structure is up or a soft, grand opening of the hotel with a ceremony.

"That would really be your event, your decision, and we will do whatever you want," said Rolfe.