Capitola weighs options for wharf transformation in public meetings this week

Quick Take

Capitola officials are exploring seven proposals for expanding the city’s storm-damaged wharf, with options ranging from a basic $950,000 pier to a $6.2 million development with restaurants and other permanent buildings.

Capitola officials will weigh the future of the city’s wharf during a series of public meetings this week to consider seven proposals for improving the structure, ranging from a bare-bones $950,000 open-air pier to an ambitious $6.2 million development featuring a restaurant and new permanent fishing concession space.

On Tuesday, city officials will present design options for the wharf at both a community gathering at New Brighton Middle School and a Finance Advisory Committee meeting at city hall. The following day, the Commission on the Environment will discuss the wharf proposals.

Called the Capitola Wharf Master Plan, the plan that is ultimately chosen will guide the city as it redevelops the wharf, which was rebuilt and reopened last fall after sustaining heavy damage from the 2023 winter storms.

Fuse Architects, the design firm the city contracted with in September, produced seven different proposals for the new layout of the wharf.

They range from having only open-air public spaces to having permanent structures, including a restaurant, lifeguard station and boat storage. The options vary in cost from around $950,000 to $1.1 million for a design that features open public space, to $1.5 to 1.6 million for a plan that adds mobile vendors for food or renting equipment like kayaks. Building a new public bathroom would cost an additional $600,000.

A mosaic created by Watsonville artist Kathleen Crocetti on Capitola’s rebuilt wharf. Credit: Kevin Painchaud / Lookout Santa Cruz

A fourth option would include a new, larger, fishing concession structure with boat storage and could cost about $1.6 million to $2.5 million, while a fifth proposal includes both the new fishing concession and the mobile vendors for a cost of about $2.5 million to $3 million.

These cheaper options could be paid for by grant money or the city’s general fund.

Two other, more expensive options, would require a public-private partnership, according to Fuse. Option 6 includes the new fishing concession and a large open-air market space structure with a price tag of $2.5 million to $3.2 million. Option 7 would build permanent structures for a fishing concession space and a restaurant at a cost of $5.5 million to $6.2 million.

Fuse launched a community survey for the month of May, asking participants to select their preferred option and provide feedback. After reviewing community input, the Capitola City Council is expected to adopt a final master plan this fall.

A feast on the wharf

Additionally, while the wharf’s redevelopment isn’t complete, city officials are still hosting events on the repaired pier.

On May 28, Santa Cruz-based international event company Outstanding in the Field is kicking off its 24th season with a luxurious outdoor feast on the Capitola Wharf. Founded by Pleasure Point native Jim Denevan in Santa Cruz in 1999, this international series aims to bring diners closer to their food and the people who produce it.

This event is co-hosted by Monterey Bay Fisheries Trust and H&H Fresh Fish Co., and three local chefs will collaborate on the meal: Nick Sherman of Capitola’s Trestles; Jessica Yarr of The Grove Café & Bakery in Felton; and Kendra Baker, co-owner of The Penny Ice Creamery. Similar to Outstanding in the Field events at Malibu Pier, the San Diego Tuna Harbor dock and the Stock Island Shrimp Boat Pier in the Florida Keys, guests will sit at a single, long white cloth-covered table stretches along the center of the wharf. Tickets are $395 per person.

For more information on the wharf plan options and to complete the survey, click here. The survey closes May 31.