Progress

September 12, 2006
In early July, the city of Coronado finally approved our plans for the underground portion of our project.  The review took much longer than expected but the complexity of the project demanded close attention to many codes not applicable to a residence.  These codes included building, plumbing, mechanical, electrical, accessibility for the disabled, energy conservation, noise attenuation, structural integrity, and fire safety!
 
August was a really fun month on the Lodge project.  Our major task was to start the excavation and shoring.  We will be removing the top 15 feet of dirt from the entire lot to create underground parking as well as service areas, storage rooms, and innkeeper quarters.  Around the edge of this big hole is the shoring which consists of vertical steel beams and horizontal wood planks.  If you drove by the Lodge during the week of August 21st you probably saw three huge pieces of construction equipment.  They were used to dig 30 feet deep holes for the 83 steel beams that were installed and encased in concrete.
 
In September we have been digging under the Lodge to make way for steel beams which will hold up the building so that a basement can be excavated.  Additional supports have also been added inside the building to ensure it stays structurally sound during this critical time.  Finally, we are removing all of the windows.  This will ensure they are not damaged as we build the basement.  The windows will be “rehabilitated” and reused in the Lodge common areas and guest rooms.

April 21, 2006
March was a very busy month for the Lodge project.  The construction drawings for the underground parking and lodge basement were submitted to the City of Coronado.  We made a few minor modifications and expect to begin excavation very soon.
 
On March 24th, we hosted a group of local dignitaries including the City Council, Historic Resource Commission, and the Planning Commission.  Also in attendance were representatives fro the Coronado Historical Association, Chamber of Commerce, and Mainstreet.
 
On March 25th we invited our neighbors and friends to attend an old fashioned Ice Cream Social.  Over 100 people strolled by, reviewed our plans, and enjoyed the delicious ice cream from Mootime.

February 1, 2006
 Check out the new photos by clicking on the “photo” button above! In January, we began preparing the inside of the historic lodge for its “move”.  As mentioned in our December status, we will be inserting steel beams under the house and lifting it slightly to build a basement underneath it.   The lodge was built with concrete tiles so the exterior walls are quite heavy.  There were also several concrete walls on the first floor of the interior.  To help the lodge “lose weight”  before we lift it, we have removed the interior concrete walls, replacing them with temporary wood framing.  If you look closely in the photos, you will notice not only that the old framing is exposed, but there are some fresh wood studs.  You can also see where some floor boards have been removed to access the bases of the concrete walls. Also to be removed is the front floor concrete veranda.  To ensure the outside of the historic lodge retains its original look, the veranda will be replaced after the basement is completed. In February, the small house to the right of the historic building, at 1054 Adella Avenue, will be demolished.  Also, the large mound of dirt in the backyard will be returned to 1500 Ynez as its underground parking is completed.   Once all these clean up tasks are finished, we will be ready to begin excavation.  We are certainly anxious to begin the construction phase of the project!

December 2005
On October 18th the Coronado City Council gave final approval to our project, including the underground parking structure which will provide 18 spots for the guests of our 17 rooms.
 
November and December have been busy months as we get down to the details of the construction of our grand plan!  We will be working in two phases.  In the first phase, beginning as soon as February, we will excavate under the historic lodge to build a basement.  This should be quite exciting, as we install steel beams under the building, raise it slightly, and dig underneath it.
 
To accommodate 18 parking spaces underground, several spaces will actually be under A Avenue.  When we excavate for parking, the street will be narrowed and the diagonal parking along our property line will not be available for our neighbors.  We apologize in advance for this inconvenience.  We realize that many of the apartments in that section of Coronado do not provide off street parking.  We will work as fast as possible to return the existing parking spaces, plus the three extra we are creating, to the street.
 
While we complete all the underground work, we will be finalizing the construction documents for the new bungalow building.  Construction will begin after Memorial Day and take about 8-10 months.
 

October 4, 2005
The month of September was especially good for the 1906 Lodge project.  On the 27th, the Planning Commission approved our application for a special use permit to operate the historic building and the new bungalow structure as a “boarding house” or guest lodge.  They also approved the creation of an underground garage, some of which will be in the city right of way under the sidewalk and street.  Our design includes 18 parking spaces even though the city only requires 11 for this size project.  We want to minimize the impact to our neighbors as well as make it convenient for our guests.The last review of the project will occur at the City Council meeting on October 18th at 3:00 PM.  Please come and support our vision for the reuse of this wonderful historic building!

August 17, 2005
The request for historic designation will be heard at the Coronado Historic Resource Commission meeting at 1:00 PM in the police station Emergency Operations Center meeting room.  Please come and support our effort to return this wonderful building to its 1906 beauty.

July 19, 2005
Hurrah!  Today we finally submitted our long awaited request for historic designation and a Special Use Permit to once again operate as a “boarding house” (the City’s term) guest lodge. 

June 2005
As we prepared the conceptual drawings for the City, we decided to give the establishment a new name, honoring its past while making it easy for potential guests to identify with its greatest attraction – Coronado.  The name we chose was the 1906 Lodge at Coronado Beach.We are the fourth owners of the property, designed by famous local architects Hebbard and Gill, and built in 1906.  Over the last 99 years, the structure has been variously called Grey Court Inn, Palm Court Inn, Palm Lodge Apartments, Bayview Lodge, and Trant Manor.  None of these names seemed to capture the uniqueness of the property.  So we chose to identify its historic nature with “1906”, acknowledge its previous names by keeping “Lodge”, and include “Coronado Beach as a reference to the original location on the property deed, Coronado Beach, South Island.

May 5, 2005
While neighbors haven’t seen any physical changes to the project over the last month, we’ve been having lots of fun designing the guest rooms.  Since the bungalows will be entirely new structures, we can design them to include quite a few amenities.  Our hospitality consultant, Nancy Helsper, tells us that a fireplace, an in-room Jacuzzi tub and a king bed are the most sought after guest room features.  Our plan is to offer all of these in the bungalow rooms.  In addition, each of these rooms will have a patio or balcony plus its own private entrance.
 
As part of our research into historic inns, Dave and Sue Gillingham have graciously offered to take a trip to Santa Barbara in May to evaluate several of their upscale properties.   It’s a tough assignment, but we are willing to make the sacrifice!
We’re still on track to submit our Major Special Use Permit application, with conceptual plans, to the City late in June. We hope for approval of our request to rehabilitate and operate the historic inn.

April 12, 2005
Our current focus is to complete the conceptual design of the entire project.  This is required as part of the Major Special Use Permit application.   Conceptual design includes the room layout for the historic lodge as well as the new bungalow guest rooms that will be built on the property.As part of our design process, we have been working with a hospitality consultant, Nancy Helsper, a Coronado resident who owns the Heritage Park Inn in Old Town with her husband, Charles.  Under Nancy’s guidance, we are developing our amenities and designing them into the project.  We plan to develop an image based on the historic nature of the inn and expand it to include the history of Coronado via the choice of room names, historic photos, and period appropriate furniture and furnishings.
We plan to apply for the Major Special Use Permit in June as well as historic designation.  If the City agrees to our request to operate the historic building as an inn, augmented by a new bungalow cluster, we will begin major renovation efforts in September or October.

March 11, 2005
On 2/1/05 the project was presented in conceptual form to the Coronado City Council as an information item. Numerous people spoke favorably about the project, and the City Council seemed enthusiastic. We subsequently had a meeting with the City Planning Department to discuss the permit/approval process. It was determined at the meeting that a Major Special Use Permit will be required for the additional units and the parking we intend to add, which we are processing right now. We are refining the design of the lodge and working with our consultants to begin the specifications for the lodge amenities.

Next Step:We are meeting with the City Council on 2/1/05 for guidance on the approval process of our project. Once we understand what the City Council desires, we will complete and refine the conceptual plans, incorporate any required structural engineering modifications and work toward getting the construction drawings completed. Concurrently, some systems level work will be ongoing in the main building.

January 31, 2005
The lathe and plaster have been removed from the interior walls and ceilings, exposing all building systems for updating. Conceptual drawings have been completed which we are presenting to the City Council for preliminary review and guidance.

September 2, 2004
We are currently in the process of writing a letter to the city to discuss our path for turning the property into a lodge.  We are continuing to clean the debris from the main building.  Some of the doors and trim are being removed.  The brush has been removed from the site and scaffolding has been installed around the main building.

August 25, 2004
Demolition of some of the "out" buildings has been completed and the 1960's additions to the main building have been removed.  Our next step is to have the plans for the modifications and additions drawn and submitted to the city for approval.