Ventura Port District breaks ground on new development

VENTURA — For the second time this year, developers and public officials broke ground on a harbor area development project after more than 15 years of delays and deliberations. A groundbreaking ceremony was held at the proposed Portside Ventura Harbor site Dec. 7, setting the stage for a 104-slip marina and 270-unit residence to be built just off California’s south-central coast. The Dec. 7 groundbreaking in Ventura followed a similar event about 120 miles south at Dana Point Harbor, where Orange County officials finally put a shovel in the dirt to launch a waterfront revitalization nearly 19 years after the project was first delayed. The Sondermann-Ring project at Ventura Harbor has been in the works for about 16 years and was recently green-lit by the Ventura Port District Board of Port Commissioners. A memorandum to port district staff from the law firm Lagerlof, Senecal, Gosney & Kruse described the project’s approval process as “a 14-year marathon of frustration and delays.” Port commissioners and city leaders hope the development, which could be completed by November 2019, would provide new recreational and open-space amenities at the harbor area, potentially complementing the recently updated Ventura Harbor Village. Once completed the Portside Ventura Harbor development would include 104 boat slips...