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Liberty Station Park Proceeds

Hazard Construction in San Diego broke ground on Aug. 31 on the $14.7 million, 46-acre regional park on the grounds of the former Naval Training Center in Point Loma despite the city’s hold on $15 million of private-placement bonds.

The hold was prompted in June by news that mold had been discovered in more than 30 residential units in the $850 million Liberty Station mixed-use project, where the park will be located.

Greg Block, a spokesman for Corky McMillin Cos., which is developing Liberty Station, said Sept. 1 that, “We are moving forward. We never stopped. We feel it is the right thing to do. We know that the bond will be issued eventually.”

The mold turned out to be caused by the environmentally friendly “green” insulation being used in the condos, said Block, describing it as recycled newspaper that was blown into the walls.

“It has to be wet and, with all that rain back then, it didn’t dry properly, and the mold grew behind the cabinets in dark places.”

The problem has been fixed in two of the buildings, with residents moving back in, said Block, while work is about halfway done on a third building.

“We’ll be doing extra testing on all the condos to be safe, and we’ll also test any home outside of those condos at Liberty Station if it’s requested.”

There are 349 homes in the development, including 129 condos, he said.

As for the bonds, Block said that, “We told the (City) Council we will come back when we’re ready. We hope to have all of this finished and the testing done by the end of the month. We know that the city will issue the bond when it’s time.”

McMillin is paying for the fixes, but Block declined to disclose the amount.

Designed by landscape architects ONA, Inc., in San Diego, the first phase of the park, totaling 18 acres, is expected to be completed in early 2007, and will include the active areas, such as ball fields, basketball courts and playground, as well as restrooms and 500 parking spaces. Hazard’s contract for this section of the park is $5.3 million.

The overall Liberty Station project will include 125 acres of parks, open space and the boat channel, the nine-hole Sail Ho golf course, shopping villages and restaurants, the residential district, the 28-acre NTC Promenade, three hotels on two sites, a seven-building office district, a medical campus and a 22-acre educational campus anchored by High Tech High.

NTC Park will be handed over to the city of San Diego’s Park and Recreation Department to manage.

The U.S. Submarine Veterans of World War II are proposing a memorial at Preble Field Plaza within the park to honor the 52 submarines lost during World War II. In addition, there will be a memorial to Louis Rose, the city’s first Jewish settler.

Pat Broderick

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