North Beach Restoration Construction Update
November 2023
We’re thrilled to share the North Beach Cottage Restoration Project is fully funded – WE DID IT!
With investment from Bank of America, The Conservancy secured the last tranche of funding needed to complete the North Beach Restoration through Federal Historic Rehabilitation Tax Credits, a method that incentivizes investment in restoration projects on historically significant structures – providing a means to secure capital for construction and tax relief to the investor.
Requiring a unique collaboration between community, corporations and political leadership, the full funding of the historic restoration project was led by Crystal Cove Conservancy Founder Laura Davick as the chair of the capital campaign, Assembly Member Cottie Petrie-Norris’ efforts in helping The Conservancy secure over $30 million in state funding, as well as Bank of America for investing in the historic restoration and closing the campaign to fund the project.
With the final funds secured, we’re able to open the first group of eight newly restored cottage rental units for public stays. Like the rest of the Beach Cottages, reservations will be made on ReserveCalifornia.com. The addition of these cottages will allow us to welcome more visitors to Crystal Cove for overnight stays, as well as provide additional support for The Conservancy’s extensive Science, Engineering, Technology, & Mathematics (STEM) education and conservation programs.
This first group of newly restored cottages includes Cottage #3: Shell Crafter’s Cottage, Cottage #3 ½: Teacher’s Retreat, Cottage #4A: Flotsam and Jetsam, Cottage #4B: Captain’s Quarters, Cottage #6: Hawaiian Bungalow, Cottage #7: Little Grass Shack, Cottage #8: Rustic Retreat, and Cottage #12: North Beach Tower. To read more about these cottages, visit CrystalCove.org/BeachCottages.
More information about the opening of the first group of North Beach Cottages can be found on our blog. We recommend brushing up on the latest tips and tricks for cottage rentals at CrystalCove.org/BeachCottages/FAQ, where you’ll find a step-by step visual guide to Reserve California, as well as a one-page reservation tip sheet.
We celebrate your support and dedication to preserving these beloved historic treasures, as they are meticulously brought back to life brick by brick. We could not have done it without you!
The 12-acre Historic District at Crystal Cove is on the National Register of Historic Places in large part because the cottages are one of the last remaining intact examples of vernacular beach architecture, a style of architecture that reflects a sense of place, where the context in which the building sits informs its design.
Ultimately, historic restoration is not just about rebuilding a structure, it’s about rebuilding its story. Throughout the restoration process, The Conservancy has worked closely with State Park historians digging deep into the historic archives and meeting with many of those who lived in the cottages. The crew has been able to capture the character of each cottage during those summer tent camping heydays, and as each cottage is completed, with its original quirks preserved, one gets a sense of the joy and respite the cottages provided to the families who built them.
As we inch nearer to completion, because the restoration will create a sustainable recurring stream of earned revenue to invest in education and conservation programs, The Conservancy is refocusing on expanding our STEM programs, which currently serve about 10,000 students each year – most of them from under-resourced schools and communities.
Our primary programmatic focus is the development of a fully-fledged kindergarten through college coastal engineering program that will eventually be hosted in North Beach Cottage #20, our first hostel-style accommodation.
Thank you to our North Beach donors – none of this would have been possible without your support. You – the individual supporters, the families and family foundations, our neighbors and our friends – were the catalyst for all of it.
We’ll see you on the North Beach!
