Project paying homage to La Jolla artists’ colony on track
Historically-inspired townhomes on Coast Boulevard could break ground in late summerr
Construction of three townhomes on Coast Boulevard whose design will include architectural elements of La Jolla’s Green Dragon artists’ colony cottages should begin in late summer or early fall, said architect Paul Benton, of La Jolla-based Alcorn & Benton Architects, who is developing and designing the project.
The townhomes will include elements of three cottages that once stood on now vacant land between Goldfish Café and Brockton Villa restaurant that were demolished in 1992 — the Jack O’ Lantern, Gables and East-Cliff.
The plans have passed through the city’s required discretionary review process, receiving approval by the La Jolla Community Planning Association, San Diego City Council and San Diego Planning Commission, and are awaiting a building permit and other ministerial permits from the city, said Benton, who expects the project to break ground in late summer or early fall. It will likely take 16-18 months to complete, he said.
“The technology of the shoring is everything … getting that (structural support) in and getting that safe,” he said. “We’re very close to the upper structures and we definitely don’t want them coming down the slope. As luck would have it, I worked on Coast Walk (development) to the east and I’m familiar with the soil formations there.”
Benton said the project includes rebuilding a public walkway there that once connected Coast Boulevard and Prospect Street. It will be open during daylight hours. A plaque along Coast Boulevard already made by property co-owner Don Alison recounts the history of the Green Dragon Colony.
The plaque, like the historic architectural elements, were required by the California Coastal Commission in the 1990s before it would issue a coastal development permit for the project, as mitigation for the Green Dragon cottages’ demolition. u
Read more about this project at: bit.ly/GreenDragonSite and bit.ly/GreenDragonSite2