Demolition continues at the Dolphin Restaurant
SANTA CRUZ COUNTY, Calif. (KION-TV) — The city of Santa Cruz gave KION a behind the scenes look at crucial structural repairs underway at the Santa Cruz Wharf.
The city says they're taking significant steps to address damaged caused by severe storms earlier this year and of course preparing for future threats.
As demolition continues at the dolphin restaurant site -heavy machinery and crews can be seen dismantling the structure, city development manager David Mccormic explains the impacts from recent winter storms.
"This past winter when the storms hit and knocked out 3 or 4 pilings underneath it, which caused the partial collapse of the dolphin dining room," Mccormic said. "By that point, the building was already aging out."
Mccormic says the building was 60 years old.
Following the storms in December 2023 and February 2024, this part of the wharf faced extensive damage prompting its closure.
"During the 2023 and 2024 winter storms and worse was pretty severely impacted, especially out at the very end," Norm Daly city project manager said. "We identified the need to replace 60 of the piles which were either missing or damaged."
As winter is approaching the concern of future storms and their impact increases.
"The storms are getting stronger, the waves are getting bigger, we need to be even more resilient," Mccormic said.
As for the future of the dolphin restaurant.
"We're in negotiations with the owner of the Dolphin for redevelopment of a new restaurant on that space," Mccormic said. "As those move forward, our hope is that we'll see we'll break ground in the next year or two on a new restaurant out there on the wharf."
Cathy Deshera, a Santa Cruz native recalls how generations of her family have enjoyed the wharf over the years, starting with her father who grew up in the city.
"We've always come over the hill from Santa Clara area, and we've always come to the wharf as kids," Deshera said. "We brought our kids when they were little and now we're bringing our grandkids."
City officials are looking by March 2025 to be completed with repairs.
