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FLASHBACK

 

6/10/12 -- In this first installment of FLASHBACK we take you to the years from 1961 to 1967 when Vallejo was looking forward to a number of new downtown projects funded through redevelopment monies. Portrayed as a great asset to the city, The Marina Vista Apartments and waterfront revitalization were welcomed with great anticipation. The perception has certainly changed over the years, but here is a look back at when these projects were fresh and new. It certainly serves as a cautionary tale in the area of urban planning and the influence of big redevelopment projects on urban centers.

 

Below are two brochures from back in the day promoting the wonderful improvements afforded through cooperation with the Redevelopment Agency:

Marina Vista Brochure  HERE

Urban Design for Marina Vista HERE

 

Special thanks to the anonymous patron who loaned these materials to be digitized.
Comments
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wharf rat   |June.12.2012
@ Salt The hell you say !!! no wooden boats in the marina are you sure ??
who told you this ? it cant be !!
btw in this latitude we call FRP boats
tupperware . and your right if your boat is strip planked it is probably much more seaworthy than most tupperware production built POS boats and therefor less likely
to suffer a loss . Ah well there is no depth there anyway, spilt milk IMO however sad tis the times .
Salty Dog   |June.11.2012
WR says....

@ Salt rename your boat after your Wife
ya can get away with murder, but egawwd not after COV and keep in mind if your Schooner is wood our dry summers are not
the best thing unless you sail often or keep Her well sluiced down .

If I renamed my vessel after my wife, she would be up on a charge of homicide= mine.

My vessel is what is known as cold molded....no thru fasteners, strip planked and edge glued so your caution doesn't apply so much to my vessel.

However, I did learn during my last visit to the Marina, that the municipality won't allow wooden vessels, which makes
the whole dredging thing a moot point.

But again, this demonstrates the stupidity of bureaucracy. I have seen more plastic boats under water than wooden boats. In my case, the vessel is unsinkable unless the thru hulls( raw water, sewage discharge fail- the same number that a plastic boat has.

So, stupid policies in Vallejo seem to know no bounds.

Insurance? half a mill for liability is standard.
Anonymous   |June.11.2012
wharf...

here's the link. It's a Turner shipyard recreation.

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2012/06/10/BACK1OSNFP.DTL
Anon II   |June.11.2012
I appreciated the background history from 'Anonymous' with respect to the do gooder who helped expedite the concept of HUD. The comments are well thought out and the concepts are well constructed. It is nice to read someone with intelligence. 201 Maine originated as redevelopment, and as Fair Market Housing. It was subsequently changed to HUD, and who knows who is part of the consortium of owners. Intintoli, in his infinite wisdom, re-upped the contract about 5-6 years ago for yet another 25 years. In my opinion, he has done more to ruin this town than any other single individual in recent
history. The contract renewal was placed in the Consent Calendar, and he got his minions to approve it. With a new city manager, and a new council majority, let's hold a good thought about renewal sans personal agendas. I think we have four people on board now who truly, truly care about our little jewel of a town. Marin and Contra Costa investors be damned.
wharf rat   |June.11.2012
@ Salt rename your boat after your Wife
ya can get away with murder, but egawwd not after COV and keep in mind if your Schooner is wood our dry summers are not
the best thing unless you sail often or keep Her well sluiced down .
wharf rat   |June.11.2012
Benicia had a well known Ship yard
Turners Shipyard built many famous sailing Ships and was an inovator of composite construction ( wood and iron ) and yes Mare Island has some unused Shipways
well suited for construction of a traditional Sailing Vessel
pls post a link to the story
Fresh air   |June.11.2012
Vallejo will have more section 8 apartments very soon.
Anonymous   |June.11.2012
In the news today, some guy in Saucalito is planning to rebuild a classic sailboat using the historic blueprints of a 135er built in a SF or Benicia yard prior to 1900. He is looking around for a shipyard. Do we know of any????
Anonymous   |June.11.2012
Vallejo is the City where HUD began. The mother of HUD is Katherine Bauer Wurster who was in charge of the massive workforce housing projects in Vallejo during WWII. She was a social reformer that authored many papers that "proved" that the market could not provide housing for the masses of lower wage workers and the government would have to step in to subsidize the creation of healthy "affordable" housing. Enter HUD. Her theories were disproven after WWII when the massive construction of low cost homes in the suburbs using the conveyor belt techniques developed during the WWII
made it possible for lower wage workers to move out of urban centers leaving only the very, very poor and people of color cut out of the suburban dream by racial covenants. (Napa was full of subdivisions with racial covenants)Now, the definition established by HUD of "affordable" means subsidized so a portion of the full cost of the housing is paid for by others. For Projects, the return on investment is so favorable, that these Projects end up in the investment portfolios of many retirement plans such as 401 Maine's inclusion in PG&E's employee retirement portfolio. The real impact,
which we can see in Katherine Bauer's testing ground, is that subsidized housing skews the value of market rate housing making it less available to low wage workers needing houses they can actually afford, but are not "affordable" (subsidized). If a house in Vallejo goes into foreclosure, the bank wants to get rid of it. The "investor" with a pile of cash is a more attractive buyer than a potential home buyer that would need time to get a mortgage so the bank sells it cheaper. For example, a single family house that might have been affordable to a homeowner at $125,000 goes to
and "investor" for $100,000 and flipped to the "affordable" rental market for a rent of $1,800...cheap by bay area standards but look at that ROI!!!! 20%in this economy!!!!! The cheaper cash cost translates into lower property taxes. But,as we see from gosection8.com, the return on investment is obscene especially if the investor can get a client from SF or elsewhere where they pay a premium on the Choice Voucher. All of the social costs like police calls, emergency services or declines in value to the entire neighborhood are externalized and the checks are sent directly to
the "investor" so they don't risk driving their Marin BMW's into the ghetto. Katherine Bauer was a "do gooder" and would probably be horrified by the cash cow subsidized housing has become. The Alternative to heavy subsidies is also evident in Vallejo where extended families, primarily Irish, built homes in close proximity and added backyard cottages or basement apartments to house their elderly and kids fledging to establish new households as needed. What is interesting is that none of Katherine's housing remains, but the extended family housing patterns remain in
neighborhoods like the St. Vincent Hill Historic District. It is a myth that the market cannot provide decent housing.... it has for many years. We still see the market in action in Vallejo as poorer families not eligible for the vouchers (Mexican families) double up and value work as a way to a better life. It is HUD that has changed the landscape by rewarding people who don't want to work, have too many kids they can't afford and ignore the rules of civility with much bigger and better housing than is available to families who play by the American rules of fairness. (This does not include
the elderly and disabled) Vallejo is still HUD's petri dish.
Salty Dog   |June.11.2012
And, if you notice...Napa has zero availability while Vallejo has 137 available. El Cerrito- 1. Richmond 17

Interesting site.
lots of section 8   |June.11.2012
Ever look at www.gosection8.com? Lots of section 8 rentals available in Vallejo, how can the Feds afford to give us all that money for section 8 vouchered housing????

Seems like the Feds would say, we ran out of voucher money...
Anonymous   |June.11.2012
"From an amatuer Anthropological perspective on our waterfront WHY IN THE HELL DO YOU THINK OUR DOWN TOWN IS WHERE IT IS ??? It is because of the waterfront "

Restore it to what period? In 1960 it was nothing but mud flats from the causeway to the boat launch (sans the Yacht club).
Anonymous   |June.11.2012
@ warfrat

"@ anon dont be fooled the Vallejo waterfront was once a real one with boats and ships sailing to and fro Grain ships loaded at sperry mills , ships and boats were built on the waterfron"

What year was that? btw, the grain ships were replaced by the railroad. When was the last grain ship? Little matter as Sperrt Mills is a memory and even the train tracks are no longer maintained.
Salty Dog   |June.11.2012
I have a tall ship, a schooner of classic beauty which I would love to base in Vallejo and would even rename it to "City of Vallejo".

But do you think I can find a permanent berth here? So far snake eyes.
wharf rat   |June.11.2012
From an amatuer Anthropological perspective on our waterfront WHY IN THE HELL DO YOU THINK OUR DOWN TOWN IS WHERE IT IS ??? It is because of the waterfront
that once flourished !!! So restore the waterfront and the downtown will prosper
just see what $$$ per sqft SF fishermans Wharf earns it is the biggest no brainer in the world .. Restore the waterfront as
a functional one then the old downtown will prosper .. most City centers are located by a waterfront if they have one
if not by a train depot .. We need a couple of TALL SHIPS and some real good and honest maritime activity .. with
what we spent on the stupid parking garage , for half we could have restored a working waterfront and recovered our
heritage ...
wharf rat   |June.11.2012
@ anon dont be fooled the Vallejo waterfront was once a real one with boats and ships sailing to and fro Grain ships loaded at sperry mills , ships and boats were built on the waterfront , and a vibrant Ferry system operated including Train ferrys , many a wharf rat made it home and the taverns prospered , not to mention the Brothels . there were many wharfs and piers and a real hubbub of activity .. just go to the Vallejo maritime and historical museum and see what you can see , you will be amazed . and in fact you might just find a blue print for a new and
improved waterfront IE : the
one that was removed ......
Anonymous   |June.10.2012
@Warf Rat

What working waterfront? It was nothing but a mud flat from the Tennesse St entrance to MI down to the Yacht Club. Then nothing but mud from there to the old Steffans Sport store (boat launch area).
Social Engineering   |June.10.2012
Social Engineering does not work, the Feds have tried it over and over, high density section 8 housing, FAIL, busing kids out of their areas to other areas, FAIL, telling us what to eat in our diets, FAIL, do I need to go on?

You need synergy that you cannot fabricate in a text book and apply liberally to the masses. Private sector money working in small bites at a time works the best, building a temple to low income housing and forcing poor people to all live together compactly does not work, is not natural and is a disaster.
Salty Dog   |June.10.2012
Great news!

The ARB public workshop presented a SCAG draft in which the ARB updates the GHG targets while accepting or rejecting an MPO determination that its SCS would achieve its targets.

I think it is safe to assume that Vallejo's future is well in hand.
Clarke Johnston   |June.10.2012
http://www.arb.ca.gov/cc/sb375/sb375.htm

This legislative mischief is exhibit "A" of why business, and people are bailing on California at an accelerating rate; and why this state is nearing bankruptcy. Input from citizens is collected only as a nod to laws dictating that it be done. Public comment is neither really appreciated, wanted, or worse, heeded.
Anonymous   |June.10.2012
Re: Marina
Is there a public comment period for any improvement?

I watched their landscape "IMPROVEMENT" project and was not impressed.
Salty Dog   |June.10.2012
Heartily agreed, WR...the current waterfront is a sterile and boring piece of great potential.

And the Marina, my pet peeve,....they are going to dredge it....yep....gonna dredge the entry and leave all the slips with three feet of water. How's that for forward planning. They may as well fill it and plant potatoes.

Where is the vision and where is the common sense....long fled from the scene like a scared rabbit.
wharf rat   |June.10.2012
Anon are you NUTS ! a multi lane freeway on the waterfront ? what a piece of crap
We bulldozed a working waterfront that needed a face lift and spent big public money to do so, once we had a real waterfront ya know Ships Boats things maritime once considered blight now some of the biggest tourist attractions in the country . building residential on the waterfront will kill it forever . we need accomadations for fishing vessels ,tugs and a historic ship or two a real fish market a boat house/rowing club and
a dredged Marina . few Cities have the water frontage we do yet we continue to
squander ours with crappy plans that seem to be regurgitated from the early 1960's by a bunch of landlubbers more of the same milk-toast foisted off on our community by the few who the hell votes on this crap . begone Developers and urban planners we need to do OUR plan
then consider development of a real and vibrant waterfront ....
Salty Dog   |June.10.2012
Just took a look at that SB 375 crapola and the Joint ABAG/BAAQMD/BCDC/MTC bull****ty policy stuff and I gotta say...

Never seen so much fatuous bullcrap plastered into so much space at one time- where do they get these people to write this crap?

Now...can anyone....anywhere shed all the acronyms and cut the bull**** and tell me just who wants what here and why.....in a hundred words or less.
Anonymous   |June.10.2012
The Urban Design for Marina Vista graphic (pg. 11) is/was way cool. The highway plan was ahead of its time, and that was the 1960's. Most of those people listed on the City Council, Planning Commission, etc., etc., are not here anymore, but what a vision. Now, times have changes. MTC/ABAG Preferred Plan and the SB375 2008 law is the new way that Vallejo will have to comply with.

TOD Type = Suburban Center
Land Use Mix = Primary Office Center, Urban Entertainment, Multifamily Housing, Retail
Minimum Housing Density = >50units/acre
Regional Connectivity = High, Access to Downtown,
Subregional Hub
Frequencies = 10 minutes peak, 10-15 off-peak
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