Where: Crescent City, California
Problem: A tsunami damaged an inner boat basin, severely impacting the local economy
Solution: RCAC provided a revolving line of credit and short-term gap financing to reconstruct the boat basin
The Inner Boat Basin at the Crescent City Harbor District (CCHD), a major fishing port for both Del Norte County and Northern California, sustained damage from a 2006 tsunami, but was totally destroyed when a second tsunami hit in 2011. With more than 300 jobs dependent on the harbor’s fishing and tourism businesses, the entire county felt the impact.
Facing a $38.2 million reconstruction project for just the inner boat basin alone, CCHD was approved for FEMA and California Office of Emergency Services (CalOES) disaster funding. However, several conditions needed to be met before funding would be granted; and federal and state claim processing times didn’t allow CCHD to make timely payments to its contractor to begin the development.
CCHD applied for gap financing from USDA Rural Development, however, those funds were not available at the scheduled construction time. RCAC’s Loan Fund provided two loans, an $8.303 million revolving line of credit for interim financing claims and a loan for $3,711,650 to provide short-term gap financing.
With RCAC’s funding, CCHD had the required capital to start construction of the new state-of-the-art tsunami resistant marina with modern amenities for both recreational boaters and commercial fisherman. In addition to restoring the existing jobs, CCHD estimated that the project created 250 construction and construction-related jobs. The new Inner Boat Basin was completed February 2015.
“It’s the first tsunami-resistant marina that we know of anywhere on the West Coast,” said Richard Young, CEO and harbormaster. “When we rebuilt it, we built it much stronger than it was previously. There are more pilings, larger pilings, and the system is designed to resist up to a 50-year tsunami.”
