Nonprofit may manage cove

Deal must still get OKs from several state organizations.Crystal Cove Alliance founder Laura Davick said Tuesday that her group has signed a 20-year deal to manage the cottages at Crystal Cove Historic District.

The alliance agreed to the deal Monday, Davick said. She said cottages could be open to vacationers around June but was hesitant to specify a date.

California Department of Parks and Recreation spokesman Roy Stearns emphasized Tuesday that “this is not a done deal.” The agreement must still be approved by the California attorney general’s office, the state Department of General Services and State Parks Director Ruth Coleman.

“If this goes through for her [Davick], we would wish her well,” Stearns said.

In October, the nonprofit Crystal Cove Alliance was the only organization to submit a bid to manage the historic district. At the time, California Department of Parks and Recreation officials were seeking plans from businesses and nonprofits to manage some of the cottages, a cafe and the Crystal Cove Shake Shack.

The historic cottages at Crystal Cove State Park were built in the 1920s and ‘30s. The first phase of a project to restore 22 of the park’s 46 cottages was launched in 2004. The expected date of completion for the project has been pushed back several times.

Tuesday, Davick said restoration efforts have succeeded in giving a sense of historical accuracy to the cottages.

“It’s looking so beautiful,” she said. “Everything that’s inside the cottages is going to reflect that time period.”

The parks department does not yet have money budgeted to begin the second phase of restorations, Stearns said. Parks officials will need about $15 million to finish restoring all the cottages.