Two Harbors, a rustic outpost on the western shore of Catalina Island, will see major upgrades by summer, Catalina Island Co. announced this week.
The company, which operates and owns many of the resort features at the island, is adding amenities to what many consider to be the island’s quiet side. Additions, due by May, include a dining area, meeting space and rental equipment on the beach.
The company studied pictures from Two Harbors’ early 1900s history for its South Pacific-style revamp. Six new palapas (open-sided, thatched-roof shelters) will be named after movies of the time, and the wait staff will wear uniforms similar to garments of that period.
Catalina Island Co., created years ago by the Wrigley family, said it’s also adding an aerial park, with tower drops and zip lines, for thrill-seekers in Avalon. A high-speed Cylone boat will offer fishing tours and thrill rides around the island. To accommodate the growth, plans for more employee housing should be complete by 2019.
“We’re keeping it quaint and a special place, a seaside village. We’re keeping with its history and authenticity,” Randall Herrel, president and chief executive of Catalina Island Co., said of the island additions. “But we’re enhancing the experiences of our guests and attracting everyone from millennials to retirees and having lots of things for them to do. We want to maintain the feel of today for the future.”
The company, which this week changed its name from Santa Catalina Island Resort Services, has been enhancing island amenities at Avalon in recent years, including the addition of Descanso Beach Club. It also manages the Mount Ada, a former Wrigley family home, which was converted into a six-bedroom boutique hotel.
Here are the highlights of an interview with Herrel about the “multimillion-dollar” upgrades on the island:
Q Tell us more about what’s next for Catalina.
A We are adding a high-speed Cyclone; it’s a 100-passenger boat. It also has a thrill ride where you’re cruising around Catalina at about 30 knots. That starts in March. We’re also adding the Catalina Aerial Adventure and the Descanso Drop Tower. The tower is going to be 60 feet tall with two levels — a 30-foot and a 60-foot level.
Q What’s coming to Two Harbors?
A We’ve focused a lot so far on Avalon. Now we’re moving to Two Harbors. The main beach area is called Harbor Sands. There are going to be six palapas, a group meeting area that holds at least 250 people, chaise lounges and chairs to rent on the beach and a dining area with waiters and waitresses. We hope that will attract the attention of additional boaters to Two Harbors. There is a camping station in walking distance, and (from Avalon) we think we’ll get a lot more visitors to spend the day at Two Harbors. We’ll provide transportation with the Cyclone to get people there in 30 to 40 minutes.
Q How are other previously announced changes to the island — including a refresh of Hotel Atwater, more employee housing and the golf course — coming along?
A The Hotel Atwater is almost 100 years old. We are starting a major room renovation this fall and there will be a grand reopening by 2020. That will be a 95-room hotel with meeting facilities, a restaurant bar in the lobby and it’s going to be the same size it was when it originally opened. We are still trying to figure out what to do with the golf course. We want to redo it without upping the green fee.
Q It sounds like there are a lot of projects right now. Have you been hiring a lot?
A We are limited by the human capacity and the number of hours a day we can ask someone to work. We’ve had 45 percent growth since 2010. It’s been a real turnaround. We opened an Irvine office about two years ago and now have about 50 people there and have added staff in Avalon as well.
We have a lot of contractors working on the island as well. We need more contractors. With the economy picking up, it’s harder to find good contractors who are willing to work on the island.
Q How does the drought affect construction?
A We have drilled three test wells in Avalon Canyon. Those three wells will produce enough water to support the employee housing and additional housing for city residents or to expand the Mount Ada, which we are discussing adding more rooms, too. Hopefully, they will come online in 2019. We are starting to meet with the city next week to negotiate a development agreement to fund city housing.
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