By Gloria Tierne
Last month the port commission voted unanimously to help fund the project with public donations through its Percent for Art Program. This requires developers and some tenant leaseholders to set aside one-percent of their development budget for public art. Instead of using the money for an installation on their own projects, they have the option to contribute that money to the bridge lights, Merrifield explained. Right now the port has multiple large projects and redevelopment in the works including the Anthony’s Fish Grottoand Seaport Village overhauls.
So far the port has raised $100,000 toward the $8 million project. The money came from the development consortium of Portman Holding, Robert Lankford, and Hemsel Phelps, who are building a 19-story 400 room InterContinental Hotel at the corner of West Broadway and Pacific Highway.
“We saw it as a good place spend some of our art budget, seeing that half of our guests can see the bridge from their rooms,” Roger Zampell, the group’s spokesperson, said.
Merrifield believes InterContinental Hotel’s donation is just the beginning. “I’ve talked to others who are interested in contributing,” he said. Port tenants aren’t the only ones who will be asked to contribute.
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Photo courtesy of Port of San Diego.
