Atop a double levee in a Delta island, the wooden frames of the first wave of 494 waterfront homes are starting to rise next to private, individual docks — more than four decades after the massive marina community was envisioned.
In addition to luxury homes ranging in price from $700,000 to $1.2 million, the new manmade lagoon community in the heart of Bethel Island — population 2,300 — will feature a clubhouse, swimming pool, outdoor event center and 230-slip marina.
“This is going to be a really beautiful club for a wonderful life on the water,” Nick Taratsas, general manager of DMB Development, said of Delta Coves, the long-awaited project that weathered zoning battles and saw a parade of would-be developers struggle to make it happen.
Though it’s not the only water-based community in the Delta — Discovery Bay lies just to the south — Delta Coves’ location on top of a levee makes it one-of-a-kind in the Bay Area and beyond, Taratsas said.
“We are very lucky to have this one in this state — it’s wildy water-centric, it’s the combination of these things — I don’t know that there will ever be anything like this again,” he said.
In an unusual twist, Delta Coves is surrounded by water but isn’t in a flood zone. As a result, homeowners perched high above the water won’t have to buy flood insurance, Taratsas said. And the homes won’t have to be built on stilts or restrict living quarters to upper levels, like many of those on the lower island.
Ranches and farms once dotted sparsely populated Bethel Island, but after World War II it became a haven for anglers, retirees and many others who built homes along the water. The rural island sprouted expansive homes, mobile home parks and everything in between. Although environmental and lifestyle concerns early on led some residents to fight the project, many today see it as a way to attract new business and needed revenue.
“At this point, the project is going to come,” said Lisa Kirk, who lives in the floodplain. “There are some benefits we will get for the community, and now we will ask, ‘How do we limit the liability?’ ”
Kirk spent years fighting the 310-acre development but later joined the Bethel Island Municipal Improvement District to ensure the levees remain safe. Engineers and state and local officials are working together to solve possible drainage issues for those in lower areas, she said.
“I don’t have any qualms about Delta Coves now,” she said. “It will, though, change the peacefulness of the island, but development is happening all around us.
“As far as benefits, we are starting to get extra money from the project, seed money that we can use to help fund projects through the Department of Water Resources like reinforcing the levees,” she added.
Mark A. Whitlock Sr., president of Bethel Island Municipal Advisory Committee, which advises Contra Costa County on island matters, agreed that the new development is bound to change an island known by outsiders mostly for its striped bass fishing and the annual Frozen Bun Run for waterskiers on New Year’s Day.
“I think it will breathe new life into the community — it’s 90 percent positive,” he said, noting the town’s strip mall has a number of vacancies. “That has been a ghost town for all intents and purposes, and we would like to have businesses fill in,” said the former longtime owner of the Rusty Porthole.
“I believe adamantly that Bethel Island provides an atmosphere that Discovery Bay never could — the infrastructure, the marina, the number of places to get fuel, the number of restaurants nearby. You can pull out of your berth in Delta Coves and go to two nice restaurants on the water ….”
For business owners, it will be good to have more customers, he added.
“It’s going to have a gradual effect, so I think it’s going to be very palatable to people,” he said. “Once people get over their stereotypes (and purchase homes), it will be a huge plus for the island. I believe they will find a lot of warm and real people here.”
Some customers interviewed at local hangout Isla Bonita Restaurant generally agreed.
“I think it’s incredible,” said Larry Wildenbush, 82. “I’ve watched every part of it. It’s a quality development — and I have no skin in the game. I think it would be good for business.”
“I’ve seen a lot of change, and change is good,” added diner Manuel Valencia, who worked at the Bethel Market for 40 years.
“I think it’s going to be good for business,” agreed Jessi Singh, manager at the Bethel Market.
But some, like Ronette Riggs, worry about additional traffic.
“There’s already a lot of traffic,” Riggs said. “I kinda like the quiet out here. It’s a nice, small community, and everyone knows each other, everyone helps each other.”
First proposed in 1973 — though envisioned several years before that — Delta Coves was approved by the county three years later, but delays ensued in part because the developer at that time had difficulty getting the necessary permits. The project later would become tied up in a federal lawsuit until 1989.
Then-developer Duc Housing Inc. eventually secured approvals but was delayed again while grading when workers found an Indian burial site and later had to remove the bones before proceeding to build the lagoon in 2008. That itself was a complex project, forcing crews to dredge a basin 21 feet below sea level and then breach a levee to create a 160-foot-wide channel to connect the marina to the Delta.
By then, though, the investment banking firm financing the project, Lehman Brothers, filed for bankruptcy, halting construction in late 2008, fencing off the lagoon and leaving the already-built boat docks languishing for years.
In 2012, master developer SunCal bought the site and began grading and installing sewer and water lines. The Irvine-based company partnered with Davidson Communities, which planned to build luxury homes after the infrastructure had been repaired. But then another economic recession hit, Tarantas said, noting that improvements came to a halt once again.
In 2017, the project was dusted off when the property owners – Dune Real Estate LLC, Colony Capital and SunCal – contracted DMB Development to revise and rebrand the community. Previous plans envisioned it as a suburban neighborhood with a yacht-club-like lifestyle, but Taratsas said it didn’t seem authentic to the laid-back Delta island community surrounded by levees.
“The subdivision didn’t appear to belong near the water,” he said. “None of it spoke to a water-centric project living the lifestyle on the water in the Delta.”
In an attempt to re-envision the development, Taratsas and DMB planners toured the Delta and Napa areas to get a feel for the architecture and styles.
“We had to rebuild the floorplan from the outside out — all the social rooms had to be at the back,” he added, noting the new plans for the homes were geared toward a boating lifestyle, moving the structures closer to the water. Taratsas believes this latest iteration reflects the island’s current vibe.
“In this community, neighbors will visit neighbors by boat. They’ll decorate the back of the house for the Fourth of July,” he said. “All the community connection takes place from the back of the homes.”
To make it even more cohesive, the large island club community house will serve as a gathering spot for neighbors, he said. Called the Island Camp, the clubhouse will feature a yoga room, a fitness center and outdoor area with lounge seating, games, fire pits and bring-your-own-booze bar on a sandy park-like pavilion.
“It’s small enough to be one great neighborhood — you share the club, the lagoon, you should be able to get to know everyone you want,” Taratsas said.
Taratsas said the project will offer seven model homes showcasing different options when it opens in early summer. Several developers will offer homes from 1,800 to 4,000 square feet. In addition, 66 cottages and condominiums are planned. For more information, go to deltacoves.com.
