For four decades, the popular Newport Beach junior lifeguard program operated out of makeshift trailers on the sand just south of the Balboa Pier.
There was no running water and each summer portable bathrooms were set up for the 1,500 kids who participated in the popular beach safety program. The cramped trailers served as the office for the 50 or so instructors who each day showed up to teach the youngsters at the seaside classroom set on the sand.
But now, the junior lifeguard program has new digs to call home: A state-of-the-art, concrete, $6.4 million building set to be unveiled June 12 during a ribbon-cutting ceremony – a much-anticipated moment for the project that took years to complete.
This week the project was wrapping up just in time to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the city’s junior lifeguard program, which began in 1984.
In the works for more than a decade, the facility is a collaboration between the city and the Newport Beach Junior Lifeguard Foundation, a nonprofit that did the heavy lifting fundraising for the project. The 5,400-square-foot building is slated to also be used for community events, rentals and meetings during the off season.
“My favorite part was watching how the community came together to pull all this together, a public-private partnership with the foundation, and the momentum they gained over the years to bring this to fruition,” Newport Beach Fire Chief Jeff Boyles said during an sneak peek of the building on a recent day.
“We’re now seeing generations of parents coming back who have been through (the program,” he said. “And now their kids are going through it. I think they recognize the value and what the program itself brings to the community and on top of that, what a building can do for the program.”
The project went through several modifications and delays, with early renditions prompting concern about the size and scope of the building. Changes were also necessary during the Coastal Commission approval process, with the state agency requiring the city to meet standards that consider future sea-level rise.
Originally, the building was going to be lifted on stilts to account for rising seas, but planners were able to build back away from the beach – high enough on a foundation pad set 16 feet above sea level – to be out of the way of waves, said Peter Tauscher, senior civil engineer for the city.
And even if a swell and high tides cause the ocean to seep in, the building and floor are made of concrete to withstand salt-water corrosion.
“It’s a pretty simple building, we can just scrub the floors, dry it out and get back to business,” Newport Beach chief lifeguard Brian O’Rourke said. “A lot of thought went into this building with that in mind.”
Even some of the aesthetic touches, such as wood-siding to soften the look of the building, are actually made of concrete.
Instead of a wood deck, which wouldn’t hold up well to salty air, composite was used for the planks. Railings and frames were made using a durable stainless steel, Tauscher said.
“One of the purposes for the building was to make it look good, but also it’s a harsh environment because of the salt air,” he said. “The finishes aren’t extremely high end, but they are tough. Any time you’re working down here, we try to consider the marine environment.”
The project ran about a year behind schedule, with the unveiling originally scheduled for last summer.
The building marks a new chapter in the 40-year-old Newport Beach Junior Lifeguard program created by Reenie Boyer, the third female lifeguard in Orange County. The first group had just 50 kids, then word spread and hundreds would join each summer, now a rite-of-passage that draws nearly 1,500 annually.
Newport Beach lifeguard training captain Gary Conwell was one of the first groups to go through the program back in the late ’80s, admitting that he didn’t want to do it at first – like many kids, he was intimidated by the sea.
“It definitely shaped my childhood in so many ways,” Conwell said. “I’m a lifeguard because of it, I have all my friends in the community because of it.”
Some of those friends who have died are remembered during the summer season, including Gray Lunde, who died at age 14 from a congenital heart defect when he was in junior lifeguards with Conwell. Each end-of-summer, the young guards do a run-swim from the Santa Ana River to the Newport Harbor entrance in Lunde’s honor.
And, there’s a remembrance each year for Ben Carlson, a lifeguard who died during a rescue on July 6, 2014. Carlson was one of the head junior lifeguard instructors and also a good friend of Conwell, who was on the boat the day he died.
“The instructors are the heart and soul of the program,” Conwell said. “It’s such a neat thing for the instructors to have this space to conduct the business and do the program properly.”
Conwell said there’s still much to do before the next crop of junior guards show up on the sand.
O’Rourke said the building will be the workspace for about 50 junior lifeguard staff members, who will spend mornings and afternoons here planning the day’s lessons.
There’s an area for a large screen to show safety films or beach educational programs to the kids and a deck for lectures such as CPR and bleeding wound tutorials.
Big windows open out to the ocean, allowing the afternoon sea breeze to flow into the building, unlike the stuffy, hot container buildings the instructors worked out of previously.
There’s locker rooms with showers – both a men’s and a women’s – a big difference from the previous trailer that had just a curtain separating a changing space that offered little privacy.
“I am so excited, I think the building represents every single lifeguard who made this program what it is, our community and all the kids who went through it,” O’Rourke said. “I’m so excited for that next generation of lifeguards.”
The ocean can be a dangerous place, he said, but the junior lifeguard program provides the skill, experience and knowledge for kids to enjoy it safely. It’s a rite-of-passage for children growing up close to the ocean that builds leadership skills, self esteem and for some, is the start of a career path to work on the beach.
“The program has given back to the community, in these kids, to bring them up. That’s what this is for, the community,” he said. “Now, we’re at 40 years of generations who have been through this … it’s a staple, it’s something that is so special in the city. That’s how I feel about it and know the community does, too.”
The grand opening, ribbon-cutting ceremony for the public to get a glimpse is scheduled for 5 to 8 p.m. on June 12.
