News: Ambitious renovation plans for Belmont Park

Posted at 1:13 AM EST (0613 GMT)

Mar. 5th, 2007 -- Over the past few years, Belmont Park has undergone a beautification and expansion boom in which existing buildings were repainted, roofing replaced, new amusement rides introduced, and new restaurants opened. One of the most recent attractions is the $5 million Wave House; the tiki-style outdoor bar and grill opened in 2005 and features the "Bruticus Maximus," where customers can surf a 10-foot tall simulated wave on an elevated stage with specially designed boards.

These myriad of improvements and additions ran a cost upwards of $8 million and were the responsibility of Tom Lochtefeld, who purchased the master lease to the 18-acre city-owned property in 2002. His intentions on restoring Belmont Park to its former glory, a plan much more grand than any typical redevelopment, is what he makes his own vision quest.

“This is my Moby-Dick,” he said. “I'm chasing a white whale.”

Lochtefeld is required to invest an additional $9 million in improvements by 2010 under lease contract terms. However, Lochtefeld has noted that he's willing to spend a lot more, upwards of $60 million to spruce up the 18-acre oceanfront amusement and retail center.

In a community where parking spaces do not meet the local demand, Lochtefeld plans for a space-saving and multi-functional underground parking facility with hundreds of spaces for automobile parking. A machine called the Flying Reef, capable of generating artificial waves would be installed on the roof of the below-ground parking facility, providing another recreational venue for land-based surfing. The sand excavated for the underground parking lot will be saved to create an off-shore surfing reef nearby.

The Plunge, built in the 1920's and serving as the community's swimming pool, is proposed for a transformation that would see it become an indoor and outdoor water park.