Less than three years after it burned down, a Channel Islands Harbor landmark known for its seafood restaurant and water recreation businesses has been rebuilt and is being expanded.

"I'm very happy," said Steve Buenger, owner of Marine Emporium Landing at 3600 S. Harbor Blvd.

Two restaurants and a variety of water-related businesses already have leased 90 percent of the rebuilt, 18,500-square-foot main building, he said.

In October 2005, things didn't look so good. A fire at the Sea Fresh Seafood restaurant destroyed the main building and displaced 12 tenants. The fire also burned a dock behind the main building. A second, 12,000-square-foot building was not damaged.

"It was a disaster," Buenger said.

Although he owned the buildings free and clear, the land on which they sit is leased from Ventura County. Insurance covered only a fourth of the loss, and Buenger would have to borrow to rebuild.

He decided to not only rebuild, but also to expand and improve the complex.

A small marina behind the Emporium Landing complex has been rebuilt and equipped with a disabled-accessible ramp. Work is under way to create a third, 8,800-square-foot building that will house commercial fishing supply providers. The building that survived the fire will be remodeled by 2010 to match the exteriors of the two newer structures.

The entire reconstruction and expansion project will cost about $10 million, Buenger said.

In the main building, two restaurants are set to open in October: Sea Fresh Seafood and Moqueca Brazilian Cuisine.

Mike Lamm, a competitive surfer who owns the Channel Islands Kayak Center, is already in the building.

"I think it's absolutely awesome," he said.

Lamm, who rents kayaks and escorts kayakers on tours of the Channel Islands, never closed his business when the main building burned down. He brought a trailer onto the property, decorated it with tikis and torches, and kept going.

"We stayed alive because we put people on the water," he said.

The Channel Islands are too far from the mainland to get there by kayak, Lamm said. So he takes his clients and kayaks to the islands on the Island Packers boat, which is the official concessionaire for Channel Islands National Park.

When the main building is fully occupied, visitors will have a comprehensive menu for a week of fun on or near the water, said Rick Cook, owner of Pacific Scuba and the Goin' Places electric boat rental business.

"You can fish, dive, jet ski. You don't need to go anywhere else," said Cook, whose offerings include guided jet ski excursions to the Channel Islands.

Buenger is planning a grand opening for October or November.

The loss of Emporium Landing's main building hurt the business community on the west side of the harbor, said Lyn Krieger, director of the Ventura County Harbor Department. "But they held together better than I thought they would," she said.

Krieger credited Buenger for guiding the rebuilding project through four jurisdictions in a relatively short period of time. Buenger said he appreciates the support he received from harbor authorities.

The work on Marine Emporium Landing comes in the midst of a broader, multimillion-dollar effort to renovate and redevelop the entire area, Krieger said.

A Hampton Inn was built a year ago, and the Channel Islands Harbor Marina, just south of Emporium Landing, was recently rebuilt.

Next is a project to replace the docks, restrooms and other facilities at the Channel Islands Landing Marina across the harbor from Emporium Landing. That work will start in September or October, Krieger said. Two more marina reconstructions will be proposed by fall, she said.

Proposals for a 225-room hotel and a mixed-used project that would include as many as 800 apartments and 120,000 square feet of commercial space also are being considered by the county, Krieger said.