San Pedro revitalization plan progresses

That radical revision of the 42-year-old collection of stores and restaurants is outlined in a long-awaited report that is expected to be unveiled at a Port of Los Angeles hearing today.

In addition to razing Ports O' Call, the San Pedro Waterfront Project calls for a promenade, parks and fountains, a conference center, three pocket harbors and a cruise ship terminal along 400 acres of waterfront stretching eight miles through the hard-working communities of San Pedro and Wilmington.

The goal is to set the stage for an economic renaissance that would transform the historic area into a vibrant dining and shopping outpost at the edge of an industrial empire of cranes, cargo ships, chemical depots and diesel-powered big rigs about 20 miles south of downtown Los Angeles.

Port officials said the project would be constructed in phases and completed within about five to seven years. The environmental impact report scheduled to be presented today stretches 4,000 pages. It addresses five proposals, along with a sixth option of doing nothing.

Demolition work could begin early next year at the southern end of Ports O' Call, where rundown Old English, New England and Spanish style buildings are connected by an uneven red brick walkway, officials said.

Standing amid wood-framed storefronts blemished by chipped paint, termite infestation and splintered shingles, Michael Christensen, deputy director of development for the nation's busiest container port, compared the area to "a big blank canvas. Let's let a real expert developer get their hands on it."

"If that developer says, 'Change the name and they will come,' " he said, "hey, we'll change it. L.A. Waterfront has a nice ring to it, don't you think?"

Ports O' Call opened in 1962 on the west bank of the main channel at Los Angeles Harbor. It had been a mooring area for tugboats and fishing boats, and a lumber storage yard.

The area's decline began in the 1980s. It took a further hit with the closing of the Marineland amusement park in 1987 in nearby Rancho Palos Verdes. Then came competition from Universal Studios, major expansions at Knott's Berry Farm and Disneyland, and shopping areas such as Old Town Pasadena and Third Street Promenade in Santa Monica.