San Pedro Waterfront

Los Angeles, CA

The Port of Los Angeles is one of the busiest and largest ports in the U.S. Longterm trends in the shipping industry and port operations however, prompted the Port to contemplate the future of the City’s working waterfront as cargo operations consolidate, cruise ship activity expands and commercial development is introduced. EE&K together with Gafcon, created a Master Development Plan that envisions a transformed waterfront where maritime related activities coexist with recreational and cultural attractions as well as pedestrian-oriented mixed-used development; and expanded access to the water for Angelenos.

EE&K began with a Water Plan, to maximize use of the area’s unique setting. The Water Plan envisions creating new harbors to accommodate existing and future water users. EE&K’s strategy for the expansive 400-acre project area proposes six distinct districts, each centered around existing waterfront assets. Each district balances substantial areas of new open space with sites for private development.

The Plan, which emerged from ongoing public input, in-depth technical analysis, and a close working relationship with the Port of Los Angeles, will provide public access along the eight miles of waterfront. The Plan celebrates the city’s maritime industrial heritage as part of a set of new public amenities that includes a grand promenade and boulevard extending from the Vincent Thomas Bridge to the federal breakwater. The promenade will be a continuous, architecturally distinctive feature integrating the waterfront and improving linkages to the adjacent San Pedro community. EE&K’s plan negotiated a plethora of rigorous regulations, including California Coastal Commission, and Tidelands Trust Restrictions and was approved by the Port of Los Angeles Board of Harbor Commissioners in 2004.