LOS ANGELES-The Port of Los Angeles has been pretty busy lately. Most recently, the Los Angeles Harbor Commission has authorized the Port of Los Angeles to begin exclusive negotiations with Bergamot Station Ltd. for the potential redevelopment of vacant Warehouses nine and 10 into a visitor-serving crafts center. Located near 22nd and Miner Streets in San Pedro, the proposed warehouse reuse project follows last year’s opening of nearby 22nd Street Park, and is one of several L.A. Waterfront revitalization initiatives currently underway.
“The proposed complex of artist studios and a public marketplace fits perfectly with our goal to create a unique experience, destination and sense of place at the L.A. Waterfront,” says Port executive director Geraldine Knatz. “The concept Bergamot has proposed represents a creative art exhibition and marketplace that could attract additional visitors and boost local economic activity.”
The proposed developer, Bergamot Station, is recognized for its successful transformation several years ago of a former Santa Monica industrial site into the Bergamot Station Arts Center, now a hub of galleries, creative offices, live/work lofts and the Santa Monica Museum of Art, according to a prepared statement. Bergamot Station currently welcomes more than 700,000 national and international visitors per year.
Warehouses nine and 10 were approved for redevelopment as part of the San Pedro Waterfront Project in September 2009, as GlobeSt.com previously reported. Totaling 140,000 square feet, the warehouses were previously used to store general cargo, but have been vacant since the fall of 2010.
The Port issued a Request for Interest in November 2010, and Bergamot Station was selected among the proposals submitted. Negotiations on details of the planned redevelopment are expected to last approximately four months.
In other Port of Los Angeles news, Sasaki, a Boston-based planning and design firm, has completed a major landscape design project for the Port of Los Angeles. Sasaki’s teams in Boston and San Francisco collaborated with the Port of Los Angeles and its staff, members of the community and all affected agencies and stakeholders to craft a master plan for the 30-acre park that would create a natural buffer between the Los Angeles neighborhood of Wilmington and port operations.
According to a prepared statement, “Residents will now experience a higher quality of life due to measures taken to reduce air and noise pollution and restored visual access of the once-hidden L.A. waterfront.”
According to Chris Brown, engineer at POLA, “The Wilmington Waterfront Park addresses the community's desire to have accessible greenspace combined with sustainable initiatives designed to improve our surroundings. By collaborating with community representatives and leveraging the expertise of our design partner Sasaki, the Wilmington Waterfront Park delivers on these goals and serves as a model for future waterfront developments.”
The park's impact on the surrounding communities is significant, with extensive measures taken to improve air quality and reduce noise and light pollution on the adjacent residences, according to the statement. The Wilmington Waterfront Park serves as a natural buffer between port operations and nearby neighborhoods, containing innovative features such a 16-foot high landform along the southern border of the park that creates a platform offering stunning views of the nearby coastline while simultaneously buffeting noise from the port.
“The societal improvements that the Wilmington Waterfront Park provides truly demonstrate the positive influence landscape architecture, architecture and civil engineering can have on communities,” says Steve Hamwey, principal of Sasaki. “The Port of Los Angeles stands as an example to other municipalities considering revitalization of their downtowns and waterfronts, showcasing the potential these sites contain and the ways in which they can be transformed to yield social and environmental improvements for all.”
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Natalie Dolce
Natalie Dolce, editor-in-chief of GlobeSt.com and GlobeSt. Real Estate Forum, is responsible for working with editorial staff, freelancers and senior management to help plan the overarching vision that encompasses GlobeSt.com, including short-term and long-term goals for the website, how content integrates through the company’s other product lines and the overall quality of content. Previously she served as national executive editor and editor of the West Coast region for GlobeSt.com and Real Estate Forum, and was responsible for coverage of news and information pertaining to that vital real estate region. Prior to moving out to the Southern California office, she was Northeast bureau chief, covering New York City for GlobeSt.com. Her background includes a stint at InStyle Magazine, and as managing editor with New York Press, an alternative weekly New York City paper. In her career, she has also covered a variety of beats for M magazine, Arthur Frommer's Budget Travel, FashionLedge.com, and Co-Ed magazine. Dolce has also freelanced for a number of publications, including MSNBC.com and Museums New York magazine.
