SAN PEDRO, CA-The Port of Los Angeles has issued a request for qualifications seeking qualified commercial real estate developers interested in redeveloping the 30-acre, fully entitled waterfront property here known as Ports O’Call Village, located along the Port’s Main Channel and adjacent to downtown. The development site includes 3,000 linear feet of rare water frontage and 375,000 square feet of retail and tourism-related entitled uses.
“The City and Ports of Los Angeles are pleased to offer qualified parties who have a vision for creating a world-class L.A. waterfront an unparalleled redevelopment opportunity that will rival other urban waterfronts around the globe,” said Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa in a prepared statement.
Port executive director Geraldine Knatz added that the Port is investing hundreds of millions of dollars in public waterfront infrastructure along 16 miles of community-adjacent port property at the Port of Los Angeles. “We’re building a waterfront to fit the scale of the largest port complex in the western hemisphere at the doorstep of the largest regional market in the western U.S.”
The Port plans to select a master developer to carry out a comprehensive redevelopment of the property and enter into a long-term ground lease. Applicants will be reviewed based on their development vision and strategy for the site, their experience in developing premier and unique real estate projects and experience working with public agencies. Developers interested in responding are encouraged to attend a pre-proposal meeting on Wednesday, Aug. 8, at 2 p.m. at the Plaza at Cabrillo Marina, 224 Whalers Walk, San Pedro, CA.
A spokesperson from the Port of Los Angeles tells GlobeSt.com that the deadline for RFQs is Sept. 21 and that at this point the specific retail establishments the Port is hoping to attract is “an open slate. We don’t want to start saying what we want and what we don’t want. We want to hear from developers about what they think will work here.” The spokesperson adds that the Port hopes to attract developers who will recognize the unique opportunities the waterfront offers and “tell us what they think is the right mix.”
The proposed redevelopment site is in the immediate vicinity of several public waterfront enhancements, including a new downtown harbor and public plaza slated for completion in early 2014. In recent years, the Port has made extensive investments in promenades, marinas, parks and other public waterfront amenities aimed at providing greater public access to the waterfront. In addition to the multi-phase, $36-million Downtown Harbor water basin, promenade and public plaza under construction, other projects completed or underway include the $130-million Cabrillo Way Marina and public promenade, the $16.3-million Fanfare Fountain and Plaza and the $23.4-million Harbor Boulevard Parkway promenade.
The parcel was developed as Ports O’Call Village in the 1960s and was a popular regional destination for many years. Located just south of San Pedro’s historic downtown business, the property is within walking distance of the port’s World Cruise Center, which sees hundreds of thousands of cruise travelers each year.
San Pedro’s is not the only L.A. County waterfront undergoing a facelift. As GlobeSt.com previously reported, earlier this month the City of Redondo Beach launched a request for qualifications for a waterfront development opportunity covering more than 15 acres of oceanfront land. The RFQ is a major milestone in the City’s comprehensive Waterfront Revitalization Project, which includes targeted upgrades of public and private spaces across the waterfront, stretching from Redondo’s pier to King Harbor. The redevelopment will include 150,000 square feet of existing building area, with up to 400,000 square feet of net new development led by those chosen from the RFQ responses, which were due July 9. The land is fully entitled through the coastal commission.
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Carrie Rossenfeld
Carrie Rossenfeld is a reporter for the San Diego and Orange County markets on GlobeSt.com and a contributor to Real Estate Forum. She was a trade-magazine and newsletter editor in New York City before moving to Southern California to become a freelance writer and editor for magazines, books and websites. Rossenfeld has written extensively on topics including commercial real estate, running a medical practice, intellectual-property licensing and giftware. She has edited books about profiting from real estate and has ghostwritten a book about starting a home-based business.
