Two projects two decades in the making were both unveiled on the Redondo Beach waterfront last weekend, marking the beginning of what city leaders believe will become the physical and economic transformation of its long-suffering harbor and pier area.
The Redondo Beach Harbor Patrol facility, a $2 million, 5,000 sq. ft., two story seaside public safety station, was officially opened with a ribbon cutting Friday afternoon. Saturday night, a ceremony welcomed the launch of Pier Landing, the newly renovated “foot of the pier” leasehold that is the largest and most visibly prominent pier property.
Mayor Mike Gin was effusive in his optimism. At both unveilings, Gin recalled the long and often tattered history that led to the reconstruction of the two buildings, located less than a mile apart in an area that has seen little reinvestment in decades.
“This is a project that has been in the works for so long,” Gin said, referring to the Harbor Patrol facility jokingly as “Villa Redondo” before adding, “I am going to move here.”
Redondo Beach Fire Department Chief Dan Madrigal, who will soon retire after 11 years at the helm of the department, recalled first arriving in the city and being given a tour of the harbor by then-chief and current Councilman Pat Aust. Since the early 1990s, the former chief had been trying to upgrade the already dilapidated old Harbor Patrol facility but had never quite been able to cobble funding sources together.
He urged Madrigal to keep pursuing the task.
“He asked me, ‘Do you know what a vision is?’” Madrigal said, recalling his own answer as something somewhat indistinct, an answer to which Aust replied, “‘A vision is the ability to see something that isn’t there.’”
“It’s here today, Councilman,” Madrigal said. “We did it.”
The task was accomplished with a significant assist from Los Angeles County. Supervisor Don Knabe’s office was able to contribute $650,000 in county capital funds. His deputy, Steve Napalitano, expressed admiration that Redondo was able to move forward during an economic time in which most cities are at a standstill. The revitalization of the waterfront, Napalitano said, was “not at the beginning of its end, but at the end of its beginning.”
The harbor facility will also house the Los Angeles County Fire Department lifeguard division locally.
Aust, now a two-term councilman, was ebullient. “This is a good day,” he said, shaking his head and grinning as he toured the facility. “A very good day.”
But the former chief stressed that the somewhat palatial new digs are not just a luxury for the public safety officers who will work from the facility. The wrap-around second story deck has the best view in King Harbor, but it’s a view with a purpose, Aust said, recalling how the oncoming impact of storms in 1983 and 1988 – each which broke through the breakwater – were more difficult to assess without such a birds-eye perch.
“You can actually see everything from up here,” Aust said. “It’s eight feet taller than the old facility, and those eight feet make a big difference. You can assess what is happening, and tell what is going to happen. It’s not a luxury; it’s functional. It will improve public safety in the harbor.”
The launch of Pier Landing was likewise an event long in the making.
Leaseholder Bob Resnick said that it was the culmination of a vision he had when taking over the leasehold 20 years ago. And city leaders have been negotiating with Resnick for more than six years before finally last year arriving at a 22-year contract extension agreement – which extends his lease to 55 years – that hinged upon his commitment to make at least $1 million in improvements. “We all have the same goal,” Gin said. “We all have the same vision for the future of our pier, and our waterfront.”
The city projects roughly $50 million investments over the next two years, including $40 million in private investment and $5 million to $10 million in public investment as its efforts at revitalization unfold. Smaller leaseholds have been aggregated, with the city even purchasing the Pier Plaza and the International Boardwalk leaseholds, in hopes of attracting large developers who would take the lead in revitalizing the area. Five developers bidding for those properties will make presentations at the Sept. 13 City Council meeting.
Pier Landing is meant to hearken back to the pier’s origins as Wharf #1 in 1889. Resnick noted that he has now been a master leaseholder for a quarter century, longer than Capt. Hans Monstad, the pier icon who built its first landings for fishing boats in 1925. His new improvements have attracted new businesses, such as the Neighborhood Grinds coffee shop and a Bella Gelato desert café, moves towards the more upscale gentrification that the city has long sought.
The building, which is the entrance to the pier from Torrance Boulevard, has been remodeled both on its façade and in the interiors. Sixty-year-old Russian ship lights dot the lip of the roof, and a large north-facing part of the façade that says “Pier Landing” is brightly lit. A plaza area featuring historical postcard art and picnic tables has been added to the south, ocean-facing side of the structure.
Resnick took pains to welcome back local clientele who long abandoned the Redondo waterfront.
“When anybody in Redondo Beach talks about going out for an evening, this is where they ought to think of going,” Resnick said. “And that is what we are trying to give the residents a reason to do.”
The construction has not come without discord. Longtime businesses, such as pier staple Sunshine Kite Company, have lost a summer’s worth of business as they wait out the improvement’s completion. And other small businesses on their own leaseholds, such as Charlie’s and Starboard Attitude, have been left in limbo, unable to secure long-term lease extensions as the city pursues its aggregation strategy.
Gin promised better days to come.
“This is an exciting time to be in Redondo, and to be part of the waterfront,” the mayor said.
