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San Pedro’s West Harbor could get a timeline boost with new funding

  • West Harbor, San Pedro’s waterfront development, has recently secured $61.5...

    West Harbor, San Pedro’s waterfront development, has recently secured $61.5 million for the recapitalization of the project which remains on track to begin soft openings in phases by late 2025. Frames for two additional buildings have gone up after the first building was completed. Structures will house various tenants who already have signed leases. (Photo by Chuck Bennett, Contributing Photographer)

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West Harbor, San Pedro’s waterfront development, has recently secured $61.5 million for the recapitalization of the project which remains on track to begin soft openings in phases by late 2025. Frames for two additional buildings have gone up after the first building was completed. Structures will house various tenants who already have signed leases. (Photo by Chuck Bennett, Contributing Photographer)

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A new round of refinancing is giving San Pedro’s long-awaited new waterfront, West Harbor, a needed push to do more on a quicker timeline, the lead developer said this week.

The first tenant in the now-finished building — Harbor Breeze Cruises — could be ready to begin offering cruises as early as mid-to-late 2025, said Eric Johnson, senior project executive for West Harbor, with the other tenants set to be ready for business as early as the end of the year.

Those additional tenants are now busy preparing their own spaces in the same building, as framing is going up for additional tenant housing on the linear stretch of waterfront property at the Port of Los Angeles.

The refinancing includes a new original senior loan funded by Oceanview Life and Annuity Co., an affiliate of Bayview Asset Management, LLC, an investment management firm focused on investments in mortgage and consumer credit.

The port recently turned over one of the final pieces of property — a common area that completes the more southern portion of the waterfront promenade — and developers anticipate the final environmental impact report for the proposed amphitheater to be released shortly.

The refinancing, called a recapitalization, provides $61.5 million for West Harbor, the $500 million project that replaces the former, 1960s-era Ports O’ Call Village. The new development stretches about a mile along the port’s Main Channel, from just south of the Los Angeles Maritime Museum near Sixth Street and Harbor Boulevard. A promenade provides pedestrian space right up against the water’s edge.

“It’s quite an acceleration,” Johnson said of the result, which, he added, will move some of the timing up. A full buildout could be done by the end of 2026, Johnson said. This year, there will be phased-in openings as tenants work to get their businesses up and running for a series of soft openings that will further activate the space in the final months of 2025.

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That will open the way for the “final push” on the long-anticipated project, Johnson said.

The port approved a general outline for a new development in 2009 and two development firms — The Ratkovich Company and Jerico Development — in a partnership with the port and city, have been laying the groundwork ever since.

But the complications have been many. The project, after all, involved a private developer working on land controlled by the Port of L.A., and required building and other permits that had to go through Los Angeles, a city known for its red tape.

For residents — many of whom lamented the loss of Ports O’ Call Village — the delays have been a point of frustration.

But now, the push is on for West Harbor tenants to get their entertainment, dining and “experience” spaces up and running as quickly as possible, Johnson said in a telephone interview.

“We’ve hired a full-time tenant coordinator to help (tenants) with the permitting,” Johnson said. “The tenants are motivated to move in as quickly as they can.”

More than 80% of the entire space has been pre-leased and the development already has a long list of signed tenants, including the first satellite location of Hollywood’s Yamashiro; the first California location for the experiential art gallery Hopscotch; and new locations for Mike Hess Brewing, Poppy + Rose, King and Queen Cantina, and Mario’s Neighborhood Butcher Shop and Delicatessen.

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Besides Harbor Breeze Cruises, the Los Angeles Maritime Institute, with its historic tall ships, will be regular tenants. Guest docks are included in the build-out, where private vessels can tie up and come ashore for visits.

The San Pedro Fish Market has signed a 49-year lease to be a major part of the new development mix. The family-owned San Pedro business is already operating from a temporary spot on the location. A new building is being constructed to house the popular gathering spot, formerly part of Ports O’ Call, that has long brought visitors from miles around to experience a part of the port and fishing town’s deep roots.

An amusement area near the restaurant will include a carousel and a Ferris wheel — up to 175 feet tall — that will provide views of the port’s Main Channel, and the World War II Battleship USS Iowa.

A pickle-ball space and dog park will round out some of the outdoor areas in the more northern section of West Harbor.

The second building, now framed, should be finished in August this year, he said. The Fish Market’s permanent space is still in the design phase but could be ready as early as late 2026, Johnson said.

If the amphitheater gets the final go-ahead — among concerns being address are parking, traffic, noise and plans for fireworks — work on that element will begin as soon as possible, Johnson said.  Nederlander Concerts will be a partner in the 6,200-seat outdoor venue.

While originally planned to be developed in two phases, the refinancing, Johnson said, will streamline work into more of a single phase going forward.

“More will be open sooner,” Johnson said, summing up the anticipated result.

And construction costs, which continue to rise, will be less as a result, he said.

Johnson said he believes West Harbor will be popular, adding to the historic port town, which has already seen 5,000 new residential units added in recent years through construction of mid-rise developments — that are pulling in a younger demographic.

Most of those new housing units, he added, are within walking distance of West Harbor.

“I think one aspect is that San Pedro is getting this ‘cooler’ profile,” Johnson said.

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