REAL ESTATE NEWS

Port of Los Angeles Posts Record Surge, Speeds Development

West Harbor entertainment district, historic warehouse redo move forward.

The Port of Los Angeles moved 10.3M container units in 2024, a 20% increase over 2023 — the largest year-over-year surge in the history of the port and its second most active year on record.

In his annual report, executive director Gene Seroka attributed the cargo volume, second only to the 10.7M total in 2021, to diversions related to attacks on shipping vessels in the Red Sea, drought-related reductions in capacity at the Panama Canal and a now-resolved labor dispute at East and Gulf coast ports.

The port is moving forward on several large mixed-use developments, including the $250M West Harbor project, a redo of the Ports O’ Call shopping center in San Pedro into a 375K square foot waterfront entertainment, dining and shopping district.

The $155M first phase of West Harbor, including restaurants, bars and shops, is slated to open next year. In October, the developers announced plans to expedite construction of the next phase, which will feature an amusement park including a 150-foot Ferris Wheel that will be twice as high as Santa Monica Pier’s Pacific Wheel.

The developers, Jerico Development and Ratkovich Co., also announced a deal with the San Pedro Fish Market and Restaurant to remain on the property instead of building their own $140M complex nearby.

The owners of San Pedro Fish Market, the Ungaro family, have inked a 49-year lease to rebuild their historic waterfront home at West Harbor. The restaurant currently is operating with mobile kitchens in temporary outdoor quarters in the parking lot next to its former site.

The owners are planning to build one of the largest restaurants in the U.S. at West Harbor, a 55K square foot eatery capable of serving 3,000 diners at a time, the Los Angeles Times reported. Before moving into its rebuilt space, the restaurant will relocate to a temporary space in the mixed-use development that eventually will be occupied by a hotel.

An environmental review is being conducted for a later phase of the West Harbor project, a 6,200-seat amphitheater to be operated by the Nederlander Organization.

The Port of Los Angeles is relaunching an effort to redevelop one of its oldest and most iconic structures, a six-story steel-reinforced concrete structure built in 1917 known as Warehouse 1.

Warehouse 1 overlooks the port’s Outer Harbor to the south and is the first structure greeting ships coming into the Angels Gate. In the 1960s, the building was the largest bonded warehouse west of Chicago, offering 500K square feet of storage space. During World War II, it served as a Navy depot.

Last month, the port issued a request for proposals to redevelop Warehouse 1. Potential uses include marine-related or visitor-serving commercial uses, creative offices, hospitality, entertainment or education.

The port previously sought interest in a public/private partnership to redevelop Warehouse 1 in 2017 and 2020.

The L.A. port also is expanding its capacity to serve cruise ships. According to Seroka, 100 cruise ships carrying a total of 1.5M people arrived at the port in 2024, with each one generating more than $1M in local economic activity.

The port is developing the Outer Harbor Cruise Terminal to accommodate larger vessels from expanding operators including Princess and Royal Caribbean, an expansion expected to be completed in 2030.

The port also is redeveloping the existing 22-acre World Cruise Center terminals in San Pedro for expanded activities including filming, conferences and events.


Source: GlobeSt/ALM

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