A long-planned arched gate from San Pedro is set to move forward – again.
A project manager was hired by the Business Improvement District in downtown San Pedro, and just days before Christmas, representatives from a number of Los Angeles City departments met with the PBID to discuss what would be required to get the plan approved.
That’s a big step forward in the project that has been languishing for a decade or more, said Bob Iannessa, PBID’s interim general manager. The sign will arch over and over Sixth Street east of Palos Verdes Street, near Harbor Boulevard, at least as expected at this point.
Another key driver for the relaunch: The $ 250,000 to $ 350,000 needed to fund the project are now available, Iannessa said.
From the locations of underground utilities to the restrictions imposed by trees, traffic lights and planned new developments in the area, efforts to pinpoint where and how the sign could be built had to come first.
The aim was to remove possible speed bumps that could slow down plans further.
The more artistic aspects of the sign come later during a public design process.
“You can’t design a sign that can’t be built the way we designed it,” said Tim McOsker, President of the PBID Board of Directors.
A call for proposals is currently finalizing and should be published shortly, Iannessa said.
Archway signs have been used as monument markers across California for decades. Some well-known examples are those in Redondo Beach, Santa Monica, San Diego, and Long Beach.
Officials said in 2017 that they were hoping the sign could be installed in San Pedro in about a year. It had been talked about for the past seven years by that time.
Iannessa said he hoped the sign could be put up sometime this summer.
McOsker was more careful.
“We will proceed as quickly and as carefully as possible,” he said.
A consultant will now begin preparing the tender and going through the design and approval process. Permits, even with many of the potential restrictions known in advance, often slow down any development, according to McOsker.
“The hardest part of doing something in the city,” he said, “is understanding the process at the front end and knowing what is required.”
McOsker said that once the process is underway, it is more likely that the process will “have no stops or starts.”
While there are conceptual renderings, the design of the monument will involve a public process, Iannessa said. The wording, images, colors and surfaces are compared – and a consensus is sought.
The process, McOsker said, will be open to the public, although the final decision will be with the PBID, the organization that pays for it.
“It’s a blank chalkboard,” McOsker said of the proposed sign at the time, adding that the design process won’t necessarily be straightforward.
Linda Grimes, executive director of the Arts District, said talks on the design ideas had not yet started to work out the technical details first.
“We’re trying to figure out what can actually be built,” said PBID board member Eric Eisenberg. “Then that opens the door to design.”
“In my opinion it will be pretty easy, but something that gives a sense of place,” said Eisenberg. “We don’t want flashing beacons; we want something tasty and historical in nature. “
In a 2017 interview with the Southern California News Group, Eisenberg said the signs will become enduring and iconic landmarks for generations, noting that the Santa Monica Pier sign dates back 100 years.
“We don’t want anything too hip or too trendy,” he said at the time. “We want something that is as attractive in 2050 as it was in 2017.”
With advances in new waterfront development, a thriving alfresco dining district, and new mixed-use residential and retail buildings in the area – with more to come – Eisenberg and Iannessa say the city is in a good position to attract more visitors.
A district of Little Italy was formed with a piazza, the fountain of which is due to be completed this year. The gate sign would be next to or near that square, Iannessa said.
The sign, he added, is also intended to “be a magnet between the new West Harbor waterfront development and downtown”.
The planned West Harbor is slated to open in 2023 – with plenty of restaurants and an amphitheater as part of the overall design – and will add to other developments that have only come to the city in recent years, Iannessa said along with renewed efforts to attract more cruise business.
“Now we’re a 12 month cruise town,” with new year-round cruises recently added, Iannessa said. “There are 288 potential departures from our port this year.”
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