Two developments at opposite ends of town fill me with dread for the future of San Pedro.
I’m referring, of course, to Ponte Vista, the housing project on North Western Avenue across the street from Green Hills Memorial Park, and the amphitheater planned for the extreme southern end of West Harbor, the commercial project that’s supposed to replace Ports O’ Call Village.
The apartments and townhomes crammed into Ponte Vista already have earned the epithet “Eyesore Estates” in some quarters for obvious reasons: They’re ugly. Built so close together that it looks like you can reach out from the windows and shake hands with your neighbors, it causes me to think of another way to describe the area: Sardine City.
And we all know how it will impact traffic on the already benighted Western Avenue. As for West Harbor, when I saw the artist renderings and what the completed amphitheater might look like, all I could think was, “Be afraid, be very afraid.”
It’s a beautiful location, on a thin strip of land jutting out into the harbor, surrounded by water on three sides. So how did those thousands of people milling about before the stage get there? By boat? Helicopter? Oh, right, in those thousands of cars that somehow got down a two-lane Harbor Boulevard to the West Harbor exit at Seventh Street.
Nederlander Concerts expects 100 major events there annually. That’s two a week! That’s twice a week Harbor Boulevard, one of San Pedro’s main arteries, will be in constant gridlock. And we all know how sound travels over water. San Pedrans living in that part of Point Fermin overlooking the harbor can expect many sleepless nights.
Fortunately, the amphitheater plans still must go through the environmental impact review process. As reported, “At the top of the list are noise, traffic, and parking concerns.” In my books, that’s three strikes, and you’re out.
More on West Harbor
San Pedrans have fond memories of Ports O’ Call, especially the early years: the Sierra Nevada, the Sky Tower, helicopter rides, a puppet show, the creepy Occult Shop, Belgian waffles, an art gallery, a smoke shop, and craft and novelty stores of all types. What made it fun was that almost everything there you couldn’t find anywhere else in town.
Now, I look at the current lineup for West Harbor:
A brewery. Don’t we have two just up the street?
A ramen restaurant. Again, just blocks away from the fine Ko-Ryo on Sixth Street.
A pizza place. Right, that’s what San Pedro needs, another pizzeria.
A breakfast restaurant. You’re kidding. See above.
A burger joint and a deli. Yeah, we don’t have enough of those in San Pedro. Egads.
A cantina with waterfront dining. Didn’t we just tear down a popular one called Acapulco?
A high-end Mexican restaurant. We all know what “high-end” means. We’re all going to miss the Green Onion.
From what I read, it looks like a bunch of San Diego-based businesses are coming north that, purposely or not, will add nothing to our landscape and simply siphon business away from downtown.
What we don’t see is something replacing the late, lamented Ports O’ Call Restaurant, a fixture for decades that, when the rest of Ports O’ Call was falling apart, still attracted San Pedrans.
And do I really have to write what I think of a dog park you must pay to use?
On top of that, I’m not alone in finding the whole project ugly (see Ponte Vista above). West Harbor’s design is considered “industrial,” a modern concept supposedly meant to reflect the port environment. Well, the port can be called many things, but no one has ever considered it attractive.
And while I wish no ill will toward the new project, I can’t help but point out that the opening will coincide with two roadway projects that portend economic disaster for San Pedro as it is: the planned Harbor Freeway off-ramp reconstruction at Knoll Hill and the rehab of the Vincent Thomas Bridge that will close it either entirely for one year or restrict it for two.
And we all know that no matter what happens, after the first few waves of lookie-loos, most people coming to West Harbor will be there for one reason and one reason only: San Pedro Fish Market. spt
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