A charter high school has withdrawn its proposal to build campus extension amenities on a long-vacant former county courthouse parcel in San Pedro, leaving the future of the land on the edge of the downtown’s dining and shopping district unclear.
The Port of Los Angeles High School — a popular charter school operating under the oversight of the Los Angeles Unified School District — had rolled out plans to use the 1.8-acre parcel at Sixth and Centre streets for a gymnasium and other needed campus buildings. The school, which opened in 2005, is located in the former Evergreen building, 250 W. Fifth St., and does not currently have a gymnasium. Instead, it shares space with one operated by the Boys & Girls Clubs of the L.A. Harbor.
The school enrolls 1,000 students and offers classes geared toward future careers in port-, trade- and maritime-related industries.
But the idea of building needed amenities on the former courthouse property drew opposition from the town’s downtown district, which instead created its own proposal for a mid-sized hotel and open space that could be used for commercial, community event and recreational purposes. Those kinds of uses, the district’s officials said, would be needed to provide a boost for the commercial area that now is becoming more tied to the emerging West Harbor waterfront destination nearby.
Los Angeles County Supervisor Janice Hahn, who represents the area, said in a Thursday, July 2, statement that it looks as if it could be a while before a new plan is agreed to and inked.
“I have been listening to San Pedro residents and collecting their ideas for the future of the former courthouse site for a while now,” Hahn said in the written statement. “People have been thoughtful in their responses. Both POLAHS’ expansion proposal and the PBID’s hotel proposal did not end up being very popular.
“What I’ve heard most consistently is the idea of making the lot open space for the community to use,” she added. “So that is what I am exploring now. I think it’s the best path forward, at least for the next few years. The next supervisor who comes after me might have some different ideas about how to develop this lot for the long term.”
Hahn will be termed out of office in December 2028, her third and final term on the Board of Supervisors.
Results of the survey done by her office — asking “How should we use San Pedro’s former courthouse property?” — showed park and community space coming in at 31.3% and, next, affordable housing with 24.6%. Other categories included the Port of Los Angeles High School expansion, 15.4%; retail, 11.3%; the PBID proposal, 9.7%; “Other,” 4.6%; and parking, 3.1%.
The survey is still open at shorturl.at/BfOHX.
The courthouse, demolished in early 2022, operated from 1969 to 2014 and was among many county courthouses closed because of budget constraints at the time. It handled criminal, civil, small claims and traffic matters in its six courtrooms and was opened to replace older courtrooms on the upper floors of the San Pedro Municipal Building.
The most recent plan before the school, among many that came and went through the years, was for a multi-story residential building with ground floor retail, a food court and open space. It had been approved by the county and was in the works for years under a private developer. But it ultimately stalled and fell through in December, leaving the property — once again — up for debate.
In a June 5 letter to county officials, downtown business supporters, opposed to the school use, requested that an open process — required should the county again declare the property to be surplus — be pursued within “a transparent public process to fully evaluate alternative uses for this critically important downtown property.”
The letter was signed by the San Pedro Chamber of Commerce and the Historic Waterfront Business Improvement District.
But then, the school’s principal, Tim Dikdan, sent a letter to supporters on Wednesday, July 1 — saying the campus would not pursue its plans after all.
“Following recent discussions, the county supervisor’s office has informed us that they will not be moving forward with our proposal,” Dikdan wrote. “While we are deeply disappointed that opposition and special interests have stalled a project designed to serve our youth and the community at last, we respect that the county has chosen a different path for this property.”
“We support the proposed expansion of POLAHS, just not in that location,” Ryan Blaney, CEO and executive director of the PBID, said in a written comment on Thursday, July 2. “From an urban planning perspective, the old courthouse lot is pivotal to the future of our historic core. We would like to see it used five to seven days a week in a more public format that benefits local residents, businesses, cruise ship passengers and other visitors.”
Along with the hotel, the downtown vision for the property included event park space and public parking. And in the interim — until development could be done — it could be used for parking and activation space for events such as First Thursday and other festivities.
The proposed interim use, said PBID board member Alan Johnson, would “clean up a derelict site, add landscaping and greenery, and provide a space for the PBID and others to hold events, farmers market, etc. The plan would add much-needed parking to downtown relatively quickly.”
The proposed long-term use would include event space, surface parking and free space, allowing “downtown to participate in the economic boon coming to San Pedro’s waterfront,” he added.
Concerns about the campus proposal were expressed by several speakers earlier at an open house held by the school.
Among the objections were that the school would be a poor fit in the area, with restaurants and bars across the street. Some also suggested other properties should be more seriously explored by the school.
The letter from business interests requested:
- A formal public outreach and community engagement process regarding the courthouse site.
- Independent economic impact and feasibility studies for alternative uses, including hospitality and mixed-use development.
- Public hearings with downtown stakeholders, residents and business owners.
- Transparency regarding all negotiations, proposals and redevelopment considerations related to the property.
“Downtown San Pedro businesses have spent decades working toward revitalization,” the business community’s June 5 letter said. “Small business owners, restaurants, retailers and property owners have continued investing in downtown despite economic challenges and shifting regional attention toward the waterfront. As West Harbor and other waterfront developments move forward, we now face a once-in-a-generation opportunity to better connect visitor activity to the historic downtown core.”
One possible wrinkle going forward could also be a revised surplus land regulation, which would require housing be considered first for vacant government properties.
Last month, representatives of the downtown business district created a rough draft of their potential for what they envision the land could be used for, arguing that the land is too tied to what’s been a struggling downtown business district to set it apart for private use. (The school plan, however, did include an outdoor corner amphitheater on the land that would be open to the public and stay available outside school hours).
This week’s letter from Dikdan announcing the school would withdraw from the courthouse bid added that “we are redirecting our energy toward campus expansion plans that we completely control.”
“POLAHS is an institution built on grit and integrity,” the school’s withdrawal announcement added. “Our mission is too important to be put on hold by local roadblocks. While this specific site is off the table, our momentum is not.