San Pedro’s long-vacant courthouse property in downtown has seen its share of dreams and plans come and go.
It’s been nearly a decade since efforts were launched to decide what should be built on the 1.8-acre property at Sixth and Centre streets, formerly the site of a long-gone county courthouse building that was demolished.
Now, after the latest long-standing proposal to build a residential development with a ground floor food hall fell through in December, the L.A. County-owned parcel, 505 S. Centre St., has sparked a new debate over a plan from the Port of Los Angeles High School, a respected charter school that opened in 2005, to use the property for what it says are growing school programs and much-needed buildings.
But that’s drawing a growing chorus of opposition as business and revitalization advocates say the property is too central to the commercial district where downtown businesses and restaurants, some that are struggling, have been counting on a development that would bring new customers to the historic downtown.
Instead, downtown advocates would prefer to see — as one possibility being floated — a new mid-sized hotel with open space to accommodate the growing interest in San Pedro and its new, emerging waterfront attraction, West Harbor.
In San Pedro’s downtown commercial and business district’s view, the school plan would remove a key parcel from creating a needed public commercial and event center that would connect and blend in with the area’s new waterfront attractions.
The week, San Pedro’s Downtown Business Improvement District confirmed its support for that option, calling for:
- A mid-size hotel with event park space and public parking.
- And, in the interim — “So the site doesn’t remain a fenced in demolition site,” a supporter said — open areas, parking and activation space for events like First Thursday and other festivals.
But the school proposal — which includes space for a regional skilled trades and workforce development center serving students, a multipurpose gymnasium and theater, an open-air corner amphitheater, and a Pixels arts center — has drawn early praise from others, including Los Angeles County Supervisor Janice Hahn, who has urged public meetings be held about the plan. Pixels Gallery & Creative Space, a program born at POLA High, 439 W. 6th St., already offers digital photography space that’s used as a workshop and gallery for student art to be displayed at the monthly San Pedro First Thursday Art Walk.
The school has announced it will host a community open house from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. Thursday, June 18, at the school to present and discuss the plan.
“When people start to see what the plans are,” Hahn said in a telephone interview, “I think most will not feel it’s a bad thing to invest in our young people in town.”
But in a letter to Hahn approved Wednesday, June 3, by the downtown’s business improvement district board, opponents said “strong concerns” from the San Pedro Chamber of Commerce and the Historic Waterfront Business Improvement District have been expressed. The letter requested a “transparent public process to fully evaluate alternative uses for this critically important downtown property.”
“Downtown San Pedro businesses have spent decades working toward revitalization,” the 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.”
Among concerns circulating in the community is that a tall fence — typically needed to keep school sites secure — would create an unsightly barrier, cutting off and isolating the property.
School officials said campus safety is a key issue, but that no study or determination has been made about fencing, which could also include such options as a “green” fence.
While POLA High “is one of the most respected educational institutions in our region,” the PBID letter conceded, “the courthouse property represents one of the most strategically important redevelopment parcels remaining in downtown San Pedro, and its long-term use must be evaluated through the lens of downtown economic vitality, community activation and public benefit.”
The school’s enrollment, at 1,000, is set at the current cap by Los Angeles Unified School District. But the property it sits on — formerly a headquarters for Evergreen America Corp., with a two-story building and some adjacent blacktop areas — is not sufficient for its growing programs, especially in the training for construction and other trades that are now so popular, school officials said. It also has no gymnasium or space where the entire student body can gather.
In short, they said, the school requires more space and preferably within walking distance, something the former courthouse space would ideally supply.
The existing campus would still remain the school’s primary location, officials said.
“Some of our programs have grown so much, especially in the skilled trades,” principal Tim Dikdan said in a telephone interview.
Currently, some of those classes must meet outdoors in tents, he said. Other programs, such as welding classes, have used space at AltaSea, with some using space at the Boys & Girls Club — but all of that requires bus transportation.
The school combines a college preparatory program with specialized courses to prepare students for careers in international trade and port-related businesses. It was named a California Distinguished School in 2011 and received the 2015 California Gold Ribbon Schools Award.
Yet, among the major amenities lacking on campus is a basic gymnasium.
“We don’t have a gym so we don’t have space for the study body to gather as whole. We still do pretty well,” Dikdan said, but “it’s a struggle.”
Nearly four years ago, the school began exploring a blacktop area on the back of the existing campus for the needed gymnasium where the student body could also hold campus-wide meetings and gatherings. But with only about 10,000 square feet available, it proved challenging and ultimately unworkable altogether, officials said.
An architect and project manager were hired to explore that option, the principal said, but it became clear a larger spot would be needed, calling the available open area on the grounds “very small.”
Working with Realtors, the school then began looking for other off-campus property within the general area, including a long-closed charter school at 461 W. Ninth St.
“We really did an exhaustive search,” said Erin Loveridge, senior development director for the high school. Nothing worked out, she said.
But now, the available-again courthouse property would fit their needs and also would be within walking distance of the main campus, school officials said.
“No other site provided what was needed in lot size,” Loveridge said, “the ability to build from the ground up, good ceiling heights and a pathway for a gym.”
Early on, the courthouse property had been viewed as a good fit, school officials said.
But it had long been spoken for already. Multistory housing and a food court under a private developer approved by the county was set to be finished sometime from 2025 to 2026.
Genton Cockrum Partners was selected for the project; but progress on that stalled and eventually, the county said it would have to start over with seeking plans for the land.
The Genton project hadn’t been easy, the developer said in a 2023 interview.
From the advent of the COVID-19 pandemic and, later, with high construction costs, staff shortages and an uncertain economy with rising interest rates, the challenges had been many, the developer said three years ago.
Before Genton was tapped, Holland Partner Group was selected to build a 250-unit complex on the property after a request for proposals process in 2016. But the Vancouver, Washington, company was unable to reach final terms with the county.
So when it became clear the county would go back to the drawing board on the property, POLA High began discussing the possibilities.
“We were very much aware of what was happening with that property,” Dikdan said, adding that the site sounded “wonderful” but was moved off its radar once the other plans for it were tapped by the county.
“Then, this past December,” the principal said, “we found out things had fallen through and the conversation picked up.
“It’s beyond walkable; it’s literally across the street,” he added about the site’s proximity to the campus. “There wasn’t an issue with transportation; we don’t have to move any classes if we build there. There’s a lot of great positives for the school as a whole.”
“My wife is third generation here and I know how much this town means to generations,” Dikdan said. “We’re not going to build some giant building; we want (the plan) to integrate with the downtown so you’ll feel like you’re ‘in downtown.’ We’re not trying to put something in place that’s going to be an eyesore. We want to build something that feels like it’s always been there.”
Opponents are requesting a public process to discuss the issue and this month’s public meeting, Loveridge said, will allow attendees to ask questions and look at the proposals.
Opponents are asking for:
- 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.
“San Pedro has a rare opportunity to think boldly about its future,” said the letter approved by the PBID and sent to Hahn. “We owe it to our businesses, residents and future generations to ensure this site is developed in a way that maximizes community benefit, economic vitality and public accessibility.
“We believe the courthouse site should instead be evaluated for uses that generate consistent pedestrian activity, tourism, economic investment and public accessibility,” the letter added. “One potential option deserving serious study is a hotel and mixed-use development that could include public gathering spaces, structured parking, green space, event areas, retail opportunities and visitor-serving amenities.
This is an opportunity to further advance the ongoing development in San Pedro, the letter said.
“With millions of anticipated visitors tied to cruise activity and waterfront redevelopment in the coming years,” the letter said, “San Pedro must thoughtfully consider how to encourage visitors to stay, dine, shop and experience the broader downtown district rather than limiting economic activity solely to the waterfront.”
Hahn agreed public meetings are needed and has encouraged the school in that direction. She also said a state law could require other uses, such as housing, to be vetted first for the county-owned site.
“I’ve looked at their preliminary concept,” Hahn said of the high school plans, adding she finds classroom space for career, vocational and workforce education and training, along with partnerships with some unions appealing. The amphitheater space, she said, would be open outside of school hours and on weekends.
At the school’s creation, the POLA High vision included special courses in international trade and maritime science, using the Port of Los Angeles and its resources as a real-life classroom.
“They’re pretty much cramped where they are and they’ve outgrown their space,” Hahn said. “This is just a few feet from their current campus so it makes sense for them to spread out.”