‘Window to the waterfront’ ready to open in Wilmington

DEVELOPMENT

Promenade: Picnic pier, seating, floating dock to debut Feb. 3 for Lunar Near Year event

The Wilmington Waterfront Promenade is scheduled to open on Feb. 3 with a Lunar New Year Festival. PHOTO BY PATRICK CELLA VIA THE PORT OF LOS ANGELES

A rendering shows what the Wilmington waterfront with tidal steps, or stones, seen at center, will look like. The steps are an architectural feature and not meant to be walked on. RENDERING COURTESY OF PORT OF LOS ANGELES

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By Donna Littlejohn

dlittlejohn@scng.com

Stand back, San Pedro. It’s Wilmington’s moment to shine.

Wilmington’s will be the first of the two long-anticipated new waterfront developments to open at the Port of Los Angeles when crowds gather on Feb. 3 for a celebration. Together, the Wilmington and San Pedro developments will comprise what has been officially named the L.A. Waterfront.

A grand opening celebration for the completed Wilmington Waterfront Promenade will be at 1 p.m. Feb. 3, followed by the Port of Los Angeles’ 10th annual Lunar New Year Festival, which will be the first community-wide event held on the newly opened promenade.

Costing $77.3 million and dubbed Wilmington’s “window to the waterfront,” the 1,300-foot-long promenade, 301 S. Avalon Blvd. (Berths 183-186), offers a “picnic pier” over the water, a public floating dock and waterfront seating with shade and other amenities, according to a recent port news release.

“This project will be transformational for the Wilmington community,” Port of Los Angeles Executive Director Gene Seroka said in a written comment. “That’s due in large part to the input received from the community from the very start — including our local neighborhood councils and chambers of commerce — the hard work and dedication of so many elected leaders and port employees over the years.”

The 10th Annual Lunar Year New Year Festival, meanwhile, will begin at 3 p.m. Feb. 3, marking the first official event to be held on the new waterfront. The celebration — for the Year of the Dragon — will feature cultural attractions, dance and musical performances and food trucks. The festivities, sponsored by the Port of Los Angeles, will culminate with fireworks at 6:45 p.m.

Overlooking the new promenade, which is adjacent to the Banning’s Landing Community Center, is a new open-space bluff, along with another upland area with pedestrian bicycle trails. Both areas have seating with views of the waterfront.

And there is still more to come: An Avalon Promenade Bridge and Gateway project, designed to connect the south end of Wilmington’s main corridor to the waterfront via the pedestrian bridge, is set to break ground later this year. And a youth sailing venue is also in future plans.

The port kicked off the Wilmington development more than a decade ago, when it created the Wilmington Waterfront Park in 2011.

San Pedro’s waterfront — dubbed West Harbor — is now under construction, with a promenade along the port’s Main Channel. A number of tenants are signed up for what will largely be a dining and entertainment venue with some shopping and recreation, including a supervised dog park with amenities for owners. West Harbor is scheduled to open in 2025.