Renderings Emerge for San Pedro's Mini Mixed-User

Gaffey Street Apartments; all photos from the Charles Company

A planned residential-retail complex near the southern terminus of the Harbor Freeway is moving full steam ahead, according to a recent article from the San Pedro Beacon.  West Hollywood's Charles Company, developer of the three-story building at 335 North Gaffey Street, intends to break ground on the $1.5 million project sometime during the first half of 2015.

The Gaffey Street Apartments, slated for a currently vacant lot at Gaffey's intersection with Sepulveda Boulevard, will offer 28 residential units and 4,800 square feet of ground-level retail space above a partially underground garage.  The mixed-use development began its slow march through the city approvals process this past July, and has since received unequivocal support from both of San Pedro's neighborhood councils.

Future residents may find themselves at the northern end of a much improved Gaffey Street, which has been selected as one of the first components of Mayor Eric Garcetti's Great Streets Initiative.  Planned upgrades include new plazas and parklets in the near-term future, with further landscaping, street furniture, lighting and sidewalk expansions to follow.  These enhancements are focused on existing commercial corridors, with the hope of attracting investment and restoring their surrounding neighborhoods.

Mini Mixed-User Headed to San Pedro's Future Great Street

According to plans filed with the city earlier this month, a small mixed-use development is headed to a .3-acre property in San Pedro, located just a short walk from Bandini Canyon Park.  The new low-rise building would emerge from a currently vacant lot at 335 North Gaffey Street, consisting of 30 apartment units above street-level commercial space.  Although current neighbors include an auto-oriented mixture of strip malls and drive-thru restaurants, the proposed residential-retail complex would likely benefit from Gaffey Street's selection in Mayor Eric Garcetti's Great Streets Initiative.  Planned improvements under the initiative include new plazas, parklets, and landscaping, focused on a one mile stretch between the southern terminus of the Harbor Freeway and 13th Street.

• Case Information Summary Sheet (LADCP)
• Gaffey Among First Targets of Garcetti's Great Streets Initiative (Daily Breeze)

LA City Councilmembers Want Blue Line Extension to San Pedro

A Long Beach-bound Blue Line Train.  Image Credit: Los Angeles Times

Despite being home to the United States' busiest container port, the waterfront community of San Pedro has long been isolated from Los Angeles County's Metro Rail network.  Two members of the LA City Council are trying to change that.  Yesterday, Councilmemembers Tom LaBonge (4th District) and Jose Buscaino (15th District) introduced a motion which requests that Metro report on the feasibility of a new light rail line connecting the Wilmington/San Pedro area to the Blue Line.  Known as the Harbor Line, the expansion concept has existed for well over two decades, appearing in several past visions of the Metro Rail system.  Although there are no immediate plans or funding available to construct the Harbor Line, the project could be incorporated into a future transportation ballot measure.  Notably, the light rail line was included in transit advocacy group MoveLA's "strawman," proposal for Measure R2.  In MoveLA's tentative plan, the Harbor Line would function as an extension of the Green and Crenshaw Lines, running south towards Wilmington before turning east to meet the Blue Line in Long Beach.