The Los Angeles harbor commission on Thursday, Nov. 6, unanimously approved amendments in the ongoing lease with AltaSea that extends some milestone dates and provides more flexibility for projects but does not change the total amount of the Port of L.A.’s overall financial commitment of about $36.6 million.
A series of speakers expressed support for the changes, lauding AltaSea — a 35-acre marine research campus that continues to expand but already has several tenants and is actively engaged in its mission. It is emerging as an innovative and major part of the Port of Los Angeles’ waterfront and the San Pedro community.
The facility, said AltaSea President and CEO Terry Tamminen, already hosts thousands of K-12 students for field trips and special events, partners with 16 colleges, and is a hub for marine research focused on the “blue economy” workforce that “will be needed for future jobs.”
The changes approved Thursday, he said, will provide “more flexibility with the same amount of port money.”
AltaSea is a public-private ocean institute designed to bring together pioneers and organizations in science, business and education. It has been operational for some 10 years but is still in the process of achieving its overall vision.
The center — at Berth 60, 2451 S. Signal St. — has renovated historic port warehouses into a hub of teaching and experimentation that includes local universities and innovators.
The campus is built on a historic pier located in the sheltered harbor of the Port of Los Angeles — but also offers access to the deep ocean.
Aksel Palacios, port and capital projects director for Los Angeles Councilmember Tim McOsker, said the council office is in “full support” of the amendment.
“For the better part of a decade, AltaSea has been at the forefront” of port and community developments, he said. Approving the amendment, he added, will allow the facility to make “important infrastructure improvements” that include seismic, plumbing, mechanical and electrical projects.
Alan Johnson of Jerico Development and the West Harbor waterfront project, also offered support for the AltaSea development, which is making use of abandoned port warehouses that date to World War II.
“Watching it grow over time, it has been the cornerstone of this new waterfront and its rebirth,” Johnson said of the new research hub. “AltaSea is saving those historic structures and so much history in this town. To see it saved and celebrated and used again is phenomenal.”
It also will help bring back high-paying jobs, he added, noting that the canneries and ship building have since passed from the scene.
“It’s emblematic of the next ‘golden age’ of San Pedro and the waterfront,” he said.
Dan Salas, founder of Harbor Breeze Cruises, which began in 1990, said that business will relocate its headquarters to AltaSea this month.
The center, he said, has created an excitement “for a lot of us old guys who started out (sailing the ocean) with just a compass” and watching as it continues to bring advanced clean technology to the waterfront. “I just want to say, ‘Thank you.’”
Most recently, AltaSea installed equipment on a pier for an 18-month test on harnessing energy from ocean waves under the Eco Wave Power pilot demonstration that uses seven floaters attached to the pier at Berth 70 to gather data on harnessed energy.