Wilmington Waterfront Promenade: Delivering Successful Community Projects at the Port of Los Angeles

Abstract: After completely transforming an industrial brownfield, with very limited public access, the Port of Los Angeles welcomes the Wilmington Waterfront Promenade project (Project) as its latest marvel in the community of Wilmington. Through various coordination efforts, challenges, and successes, a new “window to the waterfront” has been successfully added to the Los Angeles Waterfront (LA Waterfront) at Berths 183-186. The LA Waterfront is the official waterfront in the City of Los Angeles and includes the communities of Wilmington and San Pedro. Being the nation’s busiest container port, the Port made a transparent and sustainable commitment to its neighboring communities to devote an allocated percentage of operating income with the end goal of building and maintaining public access projects. The Port is a popular destination for local, regional, national, and global tourists offering world class visitor-serving amenities. This paper will discuss the challenges, successes, and lessons-learned to deliver a project of this nature.

With planning beginning in 2009, after the certification of the Environmental Impact Report (EIR), the Port began a journey that would be far from simple and would require resiliency, tenacity, and perseverance. The baton was passed on in 2015 to begin design efforts before ultimately starting construction in 2020, in the midst of a pandemic. Fast forward through a multitude of challenges managing scope, cost, and schedule over a longer than anticipated project duration, and we arrive at Wilmington’s long-awaited legacy. Projects such as this are comprised of a myriad of custom elements requiring increased attention to detail in design and construction. Challenges ranged from stakeholder coordination and community buy-in to real estate property transfers, to scope creep, to permitting, to constructing extensive architectural/structural design elements, and to working through a pandemic all while under the constant scrutiny of the public. A collection of lessons learned, such as monitoring long lead items, stemmed from these challenges and the list continues to grow as the Port observes how the public makes use of the new space.

Successes include: delivering a new world class waterfront in Wilmington which provides access to visitors of all ages; implementing new technologies throughout the Project such as the creation of a green roof on a restroom that is tucked into a hillside or incorporation of a number of bioswales/bioretention basins to comply with Low Impact Development (LID); providing a new overwater pier with an interactive play net; and building the ambitious and spectacular tidal steps that have the illusion of bringing the water closer to the waterfront. The Ports’ goal of bringing the community closer to the water and within a space that is possible to work and play has become a reality as of February 2024. The Port continues to enhance and activate the LA Waterfront with each new project benefiting from the last.

How does this project / topic contribute to the advancement of the industry and profession?: This project exemplifies how the development of public access projects for port-adjacent coastal communities can lead to building stronger relationships with stakeholders and ultimately provide economic growth for the port and communities. Sharing the lessons learned, challenges, and successes with others provides insight on managing a heavily aesthetic project as well as one that has been highly anticipated by local politicians and the public. The goal is for professionals to be better equipped in being the vehicle that brings more waterfront projects from planning to construction.

Does the project / topic implement new and innovative techniques, materials, technologies, and delivery methods?: This project incorporates innovative design features like having a green roof on a restroom that is tucked into a hillside and a series of stone tidal steps that set the tone of the site. We also have bioswales/bioretention basins within the landscaped areas and parking lots to comply with the City of Los Angeles’ Low Impact Development standards. There is also the use of innovative materials like light-weight concrete to protect the existing seawall and a series of king and sheet piles to create the new tidal steps. Most importantly, the project utilized ingenuities to continue construction during a pandemic.

What was the most challenging aspect of your project / topic and how did you handle it to ensure success?: Constantly communicating between all project members and stakeholders is the number one reason many of the challenges in this project have been overcome. Obtaining and laying out the tidal and play steps was a big hurdle that ranged from coordinating with vendors to having a multitude of mockups and drawing layouts to ensure the design intent was achieved.

Who is the target audience for this paper?: Construction Managers, Project Engineers, Project Managers, Inspectors and Port Authorities would all benefit greatly from learning about these lessons learned.