One San Pedro moves forward with nearly 1,600 homes near LA port

One San Pedro Collaborative is poised to redevelop Rancho San Pedro, a Los Angeles-owned public housing complex built in San Pedro during World War II, with 1,553 homes.

The developer has filed an entitlement application to replace nine city blocks of public housing with a mixed-use development near the Port of Los Angeles, Urbanize Los Angeles reported.

The collaborative, selected in 2018 to redevelop the aging complex, consists of The Richman Group, based in Connecticut; National CORE, based in Rancho Cucamonga; and Culver City-based Century Housing. Initial plans called for 1,626 rental and to-own units.

The latest plan would replace 478 two-story apartments on 21 acres bordered by Santa Cruz and Third streets, and Mesa and Beacon streets.

The project, dubbed One San Pedro, could take up to 20 years to complete. It would be built in three phases beginning next year and ending as early as 2037.

One San Pedro would replace Rancho San Pedro, which was envisioned in the late 1930s by the Los Angeles City Housing Authority as living quarters for defense industry workers next to factories and local shipyards, according to the Torrance Daily Breeze.

The first defense workers and military families moved into 285 apartments in August 1942. A second addition of 190 more apartments opened in 1953, a year after it was converted to public housing. By the 1980s, Rancho San Pedro became better known as an area rife with gangs, drug dealing and violent crime.

A major gang crackdown in 2011 helped reduce shootings and other violent crimes, but didn’t solve infrastructure problems at the aging housing complex.

The replacement village would include both market-rate and affordable homes, of which 1,041 would be set aside for households earning no more than moderate incomes.

Current residents would be temporarily relocated and given housing vouchers during redevelopment.

Plans call for 85,000 square feet of community services for child care, youth and afterschool programs, case management, health care, mental health treatment centers and business incubators. Another 45,000 square feet would contain shops, including grocery and drug stores, dry cleaners, flower shops and bakeries.

The project, designed by SVA Architects, TCA Architects and City Fabrick, would contain dozens of multi-story buildings between 60 and 180 feet tall. A park would run along Palos Verdes Street, a pedestrian plaza would front Harbor Boulevard and a sports park would go in at 1st and Centre streets.

The first phase, to be built between 2024 and 2030, would replace 157 apartments with 375 units, 32,000 square feet of community services and two public parks.

A second phase, between 2031 and 2035, would replace 144 apartments with 600 new homes, as well as 25,000 square feet of shops, 30,000 square feet of community services and two more parks.

The final phase, between 2034 and 2037, would replace 178 apartments with 625 new homes, 23,000 square feet of community services and 20,000 square feet of shops.

The redevelopment of Rancho San Pedro marks what may be the largest development near the Los Angeles waterfront, where construction recently began for the long-awaited West Harbor complex.

Los Angeles has partnered with developers to expand other public housing facilities, including Dana Strand in Wilmington and Jordan Downs in Watts, according to Urbanize.

Across San Pedro Bay, Century Housing, a partner on One San Pedro, plans to expand another public housing project, the 27-acre Century Villages at Cabrillo. The Long Beach development would add 750 apartments, including 535 set aside as affordable, plus room for schools, shops, restaurants and administrative services.

— Dana Bartholomew