What the Port of LA’s New Cruise Terminal Will Include

The Port of Los Angeles’ proposed Outer Harbor cruise terminal is taking shape.

The port announced last week that Pacific Cruise Terminals LLC, a joint venture between Carrix Incorporated and JLC Infrastructure, has been chosen to develop and operate the new cruise hub, Urbanize Los Angeles reported.

The new terminal will rise on the south corner of the port complex on land that currently houses surface parking. Renderings for the project showcase a ring-shaped structure with central green space and a new park opening directly to the waterfront. A target date for completion has not been disclosed.

Building the new Outer Harbor cruise terminal and revamping the World Cruise Center in San Pedro will “allow [the port] to capture more of the rapidly growing cruise business, while also establishing Los Angeles as the primary West Coast gateway for cruise operations,” Gene Seroka, the Port’s executive director, said. “This project will also be a huge win for our port communities, who will greatly benefit from the economic activity generated by such significant public and private investment in our L.A. waterfront.”

Each cruise ship that visits Los Angeles generates approximately $1.3 million in local economic activity, according to port estimates cited by Urbanize. Last year, the port saw 241 cruises.

It isn’t the only new development slated for the Port of Los Angeles complex.

Pier 500, a proposed new marine container terminal, is in the works at the port. The project is envisioned as a 200-acre site along the port’s Pier 400 Channel that would bring two new berths and approximately 3,000 feet of new available wharf space to the southern end of Terminal Island. It would utilize an existing site where the port identified 124 acres of submerged infrastructure added during the construction of the adjacent Pier 400 more than two decades ago. With the expansion, the new terminal would increase cargo efficiency at the port by accommodating larger, newer cargo ships.

— Chris Malone Méndez