Before the rain rolled into Los Angeles on February 3, the Port of Los Angeles and local elected officials simultaneously marked the debut of the Wilmington Waterfront Promenade and the Lunar New Year.

The $77.3-million project, built on a previously industrial site next to the Banning's Landing Community Center, spans nine acres and includes a waterfront walkway connecting to a public pier, a dock, a children's playground, public restrooms, and a parking lot.

Ribbon cutting for the Wilmington Waterfront PromenadeGary Leonard

“As a result of years of community involvement, Wilmington now has green space for the community to enjoy,” said Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass in a news release. “These are the types of investments that are needed to revitalize all of our communities and Los Angeles as a whole. They bring economic growth but also open up opportunities to continue to set Los Angeles on the world stage. Thank you to the leaders who helped make the promenade possible.”

The promenade, described as a “window on the waterfront," for the neighborhood, is designed by Sasaki Associates, Inc. and includes roughly 1,300 feet of new waterfront space lined with terraced seat steps composed of onyx stone. New seating lines the waterfront, and the public pier includes a floating dock to accommodate visitor-serving water craft.

PromenadeGary Leonard

Completion of the promenade comes roughly one year before the Port of Los Angeles is poised to begin work on a companion project, the four-acre Avalon Promenade and Gateway, which will add another 12 acres of open space on a neighboring site. It will be connected to the promenade through a 400-foot-long pedestrian bridge

The Wilmington project is not the only new waterfront open space now taking shape near the Port of Los Angeles. A few miles to the south in San Pedro, the Port began construction last year on the second and final phase of the San Pedro waterfront promenade, which will run through the footprint of the West Harbor complex. These projects may serve as an entree to a larger master plan for open space in and around the Port of Los Angeles, which envisions the construction of additional streetscape improvements and parks over the coming decades.

PlaygroundGary Leonard

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