Demolition kicks off for shuttered San Pedro Courthoue

At a ceremony yesterday, developer Gentron Cockrum Partners (GCP) and Los Angeles County officials marked the start of demolition for the shuttered San Pedro Courthouse, clearing the way for the construction of a mixed-use development in its place.

The redevelopment of the courthouse site, a 2.8-acre property at 505 Centre Street, has been in the works for more than six years, but began its current trajectory in 2018 when GCP was awarded the rights to the property.  The Pasadena-based firm has already secured city-level approvals for the construction of a new eight-story complex that will feature 300 studio, one-, two-, and three-bedroom apartments, in addition to 25,500 square feet of ground-floor commercial space (including a food hall) and parking for up to 559 vehicles.

As a condition of approval, GCP is required to set aside 20 percent of the proposed apartments - 60 in total - are offered at rents considered affordable to households earning no more than 80 percent of the Los Angeles area median income.

MVE + Partners is designing the project, which is depicted in renderings as a contemporary podium-type building with an M-shaped footprint above street level. Plans call for a series of resident courtyards above the podium, as well as 6,000 square feet of publicly accessible open space at ground level.

“This is a project that we have been looking forward to for a long time,” said Los Angeles County Supervisor Janice Hahn in a statement. “There has been a lot of work happening behind the scenes with Genton Cockrum Partners, but the demolition means the public is going to see the progress and that is exciting.  This project is in the heart of our downtown, so it was important that we got this right. We are building apartments that people can afford, bringing more people to downtown, and building a space everyone can enjoy.”

Demolition of the courthouse is expected to take 50 days to complete, while construction of the new apartment complex is expected to begin in the third quarter of 2022.

The Courthouse site is one of a handful of publicly-owned properties in Downtown San Pedro currently poised for redevelopment, including the Ports O' Call Village and the Rancho San Pedro public housing complex.  Parking lots at 711 Beacon Street and 500 Mesa Street are also being considered as potential development sites by the City and County.

• San Pedro Courthouse (Urbanize LA)