Face-Lift of Pier Called Big Step for Downtown : Ventura: The landmark will be renovated in the style of the city’s historic buildings. Officials say it will be the catalyst for an ambitious redevelopment plan.

A $3.5-million face lift of the weather-battered Ventura Pier is scheduled to begin in the fall, setting in motion the city’s plan to rejuvenate a deteriorating downtown area.

“We’ve been learning that what goes on that location is an important component in revitalizing downtown,” Councilman Todd Collart said. “It should function as the engine to drive the vehicle.”

Over the next few months, Ventura officials will review design plans with architects and take comments from the public before deciding how the project will look. Planners hope to have the reconstruction completed by June of next year.

Architect Eric Lassen, who has been traveling along the Southern California coast studying piers, says planners are leaning toward a simple design that incorporates plenty of room for fishing.

“It will look a lot like the San Clemente pier, which is a recreation-oriented pier,” said Lassen, of Santa Barbara. “The real concept here is to design a pier without a lot of buildings on it.”

Restaurants and stores are planned near the entrance to the structure, he said. Also, the pier will incorporate the art of Ned Kahn, a San Francisco man who has worked on public art projects at such places as Pierce College in Tacoma, Wash., and the new terminal at the Phoenix airport.

The 1,958-foot landmark, the longest wooden pier in the state, will be renovated in a style that will fit in with the historic buildings in downtown Ventura, Lassen said. It will include more benches, places to clean fish and additional lighting fixtures. The restrooms and the bait shop already on the structure are to be redesigned and rebuilt.

“Typically, a pier must respond to a variety of needs. Fishing is only one of them,” said Michael Schneider, an urban designer working with Lassen.

Also, entertainment areas and bike paths will be incorporated into the design.

“I would like it to be a memorable place, a playful place,” Collart said. “If you get to the emotional side of it, the pier is a real symbol for people in Ventura. It is really deeply ingrained in the fabric of the community.”

The pier is expected to serve as a catalyst for an ambitious downtown redevelopment plan, officials say.

City officials hope to double the number of housing units and replace industrial buildings with commercial and residential structures in the downtown area. The idea is that quality businesses will be attracted to the area and more people will come in to work, shop and eat.

Called the San Buenaventura Wharf until the early 1900s, the pier provided the outside link and helped turn Ventura into a thriving community. Before the pier was constructed in 1872, the city had no way of shipping food and other supplies in and out of the isolated area.

In the 1860s, there were no bridges over the Santa Clara and Ventura rivers, which swelled until the waterways were impassable during rainy winters.

Several years ago, officials of the state Department of Parks and Recreation, which owns the pier, considered demolishing the wooden structure.

It had been severely damaged by storms in the 1980s, as were many other piers in the Southland. It was closed in 1986 because the pillars had been severely weather-beaten. In 1987, about three-fourths of the pier was reopened after repairs were made. The remainder, considered unsafe for pedestrians, remains fenced off.

Soon after, the state told the city that the structure had grown too costly to maintain. If the city did not take over its ownership, state officials said, the pier would be demolished.

As a result, the Ventura City Council voted in September to assume the pier’s maintenance--which costs about $150,000 annually--in exchange for the $3.5-million funding package to renovate the landmark.

Under the agreement, funding for the restoration--$2.5 million in grants and $1 million in loans to the city--will be provided by the California Coastal Conservancy, the California State Wildlife Conservation Board and the state’s Special Account for Capital Outlay.

About two weeks ago, the city held a Saturday-morning workshop to discuss renovation plans with the public. Residents told planners that they want a recreational pier that is free of the clutter and carnival-like atmosphere of some wharves. Residents can still make their views known on the project at downtown redevelopment meetings.

“There is a strong direction from the community to keep a basic look,” said Mary Lou Schill, an administrative assistant at the city’s Parks and Recreation Department. “I don’t think we’ll see a huge difference in the way the pier looks now, but it will be quite a bit better.”