Seeking to Reinvent Hermosa Beach

Hermosa Beach officials are moving ahead with plans to turn lower Pier Avenue into an outdoor plaza.

City officials will unveil the design scheme and overall plan at a special meeting Sept. 17. The vision is to turn Hermosa Beach into something comparable to Old Pasadena or the Third Street Promenade.

The $1.5-million project, scheduled to begin January 1997, calls for wider sidewalks for outdoor cafes and restaurants, the elimination of parking on the street, and the addition of trees, benches and a new multilevel parking structure on the north side of the pier.

The plan to reinvent Hermosa Beach will be funded through a 2% utility tax for capital improvement projects. The Downtown Enhancement Commission, a city-appointed board helping to oversee the renovations, will provide some of the money and additional money will come from a $400,000 assessment district supported by residents, said City Manager Steve Burrell.

The city also plans to restore its ailing pier. Renovations on the pier will begin simultaneously with the lower Pier Avenue project. The pier will first be retrofitted to withstand earthquakes and the facade will be redone to give the old pier a new look.