Officials Proceed With Renovation of Hermosa Beach Pier

The Hermosa Beach City Council plans to move ahead with the $4.5-million renovation of the Hermosa Beach Pier this fall, the second and most costly phase of a revitalization project aimed at transforming the city’s aging downtown.

During the six-month project, the city will retrofit the pier, redesign the plaza area and resurface the deck. New benches, railings and lighting will be installed and city officials also have proposed replacing the pier’s snack shop with a restaurant.

Funding for the $4.5-million project will come largely from Proposition A, a 1992 voter-approved county bond measure that provides funds to improve parks and beach access. The Federal Emergency Management Agency will provide money for the seismic retrofitting.

In addition, the county will contribute $1.2 million to upgrade the lifeguard command station, improve parking for emergency vehicles and add an emergency center at the base of the pier, City Manager Steve Burrell said.

Renovations to the pier are part of the multiphase Downtown Improvement Project that began in January. Lower Pier Avenue is undergoing a face-lift that calls for expanded sidewalks, new concrete walkways and lighting to convert the area into an outdoor plaza.

After the pier renovations, a parking structure to accommodate more than 350 cars is planned.

In addition, construction on a 97-room resort hotel, the Beach House, is expected to begin April 19 and be completed next year.

Other renovation plans include renovating Hermosa Avenue, a bustling thoroughfare that runs parallel to the ocean and intersects with the business district, and upper Pier Avenue, east to Pacific Coast Highway.