Pier Roundhouse project breaks ground
City officials, Skechers president Michael Greenberg and Roundhouse Aquarium personnel participate in the ceremonial groundbreaking Monday afternoon. Photo
The $4 million Roundhouse Beautification Project broke ground Monday with more than a symbolic gesture.
“We are not just doing a ceremonial groundbreaking,” said Mayor Amy Howarth to a crowd of about 100 at the end of the pier. “We are starting work today.”
The project, which will transform the Roundhouse Aquarium into a state-of-the-art facility and fortify the pier itself, commenced under what the mayor described as an “aggressive timeline.” Completion is scheduled by Memorial Day.
The idea for the project began 32 months ago. A week after the passing of his son, Harrison, Skechers president Michael Greenberg decided that the restoration and redesign of the iconic structure at the end of the pier would be a fitting way to memorialize the 19-year-old, who accidentally choked to death while traveling in Thailand. As Greenberg noted in a video made to help raise funds for the project, his son visited the Roundhouse almost daily as a child, the aquarium and the surrounding ocean never fails to spark the wonder of the rambunctious boy.
“In that video, they said, ‘Tell me about your son, Harrison,’” Greenberg recalled Monday. “And I said, ‘He was a pain in the ass.’ And I meant it. He is a pain in the ass, and he still is — I love him, and that was really Harrison’s determination in life. From a young age, he was extremely independent. He took little advice, if any, primarily from Mom and Dad…But he was a leader. He accomplished a lot. He traveled around the world.”
What began as a $250,000 contribution quickly took on a life of its own as the Harrison Greenberg Foundation’s Roundhouse Beautification Project gained broader scope. The city jumped on board, utilizing the opportunity to also make needed structural improvements to the pier. Greenberg ultimately donated $1.25 million and spearheaded a fundraising drive to raise another $1.5 million. Together, the city and the Foundation fast-tracked the project, which as Howarth noted on Monday required the approval of the California Coastal Commission, the LA County Beaches and Harbor Department, the Army Corps of Engineers and the Los Angeles Regional Water Quality Control Board.
Greenberg said he’d never presented to the Coastal Commission before and was nervous prior to appearing before the 11-member state legislative body at its September meeting in Cambria. The commission approved the project 11-0. Afterwards, Greenberg said, one of the commissioners approached him.
“In all of my time as a commissioner, I never cried,” the commissioner told him. “And this presentation made me cry.”
One of the foremost aquarium design firms in the world, Cambridge Seven, was commissioned for redesign of the 2,500 ft. facility. Cambridge’s other project include the National Aquarium in Baltimore, Maryland, the Carolina SciQuarium, the Acquario di Genova in Italy and the Ring of Fire Aquarium in Osaka, Japan. The outside structure will be entirely preserved and refurbished, while inside the aquarium will be “entirely reimagined,” as Howard said. A new east-facing entrance will allow visitors to enter an ever-widening space with a rocky reef tank, a sandy bottom tank and the ever-popular kids’ touch tank on the left and a large shark tank on the right; the west-facing walls will retain the Roundhouse’s distinct arched windows, so the Pacific is always visible. Above, an updated and enlarged mezzanine will include a goldfish tank, an exhibit space, and a discovery corner “nook” for small children.
Oceanographic Teaching Station Inc., which runs the facility, receives 300,000 visitors a year. OTS will set up a temporary aquarium in the south pier parking lot during construction, where much of the marine wildlife currently on exhibit at the Roundhouse will be relocated.
City officials believe the Roundhouse project is the largest public-private collaboration in the city’s recent history.
“It really struck me that this speaks to who we are here in Manhattan Beach,” said Howarth. “This is what community does. We come and gather to celebrate the good, and we also stand by each other through the dark times.”
“We live in a very beautiful, enchanted town, called Manhattan Beach, and we are privileged to live here,” Greenberg said. “….This is an iconic building behind me. It’s recognized all over the country. I view this as a gift to our community. It’s not about Harrison, although we are able to accomplish this because of him.”
“He is keeping me busier than ever before,” Greenberg said. “He’s the kid who keeps on giving.”
For more information or to contribute, see RoundhouseBeautification.com.