REDONDO BEACH, CA — Plans to transform Redondo Beach's Seaside Lagoon with a new 770,000-gallon swimming lagoon, water slide and other waterfront upgrades are heading before the Harbor Commission Tuesday night.
The commission will hold a special meeting at 6:30 p.m. to consider a California Environmental Quality Act exemption and design review permit for the Seaside Lagoon Rehabilitation Project at 200 Portofino Way before making a recommendation to the City Council.
Plans dated July 17 show a dramatically revamped facility centered around a new ADA-accessible, concrete-bottom swimming lagoon covering about one acre. The lagoon would have a maximum depth of 5 feet and include a sand beach and entry, water slide, splash jets and fountain features.
The broader entitlement plans also show upgraded pedestrian areas, landscaping and natural grass, shade structures, outdoor showers, BBQ facilities, renovated fencing and a new two-sided public restroom serving both the lagoon and neighboring public boat launch and boardwalk area. Not all of those improvements are necessarily included in the project's $9.47 million first construction phase.
Renderings show the redesigned lagoon surrounded by a large sand area, landscaping and recreational space while retaining its waterfront setting beside King Harbor.
The rehabilitation has been years in the making as Redondo Beach grapples with aging infrastructure and increasingly costly requirements for operating the waterfront attraction.
City officials said in April that Seaside Lagoon's existing infrastructure has become increasingly difficult and expensive to maintain while meeting current public health and environmental regulations.
A pump failure forced the lagoon to close for about two weeks in 2025 and cost roughly $60,000 to repair. The city also reported $175,000 in fines covering a second two-year cycle of water-quality violations associated with the facility.
The rebuilt lagoon would instead use a recirculating system supported by a new pump and filtration building. Current plans call for the 770,000-gallon lagoon to circulate water at 3,000 gallons per minute, providing a complete turnover approximately every 4.3 hours.
The project's first phase has been scaled back significantly because of rising construction costs, health regulations and engineering constraints.
An earlier concept included both a recreational lagoon and separate lap pool. Los Angeles County Department of Public Health officials determined the two water features would have to be physically separated and supported by separate filtration systems, pushing the estimated cost above $16 million.
The reduced Phase 1 project was estimated in April at approximately $9.47 million. At the time, about $7.9 million in combined state grant and city funding remained available for the project, leaving a roughly $1.57 million gap that staff said could be addressed through additional Quimby funding.
Groundwater beneath the site has also shaped the design. City officials said digging the lagoon deeper could require extensive dewatering, potentially adding approximately $1 million to $2 million to construction costs.
The City Council voted 5-0 in April to move forward with the reduced-scope project, including a five-foot-deep lagoon, new sand, upgraded restroom facilities, an outdoor shower and upgraded perimeter fencing.
The July entitlement package now provides detailed plans for the lagoon, pump building, public spaces, landscaping and other amenities as the project moves through the city's approval process.
If the project continues through environmental review, permitting and construction as planned, city officials have estimated construction would take about 10 months, with completion targeted for early 2028.
City staff has said the goal is to complete the first-phase improvements before the BeachLife Festival in May 2028 and the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles.
The Harbor Commission's special meeting begins at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday.
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