Redondo Beach waterfront tapped as new site for Marine Mammal Care Center

Redondo Beach city leaders announced the transformation of a deteriorating former waterfront restaurant into an educational, rescue facility for marine mammals on Thursday at "the best piece of real estate in our great harbor," Redondo Beach Mayor Jim Light said.

The new Marine Mammal Care Center is set to be developed into what the center says will be a world-class marine mammal hospital, research center and education destination at the former 1.3- acre Joe's Crab Shack restaurant site in King Harbor.

The center currently operates out of San Pedro, rescuing and rehabilitating stranded marine mammals, "rescuing more marine mammals per mile of coastline than anywhere else in the country," MMCC wrote.

The demands have outpaced the space as the center says it must expand.

"Today, marine heatwaves, harmful algal blooms, recurrent and emerging diseases, and unpredictable ocean conditions are driving strandings that are larger, more complex, and more resource-intensive than ever before," MMCC wrote.

A capital campaign is underway for the $65 million facility at 230 Portofino Way. So far, $30 million has been committed to the project, including $15 million from Proposition 4 and $15 million from local philanthropic donors.

The proposed three-story facility would more than double current capacity and feature expanded patient care pools, a state-of-the-art surgical suite, diagnostic and research laboratories, classrooms, meeting space, and interactive exhibits open to the public.

"And it won't just be a marine mammal hospital, it's going to be a research center, a public education campus designed not only for the challenges today, but for those that we face for decades to come," John Warner, MMCC CEO, said.

The Marine Mammal Care Center opened in 1992 and has since rescued and rehabilitated more than 11,000 marine mammals. The San Pedro center is to continue operating as an additional support location.