As summer quickly approaches, any hope that the Malibu Pier would be open for business has evaporated with the winter fog. Visitors can fish off the pier, but shopping, dining and beach rentals are still approximately one year away from fruition.
“We keep moving forward in good faith,” said Hayden Sohm, acting superintendent for the California State Parks Angeles District. “We’ve known for awhile we weren’t going to make it for this summer, but our hopes are high for next year.”
A city landmark, the 98-year-old Malibu Pier has been battered and bruised over the years by nature as well as by man. Built in 1905, the pier was originally privately owned by Malibu rancher Frederick Hastings Rindge. A 1942 storm severely damaged the structure, but it was rebuilt two years later and used as a U.S. Coast Guard station during World War II.
The state took over the property in 1980, and with the legendary Alice’s Restaurant perched at the end of the pier, the site served as a popular fishing spot, movie backdrop and eatery. The structure’s heyday ended in 1995 when an El Nino storm forced it to close.
The current makeover of the Malibu Pier began in 1999 with a three-phase reconstruction plan funded collectively by the county, the state and the city. The first two phases focused on stabilizing the structure, updating the pilings, remodeling the buildings, and adding a boat landing and a sewage treatment system.
Currently, in the final phase, Dennis J. Amoroso Construction Co. is restoring the interior and exterior of the pier’s buildings. In fact, it recently erected a sign that is a duplicate of the historical sign, Sohm excitedly explained.
Still left on the state’s “to-do” list is further work on the sewage treatment system, paving the parking lot and completing the main gate. “Our work should be complete around July,” Sohm said. “But when we’re done, the concessionaire still has a lot of work yet to do.”
The master concessionaire, Malibu Pier Partners, consists of four investors and is headed by Jefferson Wagner, who grew up in Malibu and owns Zuma Jay surf shop. Wagner, a lifelong surfer, has run the local surf shop and equipment rental business for nearly three decades; one of his dreams has always been to run the pier.
Sohm and Wagner share a mutual respect for the pier and its historical significance in Malibu. Sohm said the state wanted a concessionaire who was a local resident and who cared about the community.
Wagner’s new dream job involves filling the existing buildings with viable businesses. “Basically the state is handing us a shell with outside walls and a roof, and the rest is up to us,” he said.
Malibu Pier Partners signed a 20-year contract to manage and operate the pier as a whole. Venues planned for the structure include Alice’s Restaurant, the Surf View Caf, a bait and tackle shop, twice daily sport fishing tours, beach and water sports equipment rentals, a retail shop and the Surfrider Gallery and Museum.
Wagner expects the interior construction to take approximately six months once the state completes Phase III. Although that leaves Malibu Pier Partners without this summer’s revenue possibilities, Wagner is not concerned.
“The state is being very fair and won’t start charging rent until we actually move in and open the doors for business.”
The restoration project has a price tag of $5.5 million, divided among the County of Los Angeles ($2.9 million), the state Department of Parks and Recreation ($2 million) and the City of Malibu ($700,000). In addition, Malibu Pier Partners expects to spend $2 million-$3 million to get the pier ready for full use.
Wagner is putting his money where his heart is and even plans to give up a 20-year career in television special effects to devote his time to his new job. Not only that, Wagner also plans to write a book on the history of the Malibu Pier.
“That’s how much I love the pier,” he said.