San Pedro's AltaSea names 2 executives, plans groundbreaking this year

On the heels of this week’s unveiling of new Ports O’ Call development plans, another San Pedro waterfront player — AltaSea — aounced two new executives and said groundbreaking for the $500 million marine research center will come later this year.

Jey Krusoe was named executive director and Sandra Whitehouse was named chief scientific officer, though she will serve in a consulting role.

A 50-year lease agreement for the ambitious center was approved in December 2013 by the Port of Los Angeles, calling for a 100-year-old pier near Warehouse One in the outer harbor to be transformed into a state-of-the-art marine research center over the course of 20 years.

The 35-acre campus has been touted as a key component in San Pedro’s evolving waterfront and will bring together a cooperative of universities and green- and blue-tech companies for study and research. The center also is envisioned as having tourist-friendly features such as park areas. A seawater wave tank plaed for the study of tsunamis is one of several pieces that could be open to public view.

Because AltaSea and Ports O’ Call — which will be rebuilt and renamed the San Pedro Public Market — are so close to each other physically, the success of each will boost the other, officials believe.

But raising funds for the research center has been a challenge. As of early 2015, at least $82 million had been raised for AltaSea from the Port of Los Angeles and the Aenberg Foundation. Another $53.2 million is needed by January 2017 to begin construction on the first phase, which will include seawater laboratories, offices, a lecture hall and an interpretive center.

AltaSea executives hope to raise a total of $217 million by 2019.

Krusoe, a former motion picture executive who has been with AltaSea since it was first proposed in 2010, was tapped a year ago as the interim senior executive following the abrupt departure of Rachel Etherington.

Etherington, known for her work as managing director of the United Kingdom-based BLUE Marine Foundation, was AltaSea’s CEO for a year before leaving the board without explanation.

Krusoe was not available for comment.

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