After sitting largely vacant for years and being repeatedly hit by vandals, one of San Pedro’s historic former bank buildings could see new life, at last, with plans underway to create a business and resource center with the San Pedro Chamber of Commerce being the main tenant.
The Croatian Cultural Center was created when the former 1928 closed bank building at Centre Street and Pacific Avenue was spared from a possible wrecking ball in 1997 with a $450,000 purchase deal by the city of Los Angeles.
It was to become a hub for the town’s Croatian community, offering meeting space, art exhibits musical performances and other community events.
The 8,000-square-foot structure features architectural carvings and other touches reminiscent of the town’s earlier days, and was viewed as an important representation of San Pedro’s multi-ethnic history.
But the rehabilitation process was costly and long, winding up at $2.9 million and use of the building waned over the years.
More recent efforts to attract the Croatian consulate general to set up a local office in the landmark building never panned out.
Instead, the building has sat vacant for years, with squatters breaking in and living there for periods of time and doing no small amount of damage.
Most recently — in the past week — it was discovered that vandals had cut off the city padlock, put their own lock on it, and proceeded to clear the premises of copper piping, plumbing infrastructure and other valuable materials. Tiles have been destroyed on the inside as well, and etchings and graffiti have long been a problem for the building’s historic windows and exterior.
The building currently is boarded up to prevent further break-ins.
Revamping the use of the building still faces probably an eight- to 12-month process, said Elise Swanson, president and CEO of the local chamber, as approvals make their way through the city bureaucracy. The chamber would fund much of the cost, but other funding…
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