Laguna Beach’s $11.1-million Village Entrance project enters final phase of construction

The Village Entrance project in Laguna Beach is in the final leg of its run toward completion by summer, the city said Tuesday, nearing the conclusion of an $11.1-million revitalization project that was 30 years in the making.

Remaining work will focus on the Lumberyard parking lot at 499 Forest Ave., which will be reconstructed and reconfigured. Landscaping also will be installed.

The work will close the Lumberyard lot, just a stone’s throw from City Hall. Construction is expected to be completed by May.

Lots 10 and 11 nearby, which were closed in earlier stages of the project, are available to the public. Parking spaces around the sewer digester building are reserved for city employees during standard working hours but are available to the public on evenings and weekends.

The initial half of the second phase of the Village Entrance work was completed Thursday and included projects such as curbs, gutters, asphalt, permeable decorative pavers and asphalt pavement.

Construction also was completed on a new storage building for the Laguna Beach Police Department. Evidence previously was stored in the sewer digester building, which the city evaluated for possible removal in September.

Other infrastructure projects included installation of storm drains, water quality basins, irrigation, new LED lighting and planting of low-water-use trees and other landscaping.

Construction on the Village Entrance project first broke ground in September 2018. The plan reenvisions the entrance to the city where Laguna Canyon Road becomes Broadway Street at Forest Avenue. City officials approved an $8.4-million construction bid in August 2018 with Chino-based C.S. Legacy Construction Inc.

“Paved roads, bridges and new parking lots support better circulation and traffic flow at the Village Entrance project site, creating a safer environment for pedestrians, bicyclists and vehicles,” city staff said in a news release Tuesday.

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