Marina del Rey to get a modern makeover

The marina remain trapped in era when kitschy nautical and Polynesian themes were in vogue. Now county planners are pushing to make it relevant once more. But some older parts of the marina can feel like an anachronism. Wood-shingled buildings sit empty behind caution tape on Panay Way. Water drips over the buzz of a freezer at a neglected ice cream shop hidden inside Fisherman's Village. The county's new planning document for Marina del Rey acknowledges that the area's architecture and infrastructure is "dated" and said a key goal is to "create a vibrant destination." All of the marina's restaurants, retail and other attractions are on L.A. County-owned land, with merchants operating on long-term leases. Consequently, government officials can play a major role in the future look of the area. The vision statement is expected to guide the county's lease negotiations in the coming years. More than a third of the marina's leases are set to expire over the next decade, and officials can demand that lessees revamp their property to match the new plans. For some longtime business owners, deciding exactly how to modernize is a struggle. More than 40 years after it opened, fishing nets still form a tangled web over the weathered wharf posts that stand at the entrance to the Warehouse. Inside the restaurant's dimly lit waiting area, faded pictures framed by tiki wood show people from around the world holding up the restaurant's menu and grinning in their straw hats and oversized sunglasses. The drinks come with stirrers made to look like tiny mermaids. Owner Marti Spencer said that the restaurant was a hot spot for first dates in its heyday, but "it was a time and place that I don't think will probably ever exist again." Today the Warehouse still has loyal customers, most of them older. Spencer said she knows she needs "to appeal to the young." But Spencer said the restaurant's lease expires in 2022 — and she wondered how management can balance the needs of longtime clients and new diners. "It is what it is. It's an old warehouse, and all we do is refurbish the furniture. The structure as it stands is how it was originally built," she said. "How much can you really change the Warehouse without the public that has grown up with the restaurant saying, 'Oh you took that away, or changed that?'"