A decades-long effort to redevelop Fisherman’s Wharf in Channel Islands Harbor is set to kick off formally Aug. 15, transforming the dilapidated area into a theme park.
The wharf fell into disrepair as debate over its future stalled. But in 2024, the Ventura County Board of Supervisors unanimously awarded the Oxnard wharf’s lease to German company Karls to create a small, free-to-enter theme park with retail, food markets, restaurants, playgrounds and ticketed children’s rides. A previous plan to also build a small hotel in the park was dropped at the time.
Karls received California Coastal Commission approval for the project in 2025, and Oxnard approved the demolition of the current site later that year. A fence was erected around the demolition site in May.
The Aug. 15 groundbreaking at 2741 S. Victoria Ave. in Oxnard will feature community mural painting, family friendly activities and remarks from local leaders, including Oxnard Mayor Luis Mc Arthur and County Supervisor Vianey Lopez. Additionally, the event will feature an auction of historic items, including naming rights to Spanish cannons and original bricks from the Oxnard sugar factory, according to Karls representative Axel Stelter in an email.
Harbor Director Michael Tripp said that the project is expected to be completed in Spring 2028.
Karls currently operates seven parks in Germany and plans to build an additional 12 by 2035. Stelter said that Oxnard was chosen as the site for the first American park because its owner, Robert Dahl, would visit with his family in the 1970s and 1980s to study strawberry farming techniques and “connect with the agricultural community.”
According to Stelter, the master lease agreement with the county mandates Karls spend a minimum of $16 million in direct improvements plus nearly another $1 million to improve the boardwalk. Karls is also committed to upgrading the marina within five years of the park’s opening.
Stelter added that the park will hire 100 to 150 employees, with the “overwhelming majority” of roles being filled locally.
After 1996, when Oxnard real estate magnate Martin V. “Bud” Smith sold his harbor properties, including the wharf, the property declined.
Other plans for redeveloping the area have included building a nearly 400-unit apartment complex, which was stopped by the coastal commission, and an over 200-room Hyatt Hotel on the south end of the harbor.
While the Hyatt and Karls developments are independent, Tripp said that they will likely benefit from the presence of each other.
Tripp also highlighted additonal work being done around the harbor.
He said that concrete dock pillars have about a 40-year lifespan, but the ones at the harbor are 60 years old and multiple have been replaced recently. Additionally, the harbor department has rebuilt and continues to work on multiple marinas, anchorages and parking lots as well as its administration building.
“This place was something amazing, you know, back in the ’80s and ’90s, and I think it’s fully possible to get there again,” Tripp said.
Levi Kauffman is a Summer intern for the Ventura County Star. He can be reached at lkauffman@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on Ventura County Star: Long-awaited upgrades to Oxnard Fisherman’s Wharf to get underway
Reporting by Levi Kauffman, Ventura County Star / Ventura County Star
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By Levi Kauffman, Ventura County Star | USA TODAY Network
