Within about two and a half weeks, Laguna Beach got two public places back. The permanent Promenade on Forest opened September 25, 2026. Pacific Marine Mammal Center opened its visitor yard to the public on Monday, October 12, for the first time since October 2023.
Both opened before they were finished in the ways that count most for a visit. The plaza still had work left after the ribbon-cutting, and the streets around downtown go under repaving crews starting today. The marine mammal center opened with no animals in-house. Both places fill out in the off-season, and the stretch from now through December is when each one becomes what it was built to be.
The Promenade Opened With Work Still Underway
The permanent plaza covers lower Forest Avenue between Coast Highway and Glenneyre. The City's project page lists permeable brick paving, landscaped beds, seating and dining areas, wider walks in front of storefronts, new trees, drainage improvements, and set-aside areas for temporary performances. New trees and umbrellas provide shade, and the City's construction updates list both the umbrella installation and the light poles as complete.
The finishing touches were another matter. On September 22, at a City Council meeting, City Manager Dave Kiff said brickwork was done at the northern end but work remained at the Coast Highway end facing Main Beach. He also said full electrical service, which powers the fountain, the audio system, and Wi-Fi, was expected to be running by that Wednesday, according to the Daily Pilot. In the days before the opening, the OC Register described these pieces as still going in or still unfinished:
- More art installations
- A nautilus bench
- Bike racks
- Some interior brickwork
- Wi-Fi speaker activation
- Adjustments at the Coast Highway end
The Register's opening coverage also showed a fountain inspired by a kelp forest, along with specialty brick and furniture. The City's own update says the remaining elements would be built "over the next couple of weeks." It gives no firm completion date.
The project's history helps explain why the opening night still felt like a soft launch. The temporary promenade went in on June 15, 2020, as pandemic relief for downtown businesses. The Register reported that the temporary version cost about $250,000, including $10,000 for security. In January 2026, the Council awarded Superb Engineering a $5.5 million construction contract. At that point the Daily Pilot reported a June completion target and an overall cost estimate of up to $7.3 million, contingency included. Construction started February 17. By September, the Register was reporting a $7.2 million cost, which Kiff described as under budget. The opening came about three months after the June target.
The businesses along the block stayed open the whole time. The Daily Pilot described fencing that left only narrow walkways around the work crews. Two of those businesses marked anniversaries at the dedication: Bushard's Pharmacy at 80 years and Moulin at 10. The 133 Band played after the ribbon-cutting. Local coverage also named Alessa as one of the restaurants on the plaza. Business owner Marisa Fader told the Register that once part of the plaza opened over the summer, she saw more people shopping, eating, and spending time there, and that she was glad to see them come back after months of fencing and jackhammering.
Mayor Mark Orgill explained the plaza's role by comparing it with the town's other venues. "You go to the [Laguna] Playhouse, you're in seating," he told the Daily Pilot. "At the promenade, you can listen to music and you can socialize at the same time." Support for the plaza has not been unanimous. The Register also recorded community concerns about parking, historic character, and flooding.
Downtown Stays a Work Zone Through December
The plaza is open, but downtown construction is not over. The City's Downtown Zone 4 Street Overlay and Walkway Improvements Project was scheduled to start today, October 12, and run through December 2026. The contractor is CT&T Paving, Inc. The work covers slurry sealing, removing and rebuilding pavement, replacing concrete driveways and walkways, and new striping.
The week with the most disruption should be October 26 through November 2, weather permitting. That is the slurry-seal window, and it involves lane and road closures. The text of the City's project page does not list the affected streets, so the project page map and its linked FAQ are the places to check your own block.
Coast Highway has a separate project coming. New median planting and irrigation between Montage Resort Drive and Catalina Street is scheduled for late fall 2026. Crews will work weekdays from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., with temporary lane closures.
If the plaza is finished, the repaving is done, and the medians are planted by the end of the year, the downtown the City has been building toward since February will finally show up all at once around the holidays.
PMMC Reopened Before the Patients Arrived
Laguna Canyon Road follows the same pattern. Pacific Marine Mammal Center, at 20612 Laguna Canyon Road, finished its three-year expansion in October 2026. Stu News Laguna put the project's total at $20 million. The new facilities include the Bob Barker Visitor Yard, an expanded teaching hospital, a patient treatment suite with public viewing, a necropsy suite, and the 1,600-square-foot Massen Greene Education Center. The pools include a 5,000-gallon pre-release pool with underwater viewing and a 10,000-gallon rehabilitation pool. A new water-reclamation facility is designed to reuse nearly five million gallons a year, which PMMC puts at about 90% of the center's water use.
Visiting is simple. The visitor yard is open daily from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and admission is free. Reservations are voluntary but strongly encouraged, and the free on-site parking is limited.
The patient areas are waiting on the season. As of its October 9 report, Stu News Laguna said PMMC had no animals in-house because of the rescue season, and it pointed readers to the Patient Portal on the center's website for updates. PMMC's visitor FAQ says its busiest season is late winter and early spring, when weaning pups are more likely to suffer from malnourishment and dehydration. The center usually sees more pups from November through April, depending on ocean conditions in a given year.
That's a lot of animals once they arrive. Stu News reported that PMMC had logged 146 rescues and responses in 2026 through early October, including 102 sea lions, 16 fur seals, 8 elephant seals, 4 harbor seals, 7 sea turtles, and 9 cetaceans. A visit today shows you the new building. A visit between November and April is more likely to show you the treatment suite and pools with patients in them.
Getting Around in the Off-Season
The off-season trolley schedule runs from September 8, 2026, through June 25, 2027. The free Coastal Route runs from North Laguna and Heisler Park through downtown and South Laguna to the Ritz-Carlton, with buses every 20 to 30 minutes. The Canyon Route runs only on weekends. Parking at Lot 16/Act V, 1900 Laguna Canyon Road, costs $5, and the trolley from there to downtown is free, running from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. every 30 minutes. Lot 16 is closed to the public on weekdays. Laguna Local's non-summer hours are 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Thursday, 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. Friday, 9 a.m. to 10 p.m. Saturday, and 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Sunday. With those Friday and Saturday hours, you can get to and from a dinner on the plaza without driving.
One closure is still unresolved. After the September 29 rockslide, the Agate Street beach stairs and viewing deck and the nearby Pearl Street access were closed for review, as the OC Register reported. A City geologist found no cracks, but officials planned to compare the structures with construction drawings and check for caisson damage. We have not found a reopening date reported since then.
The Dates Where It All Comes Together
The fall calendar runs right alongside both projects as they fill out:
- October 18, 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Laguna Art Museum hosts a de la Torre Brothers glass-blowing demonstration at the Sawdust Festival grounds. Capacity is limited to 30, and advance tickets are recommended.
- October 23 to 25. The Coast Film & Music Festival closes with three nights of live music at the Irvine Bowl.
- October 26 to November 2. The Zone 4 slurry seal and its downtown lane and road closures, weather permitting.
- November onward. PMMC's pup intake usually starts to rise.
- November 20 to December 20. Sawdust Winter Fantasy is open Friday through Sunday, 11 a.m. to 7 p.m., for five three-day weekends.
- Friday, December 4. Hospitality Night runs from about 5 to 9 p.m. Downtown closures start at 3 p.m., the free trolley and neighborhood on-demand service run from 4 to 11 p.m., and Santa lights the tree at 6:10 p.m.
Hospitality Night will be the first big holiday crowd downtown since the permanent plaza opened. It falls in the same month the City expects to finish the Zone 4 repaving, and inside the window when PMMC expects pups to be coming in.
Lower Forest Avenue went from a pandemic stopgap to a permanent plaza, and the City's own updates and local coverage show how that changes the downtown blocks around it. If you own nearby and want to know what the plaza, the new walkways, and the finished streets could mean for your home, Kevin Kott Real Estate can put together a valuation based on current Laguna Beach sales. Get your free home valuation.
