California Preservation Awards Sponsorship

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The 2026 Design Awards Event

A view from above of a circular, multi-level courtyard with ornate railings, white columns, red tile floors, and a central fountain surrounded by greenery. Spiral staircases connect the different levels.We're celebrating 24 award winning projects, as well as the Trustee's Awards for Excellence and four President's Awards at the Mission Inn in downtown Riverside. This special celebration is followed by a ticketed reception with food and drinks. Purchase your tickets before they sell out!

Harbor House

Project Lead:  Karin Liljegren, Principal / Founder, Omgivning, Los Angeles
Client:  Fred Afari, Parkview Management Group, Inc.,  Sherman Oaks
Lead Architect, Engineer, or Designer:  Karin Liljegren,  Omgivning, Los Angeles

Project Affiliates:

  • Architect: Karin Liljegren, Founder / Principal, Omgivning, Los Angeles
  • Owner / Client: Fred Afari, President, Parkview Management Group, Inc., Sherman Oaks
  • Landscape Architect: Paul Gagne, Principal / Landscape Architect, Harmony Gardens, Los Angeles
  • Lead Engineer: Wayne Chang, Structural Focus, Gardena
  • Historic Preservation Consultant: John Locasio, HRG ( Historic Resources Group ), Pasadena
  • Contractor: Michael Librush, MDM Builders Group Inc., Los Angeles
  • Project Lead & Title: Karin Liljegren, Omgivning, Los Angeles
  • Owner/Client & Title: Fred Afari, PARKVIEW MANAGEMENT GROUP, INC, Sherman Oaks
  • Architect: Karin Liljegren, Omgivning, Los Angeles
  • Landsccape Architect: Paul Gagne, Harmony Gardens, Los Angeles
  • Lead Structural Engineer: Wayne Chang, Structural Focus, Gardena
  • Historic Preservation Consultant: John Locasio, HRG, Pasadena
  • Contractor Michael Librush, MDM Builders Group Inc., Los Angeles
  • Furniture Selection / Finishes, Common Area & Main Floors: Christos Prevezanos, Studio Preveza

Harbor House

Harbor House is a winner for the 2025 Preservation Design Award for Rehabilitation. Award recipients are selected by a jury of top professionals in the fields of architecture, engineering, planning, and history, as well as renowned architecture critics and journalists. Tickets and sponsorship options are available at californiapreservation.org/programs/awards/.

About Harbor House

A once lively and vibrant neighborhood asset, the Army and Navy YMCA at 921 S Beacon Street in San Pedro, had been drifting into disrepair since its most active days between the 1920s-40s. The YMCA moved their organization out of the waterfront building after a period of opening the facilities to civilian use and it came to be Harbor View House transitional housing at a time when the neighborhood began to decline due to lack of continued investment.

At project outset, the property was deteriorated due to age and years of deferred maintenance. The project’s goal was to retain and restore the exterior and interior character-defining features of the architecturally significant waterfront building, bringing affordable housing for area residents and returning the building’s amenities that had been closed due to cost of upkeep and seismic and code compliance issues – specifically the coffee shop, restaurant, gymnasium, and handball court areas.

Read more about the Preservation Design Awards
A man sits reading on a maroon chair in a bright, ornate room with large arched windows, tiled floor, and an intricately decorated fireplace. Text highlights a 2025 Preservation Design Award for Harbor House.
A man standing on stairs in front of a building.
Spacious hotel lobby with ornate wooden ceiling, two chandeliers, tiled floor, large windows, a front desk with staff, seating area with plants, and natural light streaming in.
A bright courtyard with trees, benches, potted plants, and string lights. People walk and sit in the area, which is surrounded by white walls and tall windows. Stairs lead up on the left side.
A spacious, sunlit room with high, ornate ceilings, large arched windows, tiled floors, and colorful accents. A person sits reading on a red armchair near a decorative fireplace, with sofas and potted plants nearby.
A spacious indoor basketball court with polished wooden floors, high ceilings, large windows, and two basketball hoops at either end. A running track is suspended above the court, encircling the space.
A bright modern apartment with a woman working on a laptop at a dining table and a man using the kitchen. The space has light walls, cozy furniture, plants, and sunlight streaming through large windows.

Community Importance

The newly rehabilitated building will provide 100 safe, well-designed apartments, 10 of which will serve very low-income individuals and/or families in San Pedro – a historic community where many similar neighborhood touchstones have disappeared due to lack of investment. In an era of critical housing shortages and decreasing neighborhood walkability, the Harbor House residents will have quality living quarters and full access to the building’s historic amenities.  In addition, many of these amenities will be blended for both private and public use allowing the expansion of outreach to the neighborhood in which the public has not been able to enter since the 1960s.

The Army and Navy YMCA was built to be a central feature for the surrounding military-adjacent community. As the military moved out, so did the building’s lively purpose. This project has facilitated activity to return to a notable, eye-catching architectural hallmark.

About CPF and the Awards

Held in conjunction with CPF’s 2026 Annual Conference in Riverside, the 2026 Mission Inn Preservation Design Awards Ceremony and Reception will spotlight excellence in historic preservation in a setting that reflects the very spirit of the work being honored. This special evening brings together award recipients, conference participants, preservation leaders, and supporters from across California to celebrate outstanding preservation projects and leadership through the Preservation Design Awards and President’s Awards.

Founded in 1978, the California Preservation Foundation (CPF) is California’s statewide nonprofit organization dedicated to the protection of historic places and cultural heritage. Through education, advocacy, and community-centered programs, CPF supports the people, projects, and policies that keep California’s historic resources vital and valued. We now support a national network of more than 36,000 members and supporters. Click here to learn how you can become a member.