Elaine Sherer steps inside the empty shell of what was once envisioned as a spacious, two-story restaurant overlooking Moss Landing North Harbor and beckons a visitor to imagine what could be.
“Welcome to the world of possibilities,” she says. In Sherer’s imagination, the white walls and concrete floors are already teeming with images of the magnificent sea life that lives in the water just below the building, fanning out into Monterey Bay.
This is the site of what Sherer plans on becoming the Moss Landing Coastal Center, an immersive experience, with LED walls and floors that make visitors feel as if they are underwater and interacting with the whales, fish, otters, sea lions, harbor seals, rays, squid and other creatures.
Sherer has spent two years dreaming of what the MLCC space will become, working with scientists and partners. The group is taking meetings with four companies vying for the opportunity to make the immersive experience a reality, including creators of the Las Vegas Sphere.
The outer shell of the building, next door to Sea Harvest Restaurant at 2460 Highway 1, was constructed in 2018-2019 at a cost of $3.5 million by the Moss Landing Harbor District, a special district created in 1943 to own, develop and manage the harbor and surrounding land. Recently, the district completed the inner shell at a cost of $4 million.
The district’s elected board of commissioners planned to lease the 9,500-square-foot building to a restaurant, but restaurants are getting smaller. The average size of a full-service restaurant today is 6,000 square feet. The building sat empty for seven years, unable to attract a tenant.
Sherer, who previously worked for the nonprofit Marine Mammal Center in Marin County as its retail director, saw the building in 2024 and decided it was the perfect spot for a marine science visitor center, similar to the Seymour Marine Discovery Center in Santa Cruz. She hopes to inspire the next generation of marine biologists. The center has 501(c)(3) status with the IRS and is waiting on California to grant tax-exempt status.
What makes the location ideal, Sherer says, is where it sits on top of the Monterey Submarine Canyon. The Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute is just across the harbor. Local researchers are already participating in the planning of MLCC and four advisory councils are being assembled. (The nonprofit’s board of directors will be chosen from the advisory councils.)
Upstairs, Sherer imagines a conference room with its own LED wall, where researchers can meet with colleagues from around the world in person and virtually. That space would offset costs of the first-floor visitor center, keeping entrance fees low.
On Sept. 30, the Harbor District commissioners voted 5-0 to approve a nonbinding letter of intent between the district and MLCC for a 10-year lease agreement, with the cost to be negotiated. Harbormaster Tommy Razzeca says there are other parties interested in the space.