Long Beach Construction (Planned, Proposed, & Current)

[CityKid]

From www.presstelegram.com:

Century-old Long Beach hotel may get new life
By Karen Robes Meeks, Staff Writer
Posted: 01/30/2010 07:26:32 PM PST

LONG BEACH, Calif. -- The team behind the revival of the ArtTheatre and the Ebell Club could soon be in talks with redevelopment officials over resurrecting one of downtown's oldest commercial buildings.

The Long Beach Redevelopment Agency Board on Monday will consider a six-month exclusive negotiating agreement with Urbana Development LLC, for the development of the 105-year-old American Hotel.

If approved, the agreement would allow the agency and Urbana Development to discuss the project's physical and financial viability, said Downtown Redevelopment Project Officer Carl Morgan, adding that both sides would work on a flexible plan that will work with the changing market.

Built in 1905, the American Hotel building at 224 E. Broadway - a three-story vernacular brick structure with classical detailing - is considered to be the city's second-oldest documented downtown commercial building.

It was commissioned by William C. Price, who wanted a "psychic Temple" for the Society of New or Practical Psychology.

After Anna Sewell purchased the property in 1911, it became The American House, a prosaic single-room occupancy hotel.

The building, which the city declared a historic landmark in 1989, became run-down and a magnet for criminal activity, prompting the agency to purchase the property in 2000.

City officials have said that part of the challenge will be updating the building and making it structurally sound. It will include upgrades to the building's utilities and making it safer from earthquakes.

Urbana Development, which responded to the agency's request for proposals last summer, was formed by members of East Village Partners, a firm that specializes in renovating and reusing historic structures.

The team's projects have included the Art Theatre, a 1924 theater along Fourth Street's Retro Row; the Ebell Club, a social club and event venue in the Alamitos Beach neighborhood; and the East Village Creative Offices.

If negotiations are successful, the building would become a mixed-use project with retail or a restaurant on the ground floor and office space in the two upper floors, said Jan Van Dijs, who is involved in the proposed project.

"The story behind (the building) is pretty compelling," he said. "It's really an opportunity to take a building that's really beat up and transform it into something that's a real addition to that thoroughfare."

Agency board member John Thomas said he is eager to hear what the developer has in mind for the building, which could connect the East Village and Pine Avenue and revitalize the area.

The meeting will take place at 9 a.m. in council chambers at City Hall, 333 W. Ocean Blvd.

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