Long Beach Construction (Planned, Proposed, & Current)

[regboi21]

do you all think the developer should keep the acres of books building intact and just build the new buildings around it like demolish the other buildings on the site then the owner of the building/book store wont have to move to another location also what buildings is being planned for the art exchange project.

[LAMetroGuy]

Plans Underway To Remodel Building




By Kurt Helin
Editor

The Ocean Center building is a link to Long Beach’s past — built in 1929, it was at one end of the old Pike’s Walk of 1,000 Lights.

Now the owner wants to make it a vital part of the city’s future.

Plans are working their way through the city for a $30 million remodel of the building into an 86-room, high-end boutique hotel. There also would be some condominium units, 20,000 square feet of retail and restaurant space and more.

All of this would be done while saving the historic look and feel of the building, said Mark Akhavain, who is a principal in the development group.

“The beautiful thing about this building is not just the look, not just the history, but the location,” Akhavain said of the building on the corner of Pine Avenue and Ocean Boulevard downtown. “Right now, there is like a wall at Ocean between the Pine and the Pike. We think this can be a bridge between the two.”

His plans for the site are sweeping.

There would be an entrance to the hotel off Ocean Boulevard. In one of several steps to return the building to what it looked like when it was built, large glass windows would replace the two-story white walls currently facing Ocean Boulevard.

Inside, Akhavain said the goal is to create the style of boutique hotels seen in the older cities of Europe as well as places such as New York City. There, historic buildings are converted to hotels with the exterior remaining the same and even inside many of the historic features (such as mahogany doors) reused.

“Then, you walk into a room and boom, it’s 2007,” Akhavain said. “All the latest technology, flat-panel televisions, modern room colors. The rooms will be fantastic.”

Also in the building will be 26 loft-style condominiums, ranging in size from 600 to 1,500 square feet, Akhavain said. Residents of the condos would have full access to the hotel services — the gym, room service and maid service, for example. These condos could be lived in full time or rented out (something managed by the hotel).

Outside of the building, there would be several changes to help the area. For example, the currently steep walk down Pine Avenue next to the building would be made more pedestrian friendly — there would be benches, possibly some stairs and other things to entice people to move between the Pike and Pine Avenue, Akhavain said.

These style of boutique hotels are a growing trend right now and Akhavain said he and his partners are in the process of opening several, including one in downtown Los Angeles near Staples Center. Called the O Hotels, the group also is looking at a similar idea near LAX, one in New York and several other locations.
“There is a lot of demand for people who want to go somewhere and have the charm and feel of the city, not just stay in another national chain,” Akhavain said.

Long Beach residents may know Akhavain better as the owner of The Basement, a trendy spot in the East Village.

All of the plans for the Ocean Center would eventually displace the numerous businesses currently using it as home. That includes a call center for Verizon as well as a number of the city’s arts groups, including the Long Beach Symphony Orchestra and the Arts Council for Long Beach, which have their headquarters in the center.

Akhavain said that when he bought the building two years ago, he let all the tenants know both his plans and a timeline. He also recently extended all their leases for another year, giving those in the building time to make more plans. Akhavain said he and his partners are becoming frustrated at just how slow the process is going, particularly with the city.

While he says that Second District Councilwoman Suja Lowenthal, City Manager Jerry Miller and other top city staff constantly praise the project, the wheels of the city’s Planning Department are moving far more slowly than he and his partners imagined.

This is a project that is already financed, eventually with more than $30 million in improvements to the building. That money is sitting, ready to go, Akhavain said.

But Akhavain added he knows this is a good project, both for him and for the city.

“Right now boutique hotels are the hottest thing, and there is demand for hotel rooms here,” Akhavain said. “We’re keeping a historic building and improving it. It’s good for the city.”

[CityKid]

Do you happen to know if this is near the Jergins Subway? It would be great if they could reopen that.

[LAMetroGuy]

its right across the street from that, i doubt they would reopen it due to homeless etc. it would be at the base of the proposed Edgewater.

[LAMetroGuy]

According to the Long Beach Community Planning Bulletin, the city of Long Beach has recieved the following New Development Application for the southwest corner of Long Beach Blvd and Anaheim:

1. Conceptual Site Plan Review – 1235 Long Beach Boulevard (Case No. 0612-06)
This applicant is proposing a mixed-use development consisting of a combination of ground floor commercial/retail/office uses; market rate condominiums; low to moderate income rental apartments; and senior housing. In its current configuration, the project consists of three separate tower buildings- two towers would be seventeen stories tall and the third tower would be 10 stories tall. The total number of residential units would be approximately 333, with approximately 38,500 square feet of retail space and approximately 11,000 square feet of office space.

As designed, the project would require changes to the zoning for the area (PD-29) with respect to height limits (current height limit for the area is 150’, the proposed structure is approximately 200’ in height) and density (the maximum density for the area is 1 unit per 400 square feet of lot area, this proposal would increase density to approximately 1 unit per 278 square feet of lot area).

Since this submittal is for conceptual review, no Planning Commission hearing date has yet been set. Additional details will follow as they become available.


This project would be a high density TOD along Long Beach blvd. This makes sense and is what LB should have been doing ever since the Blue Line was built. The corner of LB and Anaheim has the Anaheim Blue Line station!

[LAMetroGuy]

funny, from the opinon section:

The Long Beach-L.A. Olympics
Article Launched: 02/17/2007 08:06:15 PM PST


We could argue about the name, but there's no better place to stage the 2016 Games.

The prospects of another Summer Olympics in Southern California are looking good, and Long Beach could play a big part in it. So big, that we'd suggest a proper credit: the Long Beach-L.A. Olympic Games.

Maybe the International Olympic Committee wouldn't buy that idea, but there's no question about the impact on Long Beach. Eleven of the venues are planned here, plus several others at the Home Depot Center in Carson.

Barry Sanders, chairman of the Southern California Olympic organizing committee, and David Simon, committee president, described plans for the 2016 event at a breakfast meeting hosted by Long Beach Mayor Bob Foster and attended by a retinue of Olympic athletes. Only one other U.S. city, Chicago, has made a competing bid.

No offense intended for our friends in Chicago, but that seems like no contest. Two of the venues, aquatics and beach volleyball, would be staged with the gorgeous Pacific in the background, compared to what? A slaughterhouse?

Again, no offense, Chicago, but this is a competitive business, and we're out to win. If Long Beach and L.A. do win, it means defeating not only Chicago but an international lineup of places like Rio, Rome, Tokyo, Madrid, Delhi and who knows where else. Still, because the Summer Games will have been held recently in Europe and Asia and for other reasons, including Long Beach's allure, Southern California looks like a pretty sure thing.

If that happens, Long Beach's venues will include swimming, diving, beach volleyball, rowing, sailing, table tennis, wrestling, judo, team handball and rhythmic gymnastics.

Just as in the 1932 Olympics, rowing competition will take place in Marine Stadium, and to make that possible the Second Street Bridge's support system would be reconstructed to make way for the racing shells. The Olympic Committee would pay for that, and other costs, including security. All events will be staged in existing facilities, such as the Pyramid at Cal State Long Beach, the Convention Center, and, in the case of aquatics, in temporary facilities near the beach.

Poor Chicago would have to build almost all the facilities from scratch, at immense cost. Other cities, as did poor Athens, face immense deficits, possibly in the billions. Only Long Beach and L.A. would be likely to generate a surplus, which could be big.

For those attending the Long Beach breakfast - business people, public officials and the Olympic athletes - this was exciting stuff. For the rest of the town and the region, the possibilities will sink in more slowly.

The U.S. Olympic Committee will choose between the two U.S. bidders April 14. After that come the international bidders. But our bet is on Long Beach.

All right, L.A.-Long Beach.

[InsExchLoft_dweller]

P-T Lofts Get Past Planning

By Kurt Helin
Editor

While the City Council will have the final vote, the Press-Telegram lofts project got a major approval last week from the city’s Planning Commission.

That approval included a number of concessions the developer (October Five Development) had asked for — less parking than city code required, having less of a building setback on the Locust Avenue side of the building, and not having to move the two 22-story towers, as city staff had suggested.

It was clear the Press-Telegram Lofts project had a lot of support — even the commissioner that voted against approving the project praised it. But the majority of commissioners backed it, by a 3-1 vote.

“I wish you all the luck in the world with this project,” said commissioner Morton Stuhlbarg. “I’d like to see you make money doing it so other people follow in your footsteps.”

The Press-Telegram Lofts will bring a dramatic change to the downtown skyline.

It will take over an entire square city block downtown, starting at Sixth Street and Pine Avenue. Above the Press-Telegram and Meeker building facades would rise two 22-story towers containing 542 loft-style condominiums. There would be 32,300 square feet of retail and office space at street level.

Unlike other recent downtown loft projects, this will be not high-end condos but rather “workforce” housing that would be more affordable to average working professionals.

Representatives of businesses in town, such as Memorial Medical Center and St. Mary Medical Center, said they face problems finding housing professionals such as nurses can afford, and it is costing them good personnel. The project also has a deal in place to sell 60 of the units to California State University, Long Beach, faculty at the developer’s cost, helping the university alleviate some of the housing crunch for its staff.

Recently, October Five reached a deal with the Long Beach Unified School District. The district had appealed the environmental work on the project because the towers will leave the International Elementary School in the shade for much of the day. Now, some financial considerations and other steps have been taken, said October Five Developers principal Jim Brophy.

The bottom line, Brophy added, is that this development would be good for the city’s bottom line.

“The project will generate about $62 million in tax (revenue) for the city in the next 10 years,” Brophy said. “Twelve million of that will be set aside for affordable housing, something needed in the city.”

Most of the disagreement last week involved how many parking spaces were proposed.

The developer’s proposal calls for 1,186 spaces to cover the needs of both the residential parking and that of the businesses in the building. Of that, 590 spaces would be tandem parking (two front-to-back spaces shared by one unit).

That is 138 fewer parking spaces than the city code required. Residents from downtown said they liked the project but that parking was already a problem in the area and more spaces were needed, not fewer.

Brophy countered that the CityPlace parking structure across the street was largely empty and if some visitors to his project ended up parking over there, that was not a bad thing.

“I personally don’t see what’s wrong with someone having to spend a few bucks on parking,” Brophy said. “That’s life in a downtown.”

The only commissioner to vote against the project, Nick Sramek, said that he wanted to delay the project while the “downtown visioning process” is taking place. He said that this project is a big change and needs to fit into the bigger picture of downtown.

“We’ve done this before, let a project drive the design and visioning of an area,” Sramek said. “I don’t want to do that.”

The City Council will have the final say on that when it takes up the issue in the coming months

[LAMetroGuy]

The Queen of opportunities

Will the land around the QM be the crowning glory of downtown's development?

By Don Jergler and Kristopher Hanson, Staff writers
Article Launched: 02/23/2007 02:47:02 PM PST

LONG BEACH - It s permanently anchored, a bit run down, beset by financial woes its best quality may be that it s reputed to be haunted.

Aside from its shortcomings, many consider the Queen Mary the jewel of the city. It s not just the ship that has so many charmed, but the bounty of vacant shorefront land that surrounds it.

Thanks to a downtown development rush that s left Long Beach with little remaining space, that long-shunned chunk of property now has the development spotlight cast upon it.

A $1 billion development boom in downtown over the past few years has given the city notoriety as one of Southern California s last affordable seaside communities.

In fact, it has been suggested that you can retire in Long Beach's old Iowa by the sea mantle for something like the new San Diego.

The city s residential boom, where $700,000 condos have become the norm, the expanding port complex, a rising skyline and a growing number of high-paying jobs may soon make Long Beach a smaller version of its bustling and economically diverse cousin to the south, one of the region s top economists said.

In 10 years I think that downtown Long Beach is going to look a lot like downtown San Diego, said Jack Kyser, chief economist of the Los Angeles County Economic Development Corp. Kyser noted both cities have downtowns by the water, and both areas have embraced tourism, urban living and mass transit with aims at an almost round-the-clock live, work, play environment.

Placing Long Beach's downtown in the same class as San Diego's even with the benefit of 10 years of progress may be a radical notion considering that only two years ago a U.S. Census ranking gave Long Beach the dubious distinction of being the nation s sixth-most impoverished metropolitan city.

However, there are growing similarities: downtown condominiums and lofts are selling rapidly, there are several luxury high-rise residential projects in the planning stages and one can find more than a dozen nightclubs within a short walk.

San Diego has its famed Gaslamp Quarter, and now downtown Long Beach has its own entertainment district a rough-around-the-edges attempt to get nightclubs on unified closing hours and to find ways to beef up security and capitalize on the area s nightlife.

And just like it was with downtown San Diego early on, downtown Long Beach has also struggled to find a retail store presence, Kyser said.

In downtown Long Beach a discount shoe store and a struggling bookseller are among the area s few retailers. Downtown s two shopping centers are spotted with vacancies more than three years after they opened.

However, Kyser and others working to market the area to retailers believe shopping venues will move to the area following an influx of young, higher-paid professionals beginning to move into downtown Long Beach.

With all of the construction of housing in downtown, as you raise that residential population, downtown will get additional retail and entertainment, Kyser said. And when you put together the downtown residential base with the tourism base and combine that with the fact that you have a lot of high-paying jobs coming into downtown, you will have the income base to support a lot of retail.

Queen Mary future
However, the rapid development has led to the depletion of almost all of the area s large parcels of developable land.

That fact puts a spotlight on the city s floating icon.

For years there s been no shortage of ideas on how to make the Queen Mary operation profitable. Suggestions have ranged from turning the ship into a gambling operation to sinking it and making it an artificial reef.

Now the city s marketing experts and economists have their sights set on the property roughly 50 acres around the ship.

That is a major, major opportunity for the city of Long Beach, said Robert Swayze, economic development bureau manager for Long Beach. It ll be the capstone development for the city.

He added, There are not many 40-acre lots on the water in Southern California.

There are restrictions on the land because it s in what is considered a tidelands area. That means state Coastal Commission approval is needed, and development of the land must yield an entertainment-related or water-related usage.

That eliminates a housing project, but a hotel development, a theme park or an office development may be suitable, Swayze said.

You re going to need a smart developer who can work within those restrictions to create a destination development, he said. The city absolutely has interest in the ship. It is an iconic symbol for the city of Long Beach.

Economic outlook
Other than the need for more retail and more developable land, economists generally agree the city s economy will fare well in the coming years.

Overall we re pretty optimistic for the longer term outlook for the economy, said Joe Magaddino, chair of Cal State Long Beach s Economics Department.

Magaddino expects the nation s economy to slow down slightly in 2007, then surge a bit to a decent pace of growth in the next few years.

He expects the Los Angeles area to grow at an even stronger clip, with the county outpacing others in the region thanks to Los Angeles lack of housing development during the superheated real estate market.

Over the past few years, more open areas, like the Inland Empire and Orange County, saw their local economies largely driven by housing construction.

In Los Angeles County, where there is little room for new construction, the economy did not become reliant on housing construction.

So, with the housing slowdown, Los Angeles County won t be dragged down, Magaddino said.

The region s economic stronghold, the service sector, such as health care and hospitality, will continue to expand in coming years, Magaddino said.

Port expansion
Perhaps the city s most important future economic player is its massive port complex, the second-largest in the nation and, with the Port of Los Angeles, the fifth-largest in the world.

Container cargo growth is expected to at least double by 2020, from 7.3 million this year to more than 15 million, spurring tremendous growth in dockside labor, trucking, freight forwarding, brokerage, maritime law and other industries related to international trade.

Already the state is booming with jobs tied to transporting, storing and handling imported cargo.

You look at the number of logistics workers and warehouse workers in the Inland Empire, their economic well-being is really tied to the (ports), said Richard Steinke, Port of Long Beach executive director. It s replacing manufacturing jobs that were lost several years ago.

While the port will continue to be a large part of the local economy, the way it handles business will change. Already, port authorities and state regulators are requiring shippers and terminal operators to conduct business in more environmentally friendly ways.

The Clean Air Action Plan, adopted by both ports in November, is one part of the equation and seeks to force industry to lower air emissions through lease changes and economic incentives.

In 10 years we re going to see more traffic, and we re going to see a more clean and friendly environment, Magaddino said. Kyser agreed. You ll see the ports operating 24-7, Kyser said. You will see improved air quality, because a lot of people are working very diligently on this issue.

Movin on up

The city's ongoing high-rise residential boom may be one of its best business recruitment tools, experts say.

Downtown s revitalization has got a lot of people s attention, said Randy Gordon, president and CEO of the Long Beach Chamber of Commerce. I think that s going to lure companies here.

He added, Obviously, our location, being halfway between Orange County and Los Angeles, serves us well. And all of this development is really becoming an exciting thing to watch, and I think that is eventually going to lure companies to Long Beach that would not have come to Long Beach originally.

The completion of the West Ocean residential towers on the south side of Ocean Boulevard near the Long Beach Courthouse and the recent opening of the Aqua towers further east promises to bring more residents into downtown.

A massive residential project that would yield the city's tallest buildings behind the World Trade Center is under consideration, and a large residential project at Ocean Boulevard and Alamitos Avenue has been given approval.

One of the residential projects that promises to draw businesses to the area is the MTA project at Long Beach Boulevard and First Street.

The project is being undertaken on city and private property. The developers are Urban Growth Long Beach with the Related Companies. The mixed-use project would provide several housing units, and retail near the Metro Rail Blue Line station.

And creating a synergistic downtown and transportation hub is part of the greater plan to make Long Beach s economy thrive, said Community Development Director Pat West.

It s definitely a total economic development strategy of the city, of the Redevelopment Agency and of the economic development department, West said. As the saying goes, businesses follow the rooftops. Our goal is to create an urban village flavor in downtown Long Beach, and at the end of the day we will have an urban concept that will be able to attract the office space that we are looking for, the retail establishments that we are looking for and be able to provide a place for people to live and be close to where they can commute to work.

Don Jergler can be reached at [email protected] or (562) 499-1281.

Kristopher Hanson can be reached at [email protected] or (562) 499-1466.

[LB Life07]

Pine Avenue District Likely To Be Extended

By Kurt Helin
Editor

Crime is down, business owners are happy and it appears the temporary Pine Avenue Entertainment District will be around a while longer.

That was the assessment of city staff, which in the coming weeks will suggest the City Council extend the one-year pilot program for Pine Avenue for at least another year.

“We’re not seeing problems as a result of the conditions,” said Michael Killebrew, Long Beach’s finance director, who spoke at the meeting. “Things are going pretty well.”

When the entertainment district was put in place for a one-year trial (it runs through the end of March), business owners downtown said it was key to bring more police to downtown’s core.

Now the area has one sergeant and six officers working seven nights a week (although some nights adjustments are made). Previously, that many officers were present only on weekends, and only when the police had the overtime money available.

It seems to have worked, said police South Division Commander Torben Beith.

He said that violent crime on Pine Avenue and in the core of downtown was down 58% last year, from 25 violent crimes in 2005 to 10 in 2006.

Another aspect of the Entertainment District allows Pine Avenue bars and restaurants to stay open to 2 a.m. seven nights a week. This was needed, Pine business owners said, since they had to compete with the Pike for business and Pike locations can stay open until 2 a.m.

In the give-and-take with city staff at last week’s meeting, some business owners said they wanted to look into rules that would allow them to stay open past 2 a.m., but stop serving alcohol.

Other topics included growing the entertainment district one more block up to Fourth Street (it currently ends at Third Street) and ways to improve and coordinate the multiple valet services in the core of Pine Avenue.

One aspect of the entertainment district all sides seemed comfortable with was the revised noise restrictions. Those changes use a “middle of the street” rule — you should not be able to hear the noise coming from an establishment if you stand in the middle of the street facing it. That appears to be working, city officials said.

Another aspect of the plan was an oversight committee that would both make recommendations about businesses violating the ordinance and communicate with city staff. Several people at last week’s meetings asked for more communications with the city.

The City Council is expected to vote in March on making extending the time frame for the Pine Avenue Entertain-ment District.

[LAMetroGuy]

L.B. rolls out red carpet for Olympic panel
USOC visits Convention Center and Arena to evaluate 2016 bid
By Greg Mellen, Staff writer
Article Launched: 03/02/2007 10:40:57 PM PST


LONG BEACH - The city put on its game face Friday as Long Beach played host to officials from the United States Olympic Committee Evaluation Commission.
The USOC group concluded a two-day tour of Los Angeles, which is bidding to host the 2016 Summer Games, with visits to Carson, Long Beach and downtown Los Angeles.

The Southland is competing with Chicago to become the U.S. nominee to host the games. Officials will visit Chicago next and make a decision in April.

From there, the winning city will compete with other cities around the world for the right to host the games.

After touring the Home Depot Center in Carson, which would host archery, tennis, cycling/BMX and preliminary round soccer matches under the proposal, the 11-member commission toured the Long Beach Convention Center and Long Beach Arena. Long Beach plays a major role in the bid and would host 15 sports under current plans, including nine at the Convention Center complex.

Shortly before 10 a.m., USOC officials were greeted on Pine Avenue by a group of children in yellow T-shirts that read, "ready, set, gold."

Also on hand were city officials, including Mayor Bob Foster, 2nd District City Councilwoman Suja Lowenthal, City Manager Jerry Miller, and a group of teens dressed in international costumes who serenaded the delegation.
Foster spoke briefly, touting the city's diversity and how it had reinvented itself, adding that the city was "really energized" by the prospects of hosting some of the events.

The commission members, who were not made available to the public, then toured the facilities.

The 91,000-square-foot Exhibition Hall A would host wrestling and tae-kwon do. The 57,000-square-foot B hall is slated for table tennis, and the 76,000-square-foot C hall would be a practice facility.

Commissioners also toured the Long Beach Arena, where the Ice Dogs hockey team was conducting practice. The site, which officials say could seat 11,000 fans with extra bleachers on the floor level, would feature judo and rhythmic gymnastics.

The tour concluded with a presentation of the most ambitious project in the bid, which would be the construction of a $36 million to $40 million aquatics facility that would play host to water polo, swimming, diving and synchronized swimming.

The complex would be situated in the parking lot near where the city staged the 2004 U.S. Olympic swimming qualifying rounds and an aquatics festival in a temporary pool.

The proposed facility was designed by renowned pool architect David Jay Flood, who said it would employ cutting- edge environmentally friendly architecture and technology. In addition to removable sides that would allow seating for 20,000, the facility would have a retractable roof. As a bonus to the city, a health club and water park would be included.

In addition, the Los Angeles bid calls for team handball at the Walter Pyramid at Cal State Long Beach, rowing, canoeing and kayaking in Marine Stadium, beach volleyball at Alamitos Beach and sailing off of Shoreline Marina.

After its tour of the Convention Center, the commission boarded the Blue Line and traveled north to Los Angeles for the culmination of its tour.

[LAMetroGuy]

L.A. hopes charm is good for third time
The backers of the 2016 Olympic bid tout the city's Games-readiness to a visiting evaluation committee.
By Lisa Dillman, Times Staff Writer
March 3, 2007

The cooperative weather delivered, and so did retired soccer stars Mia Hamm and Alexi Lalas, talking up the merits of the Home Depot Center in Carson.

Even the traffic was mostly compliant on a sunny Friday morning for a U.S. Olympic Committee evaluation team winding its way through the freeways of Southern California, looking at venues in Carson, Long Beach and downtown Los Angeles.

Who knows what effect an overturned truck on the 710 south could have had on Los Angeles' Olympic bid for the 2016 Summer Games?

Overturning public perception, as well as that of International Olympic Committee members, was and remains the biggest obstacle for L.A. bid officials. The fact that Los Angeles has hosted the Olympics twice before, most recently in 1984, came up repeatedly during the team's two-day visit.

Bob Ctvrtlik, the evaluation commission's chairman, said that the topic has been broached in "direct conversations" with about 100 IOC members. He also said the USOC will have its own polling done to assess public sentiment about the Games.

David Simon, president of the Southern California Committee for the Olympic Games, spelled out exactly how he confronted the third-time issue when quizzed about it by evaluators in closed-door meetings.

"I said, 'Carl Lewis won gold medals in four consecutive Olympic Games in the long jump,' " Simon told The Times. "No one told Carl after the first two times he couldn't try for the third. They didn't give him the gold medal either.

"But he was given the chance to show he could be the best. That's all we're asking. Be open-minded enough to look at our plan and say whether it can be the best. I don't see how that can be disqualifying. When the IOC members say, 'Why give it three times?' I think the answer is: 'Are you willing to look at the plan before you reject it?' "

USOC chief executive Jim Scherr gave Los Angeles strong marks, saying he had "no doubt" it could play host to the Olympics. But a hint of the difficult call — deciding between U.S. bid city finalists Los Angeles or Chicago — came from Ctvrtlik, who is also an IOC member.

The USOC will make its choice on April 14.

"You can walk into them," Ctvrtlik said of Los Angeles' venues. "You can touch them. It's easy to envision how they'll perform. Is that something that will push them over the top? We'll just have to see. As we go into Chicago, we'll carefully study their plans as well. Potentially, there could be more risks."

Los Angeles could almost hold the Olympics now, with its venues nearly all in place. Chicago's plans are largely on paper and in computers and thereby harder to grasp.

Tim Leiweke of AEG touted Los Angeles' readiness.

"It shouldn't be about debt, having to spend billions of dollars," he said, adding that 2012 host London "is in a position where suddenly their budget has spiraled to a number that's become very controversial. That should not be what 2016 is about. That's a huge asset for Los Angeles."

Chicago has touted its lakefront and compact nature of the venues, which will be highlighted when the commission conducts a similar visit there next week. Here, it took about 35 minutes to get from Beverly Hills to the Home Depot Center and another 15 from Carson to downtown Long Beach. Long Beach's part in the bid effort is significant, as it includes venues for 11 sports, and could potentially provide another lasting legacy.

Architect Jay Flood showed plans for a permanent pool, a diving well, water park and health club, which would be built in the parking lot next to Long Beach Arena. The site was used for the successful U.S. Olympic swimming trials in 2004, but the pools were temporary ones.

The cost would range from $30 million to $40 million, said Phil Hester, Long Beach's director of Parks, Recreation and Marine. Hester said the development would be a public-private project. City officials and council members have been briefed, but the exact nature of the plan will depend on the April 14 vote.

"Either way, the city is intent on building a facility downtown (Long Beach)," he said.

[LB Life07]

Council Sets Guides For Queen Projects

By Harry Saltzgaver
Executive Editor

A set of “guiding principles” for development of property around the landmark Queen Mary likely will help rather than hinder efforts to bring the current leaseholder out of bankruptcy, according to the bankruptcy trustee.

Tuesday, the City Council approved a broad five-point statement about what would be acceptable across the bay from Downtown Long Beach. The recommendation, which came from Second District Councilman Suja Lowenthal, was designed to avoid a situation where someone purchases the long-term lease from Queen’s Seaport Development, Inc., in bankruptcy court with a plan that would not be acceptable to the city.

“It is in our interest to have an auction sooner rather than later,” said Amy Bodek, senior project manager for the city. “That way, we will forestall any further deterioration. These guidelines pave the way for that auction.”

QSDI filed for bankruptcy two years ago after a dispute with city officials about how rent credits were applied could not be resolved. U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Vincent Zurzolo appointed Howard Ehrenberg trustee for QSDI last April.

QSDI was granted a 66-year lease in 1989 for the Queen Mary and the 52+ acres surrounding it as an incentive to develop the property. The RMS Foundation, a nonprofit formed by Joseph Prevratil in 1992 to reopen the Queen Mary, continues to hold the sublease to operate the ship itself.

Ehrenberg said this week that two potential bidders are preparing final offer sheets, and he hopes to take a proposal to the judge in the next month to six weeks. Real estate brokers soliciting other potential bidders have said there is strong interest for a possible overbid, as well, Ehrenberg added.

“The guidelines make it easier in some ways,” Ehrenberg said. “Now I can describe in advance to potential bidders what type of development would be acceptable there. Knowing in advance will clear a number of hurdles.”

Prevratil, who retired at the first of the year as president and CEO of both QSDI and the RMS Foundation but remains as chair of the board for both entities, said he supports Ehrenberg’s approach.

“I’m very much in favor of guiding principles as long as they don’t chill the ability of the trustee to attract qualified bidders,” Prevratil said. “It makes a lot of sense.”

The city owns the Queen Mary and the property around it, taking the deed back from the Port of Long Beach in 1992. While Prevratil and QSDI have suggested a number of development plans, the single major change has been construction of the Carnival Cruise Lines’ cruise ship terminal and dock connected to the former Spruce Goose dome.

The principles approved by the council call for an understanding of the importance of the Queen Mary to the city by establishing uses to support the ship’s ongoing restoration. Any project must meet Tidelands Trust guidelines and be consistent with land use and zoning regulations.

Council members said they wanted to make sure any development takes advantage of the waterfront and views of downtown, capitalizing on the location and the lease with Carnival Cruise Lines. The guidelines also encourage use of sustainable building practices wherever possible and call for the highest possible architectural quality.

“I want to be clear that adoption of these guidelines is not equal to engaging the public in a dialog process,” Second District Councilwoman Suja Lowenthal said. “I want to assure the public that will take place.”

On the legal front, Judge Zurzolo turned away an attempt by creditors Bandero, LLC, to take control of the majority of QSDI stock. Bandero principal Lee Durst had sought approval of an agreement to purchase Paul Leevan’s stock in QSDI. Bandero already owns 24% of the stock.

But city officials had already turned back one effort, in 2004, by Bandero to exercise options and take over QSDI. The city has a say in who QSDI can transfer the lease to, and asked Bandero for financial and background material it wasn’t willing to provide.

Ehrenberg said the two potential bidders both have had talks with city officials. Judge Zurzolo has approved a settlement brokered by Ehrenberg between QSDI and the city that essentially will give the city all of the disputed rent credits back at sale of the lease, with the potential for up to $9 million paid, depending on the final bid.

[dragonsky]

Beautiful Los Angeles from the hills of Palos Verdes
http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=450069

[LAMetroGuy]

^ nots ure why you posted that link in this thread???

[dragonsky]

why not?

[LAMetroGuy]

ummmm, has nothing to do with Long Beach.

[staraman]

from Palos Verdes are cool nonetheless... besides that's right next door... I mean it only takes a whole 10 minutes from DTLB to the peninsula. Whoa!

In any case, some folks group the South Bay all the way down to LB... some to Torrance. Who really cares? The whole area is pretty neat. Just to note also, you can get similar views from a high-rise condo on ocean blvd.

[ChrisLA]

Originally Posted by staraman

from Palos Verdes are cool nonetheless... besides that's right next door... I mean it only takes a whole 10 minutes from DTLB to the peninsula. Whoa!

I know because often I choose between the Trader Joes in Palos Verdes, and the others in Belmont Shore, and Bixby Knolls. I like a change of scenery, so I go to all. For a long time I didn't even realize how close it was. Sure I can see the peninsula from downtown LB, but never realize it was only a short 10 mins away in the car. So now I love going over the bridge to shop every now and then.

Anyway I would sort of assoicate this area as part of Greater Long Beach.

[dragonsky]

That's hard.....

[mikedor]

Does anyone know if the Ocean West development (two grey concrete buildings at the west end of ocean by the WTC) has an interest list or web site? I can't seem to locate them anywhere. Must I go down to the sales office for more info?


thanks for any insight...

cheers,
Michael Kedor