Long Beach Construction (Planned, Proposed, & Current)

[CityKid]

^^^ Yibs, you need to learn to draw better conclusions from facts. Keep in mind that Compton's population is about 1/5 that of Long Beach's. So if Long Beach has 101 crimes and Compton has 100 crimes, Compton still has about 5 times as many crimes per capita.

In fact, if you look at the 50 safest and most dangerous cities in America in 2007 based on murder, 🞵🞵🞵🞵, robbery, aggravated assault, burglary, and motar vehicle theft, Long Beach is neither one of the most dangerous nor one of the safest. However, Compton made it to number 14 for most dangerous.

[drisee]

numbers and analysis are interesting, but at the end of the day yibs is right in that there is no real scene in downtown. it's a really dead lifeless area except for certain nights when the restaurants...sorry...clubs get activity.

for any of us that live here i hope that's our focus in meetings we attend and other outside stuff we get involved in to help the area. for instance in my neck of the woods (north pine) we're getting an urban dog park soon that should be really cool, the first of its kind for long beach. we're trying to work with local stores to offer better options and service for the new residents. cleaning 🞵🞵🞵🞵 up, trying our best to inspire to get out, walk around and take pride in our hood. and it's actually working slowly but surely.

actually yibs, i have to disagree with your assessment of north pine. it's not that bad. yes, there isn't 🞵🞵🞵🞵 to do really besides hit a hookah bar or get an ice cream from rite aid, but it's an up and coming sleeper to look out for.

new retail isn't the only solution to creating a sense of place and vibe. if we just sit around waiting for that we'll be waiting for a long time.

[yibs]

Well that's your opinion Citykid and i respect that, And I'm not saying that Compton is better, because we all know its not, and i don't go there because i have no reason to, but i guess having the 14th most dangerous city so close to us in Long Beach is not a good thing. The blue line connects to Compton and other really bad areas and in lets out right in DT.

drisee, that's good that you take pride in the North Pine area, because that area needs a lot of cleaning up before it becomes anything nice like 2nd st, not saying it should be like 2nd st, because its going to be years, maybe 10 or more before that would happen. Long Beach takes forever to basically get nothing done, at least thats the joke that we like to say, but its not funny.

And with Long Beach going into debt next year, and spending more then it brings in spells disaster, especially for the DT area where foot traffic and consumers are at a minimum. Belmont Shore will always do well because of location and atmosphere. I would live there if they allowed high rises, And i just love the small beach town vibe and those beautiful homes, and then they have 2nd st and are close to the Trader Joe's and Whole Foods, Best Buy etc.

And you're right that retail is not the sole answer, but i really would like some higher end shopping in DT. Nothing overly fancy or expensive, but some here say it needs to be diverse when it comes to demographics of people, and i would agree, but why not diversity in shopping? DT is basically full of 2nd rate discount stores. No wonder people with money don't come here for shopping, because we don't have any. And the city can goto hell for not finding a way to keep acres of books in whatever new development. I hope its not more stuff like Cityplace. The city broke my heart when they built Cityplace, because its going to be there for at least 20 years before the decide to tear it down like the old mall. I once was way more optimistic before they built Cityplace and the Pike.

But Cross your fingers for the Laugh Factory. I'm happy like i said, but won't fully believe it until i see it open. Been looking at the damn coming soon sign for like 5 years. You start to just brush it off like yeah whatever after that amount of time.

[yibs]

Here is a great article on the state of the arts culture in Long Beach, which happens to be nothing in my opinion. This article talks about how we have a performing arts center that isn't used, and barley ever has any events. Whats the point of having the place? I guess its just for show, but there are no shows.

And adding with the city dept will be cuts in the Arts, and who knows what other projects the city will have to stop funding just to try and break even. I think The DT area might go through some even worse times before it gets better, if it ever does.


http://www.lbbj.com/story.php?id=8

[Ruby]

I noticed that there are progress made in the Laugh Factory too. Their new sign is installed, lights are occasionally lit and people are hauling carpet in and out of the place. I am also hoping that they are going to open soon.

As for North Pine, there is now a sign for George Greek Cafe in where Mariposa was. A new Vietnamese restaurant will be opening in the second level of the AMC theatre. It Is a Grind is almost complete with the remodeling of the place. I am not sure if we have enough customers to support two coffee houses but new business is always good.

According to the Long Beach Business Journal, we have 17 new business in DT, the most among all the Long Beach Districts so all in all, the picture is not bad.

[johnnypd]

personally i like the beach at Belmont Shore, it's a quiet respite in comparison to the often overcrowded coast at Newport or Huntington Beach. i don't think that neighbourhood is missing anything from not attracting the surfers either, it is doing just fine.

anyway i was wondering how long beach would fare as a residential investment in the coming years, considering many parts of town are really cheap. i've looked at the area north of the WTC between the river and Pacific Ave, also Alamitos Beach, but i'm not sure how safe they are (the former, mainly), and if they might get better or worse in coming years.

[yibs]

The beach scene in Belmont Shore is great! I love all the activity and they have kites and the dog beach, and the pier. The atmosphere is so much better then the beach area in DT, and its much cleaner too. And property on the far west side is cheap because its a really bad area, and will be for a long time. They have too many drug houses and 🞵🞵🞵🞵🞵🞵 motels that need to be torn down before anything positive can happen. And that area is the busiest beat for LBPD.

Long Beach could use some good Chinese restaurants. We don't have that many, and the few that are here really 🞵🞵🞵🞵. I usually goto Cerritos or Westminster for that. Pine has plenty of empty stores that could house a good Chinese restaurant. I would goto Pine Ave for good Chinese food. I still would like to see Creama and Bouchees branch out into the Shore. They would do great over on 2nd st. And we might have 17 new businesses in DT, but its still a dead area, and do the 17 new places account for how many places have been lost or closed down in the DT area. I think it broke even. Pine Ave used to have more shops before they built the Pike. So i personally think that DT has less then it did a few years ago.

I'm still confused why we don't have a Trader Joe's or Whole foods in DT. Only thing i can think of is those companies don't feel comfortable in the DT area. We don't have as many higher end consumers in that area to afford that kind of grocery shopping as we do on the east side where they have 2 Trader Joe's, a Whole Foods, and Bristol Farms all within that area. It 🞵🞵🞵🞵🞵 to have to do a 10+ mile round trip to get to those stores.

[SantaCruzGuy]

Johny,

LB is a great place to invest. It is safe depending on the areas (like any other major city)... I would say anything below 5th is pretty safe and up and coming in the Downtown area. Downtown LB (along Pine from ocean to 4th or the promenade area) The closer you get to the ocean, the safer and more beautiful the areas get. Ocean blvd and Alamitos beach area, in my opinion, are safe and nice areas to live on the West side. I came from Santa Cruz, CA (Norther CA) and I love LB!

[SantaCruzGuy]

... I live DT/East Village Arts District and I would recommend. Here are a few places you should look at DT: BLU, Pacifica, Promenade... Many LB forumers hate some of these places, but they are nice.

[SantaCruzGuy]

.

[Ruby]

From Pike and the Laugh Factory Website:Laugh Factory is supposed to open in 2008, coming this holiday season. Pike website also says a Kavika's Fine Dining restaurant specializing in California cuisine will open this fall 2008.

From Shoreline Village Website: All American Melodrama Theatre and Music Hall is open 6/28/08. It is a Victorian style theater that features comical troupe of professional actors present classic melodramas, hillarious movie satires, improv comedy shows, and holiday themed extravaganzas.

Remodeling has been going on at soon to open Quentos Restaurant at Broadway and Promenade. I asked a person entering the premise when is the opening date and he answered that it might not open now. The guy seems to work there but I really don't know what his answer means.

Remodeling has been going on at the upper level front facing unit of N. Pine AMC theature facing Pine ve. I thought a Vietnamese restaurant was going in because of an earlier sign outside. Now I'm not sure anymore since the sign is no longer displayed.

I noticed a listing from a real estate magazine which says there are 1, 2 or 3 bedrooms for lease in 411 Seaside. Unless I'm mistaken, this is the address for the smaller tower of the West Ocean. I don't think it's been selling very good so it is hard to imagine that a lot of private investors are renting it out now. I thought for a moment that the building might have gone rental. This is just pure speculation. I believed there is a law preventing a developer to lease out units unless it is totally unsold or it has to be more than 50% sold.

I also saw a "now leasing" sign in addition to the "now selling" sign at CityPlace Lofts so definitely the building has gone rental. The CityPlace lofts was developed by West Millenium who also converted the historical DTLA Brockman building into condos. It took them more than 6 years to develope Brockman but they did a fantastic job.

[LB Life07]

I was looking at the city website the other day, the planning and building department post up a monthly major project list which shows the status of all projects that have been submitted to the department. I noticed on the list that it says the Hotel Esterel is under construction but when I went past the site the other day there was no activity at all. Does anyone have an explanation for this?

[LB Life07]

Promenade Walk

[IMG]IMG]http://i343.photobucket.com/albums/o453/LBLife08/Long%20Beach%20Construction/PromenadeWalk.jpg[/IMG][/IMG]

Promenade Lofts

[IMG][/IMG]

[IMG][/IMG]

[IMG][/IMG]

Lyon West Gateway

[IMG][/IMG]

[IMG][/IMG]

Residence Inn Hotel

[IMG][/IMG]

Avia Hotel

[IMG][/IMG]

[luvLBC]

LB Life 07, thanks for the great pics! I go down there almost all the time and watch those buildings rising up.

[LB Life07]

Not a problem!! I felt the thread could use some pics!! it was my first time posting photos but I think I did O.K.

[regboi21]

Do you all think that long beach ca will get any better by the year 2030 or will nothing change and the city's issues gets worse i dont want to be negative about this city but it seems like the city officials hardly learn from past mistakes for example the pike and the cracker box apts i think that the city officials should do all they can to make their city a better place to eat,shop,live and play for generations to come.

[yibs]

http://www.presstelegram.com/ci_9823169

Opinions on this completed project? Does it benefit the area? or does it benefit those lucky enough to be accepted to live there? YAY or NAY?

That whole area is supposed to be just like this project. The Lowenthal family designated that area for low income housing. Is this good or bad for the city? Will better retail ever come to the west side if they keep building lower income housing?

I'm sorry but i personally think that the buildings going up look like 🞵🞵🞵🞵, and are poorly designed for being 2008. The Aqua is terrible, looks like it was built 30 years ago. Sorry if i offended those of you who live in the Aqua. Long Beach should look to Asia for design ideas. We should be building modern or even futuristic designs. Boxes with funny looking art figures is just tacky, but thats just my opinion.

[LB Life07]

I think that with the Puerto Del Sol project only time will tell. I don't think the project makes or breaks the area just yet! I think that once the West Gateway development by Lyon Realty is complete with the inclusion of what ever ends up on the other two parcels next to it, then we will be able to see what comes of it! bottom line I don't think the area is broken yet as long as we don't end up with three affordable housing projects in the same area.

[yibs]

Should Long Beach hotel workers get higher wages?

I say Yes! With the greater success of city tourism should always come higher wages for those who serve those tourists. I might goto the rally at Shoreline Park after work.

http://www.lbreport.com/news/jul08/hotluni.htm

LB Life, I agree that the one project doesn't make or break that area. But in the same way, one good project in that area wont make it either. I look at West Ocean Towers as an example. That project was supposed to turn that dead west side area into some bustling energetic area, but thats what the city told people, not what i personally believed. Those units sit mostly empty, and will remain empty unless the prices come down. Hopefully they don't add anymore low income housing over there, but i hear that whole area is supposed to get more, and mixed in will be some higher income projects closer to Ocean Blvd. I don't know if i would pay a lot of money to be surrounded by low income housing, but maybe others will. You notice that they had over 1000 requests to live in Puerto Del Sol, but barely anyone wants to live in West Ocean. I think the lowenthal's might of been right when they said that area is designated for low income housing, and only low income housing.

[LB Life07]

I know for a fact that the west gateway development that is under construction now by lyon realty is supposed to have close to 200 units, 26 of those will be set aside for low income......I think that as long as the ratio of low income to high income favors those on the higher side after everything gets put into place, then the area is not doomed! sometimes a mixture can be good! but for retail purposes and for overall neighborhood presence, I hope the majority doesn't end up being low income..