Long Beach Construction (Planned, Proposed, & Current) - Page 82

LAMetroGuy · #**1621** Posted **Dec 29, 2009, 4:10 PM**

Very happy about the hooters move! I've always thought that hooters was out of place on pine. The pike needs those empty storefronts filled and I think hooters will make a nice addition to the pike.

As for pine, I love the creperie. I visit the one on 2nd street all the time. the only problem is that there is always an hour long wait and i have to drive or take passport. I like the live music and the amazing crepes! Since I live in downtown LB, this new location will be walking distance so I'm happy! Also, from what I've heard, the Pine location will have a full liquor license... which is a good thing. The 2nd street location doesn't.

Cheers!

CityKid · #**1622** Posted **Dec 31, 2009, 1:33 AM**

I found information on the project going on at Burnett and Long Beach Blvd. It looks like a good infill project.

From www.lbhdc.org:

The Long Beach & Burnett Apartments is a mixed-income, multi-family housing development offering two- and three-bedroom housing units; 36 of the units will be affordable to very low-, low- and moderate-income renters, and 10 units will be at market rate. Estimated completion date is December 2010.

LAMetroGuy · #**1623** Posted **Jan 5, 2010, 5:48 AM**

Great news on that infill project!

Went to the Vons on Broadway and Atlantic today, the cashier informed me that they are closing on January 13th for a 9 month remodel. I asked if the remodel will turn the Vons into a similar store like the one in Belmont Shore, she said no... it will be more like the new Pavilions in West Hollywood, more urban and will have a rooftop parking structure. My guess is that it will not have a setback and be more urban in design. She said it will have a gourmet deli, starbucks, etc. Sounds like good news for downtown residents who were tired of that tiny store!

After some research, I found out that per the "Conceptual Site Plan Review", it calls for a 47500 square foot Von's market with a 128- stall rooftop parking lot.

Source: Curbed LA

LAMetroGuy · #**1624** Posted **Jan 5, 2010, 11:10 PM**

Here are the renderings of the new Vons:

Source: KKE Archtects

SantaCruzGuy · #**1625** Posted **Jan 6, 2010, 6:36 AM**

...talking supermarkets... Is fresh and easy still coming to downtown? Any news on the rumor?

ChrisLA · #**1626** Posted **Jan 6, 2010, 8:55 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by LAMetroGuy

Here are the renderings of the new Vons:

Source: KKE Archtects

Wow, its about time.

Now if only Trader Joes would open a store downtown. I doubt they would since there are four within 10-15 mins in each direction.

202_Cyclist · #**1627** Posted **Jan 6, 2010, 9:23 PM**

Quote:

Wow, its about time. Now if only Trader Joes would open a store downtown. I doubt they would since there are four within 10-15 mins in each direction.

This looks like a significant improvement compared to the current store, with its large surface-parking lot and setback from the street. There is a similar proposal for rebuilding a Safeway here in DC. Safeway wants to replace its current suburban-style big-box store and surface parking lot with another store that largely maintains the suburban grocery-store format with some minor changes. The debate has become quite heated http://greatergreaterwashington.org/post.cgi?id=4334. This store is within a ten minute walk of two metro stations and is on a major arterial road leading into DC. Many of us in the community want Safeway to partner with a developer to build new housing on top of the store.

One recommendation for the proposed redevelopment of the Vons in Long Beach that I would suggest is to locate any retail (Starbucks, dry cleaning, etc...) that is part of this store to have independent entrance along the street to encourage more vibrant street life rather than have this only be accessible from inside the store.

CityKid · #**1628** Posted **Jan 6, 2010, 9:24 PM**

^^^ SantaCruzGuy, the last I heard, Fresh & Easy in downtown Long Beach was still a go.

Here is a photo update of the West Gateway Lyon Project. It looks like the project is coming along nicely. It's HUGE. I'll save my opinion for when it's finished. These were taken by me on December 26, 2009.

Broadway and Cedar

Broadway and Magnolia

Looking east down Broadway from Magnolia

Looking north up Magnolia from Broadway

3rd and Magnolia

Looking east on 3rd from Magnolia

CityKid · #**1629** Posted **Jan 6, 2010, 9:29 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by LAMetroGuy

Here are the renderings of the new Vons:

Source: KKE Archtects

That looks awesome. I was just down there recently and thought that lot could use an urban face lift.

sopas ej · #**1630** Posted **Jan 9, 2010, 4:40 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by LAMetroGuy

Great news on that infill project!

Went to the Vons on Broadway and Atlantic today, the cashier informed me that they are closing on January 13th for a 9 month remodel. I asked if the remodel will turn the Vons into a similar store like the one in Belmont Shore, she said no... it will be more like the new Pavilions in West Hollywood, more urban and will have a rooftop parking structure. My guess is that it will not have a setback and be more urban in design. She said it will have a gourmet deli, starbucks, etc. Sounds like good news for downtown residents who were tired of that tiny store!

After some research, I found out that per the "Conceptual Site Plan Review", it calls for a 47500 square foot Von's market with a 128- stall rooftop parking lot.

Source: Curbed LA

Funny I would read this now; over the weekend, my partner and I were in Long Beach and we drove past this and he said "I should take a picture of this, it's one of the few Vonses that still looks like this. You KNOW they'll eventually remodel it into (or knock it down for) something current and bland." And sure enough, he was right. Maybe we'll go down this weekend and take extensive photos of the exterior. This architectural style for supermarkets are indeed a vanishing breed.

LAMetroGuy · #**1631** Posted **Jan 9, 2010, 5:58 PM**

I agree this architectural style is a vanishing breed, however I believe that the new design is much better and more functional. I feel that preservationists sometimes hang on to a design just because it is rare, but not necessarily nice to look at. But then again, beauty is in the eye of the beholder. I really dislike this Vons in it's current state. At the end of the day it is just a market that needs to provide groceries to the neighborhood. Right now, this Vons is the worst market in the hood, this remodel will be a nice addition to the neighborhood. I don't think the new design is bland, I like it and I'm the one that has to live with it. Plus, the new Vons will have more variety of groceries , which I'm happy about!

202_Cyclist · #**1632** Posted **Jan 9, 2010, 6:48 PM**

LAMetroGuy--

Quote:

I agree this architectural style is a vanishing breed, however I believe that the new design is much better and more functional. I feel that preservationists sometimes hang on to a design just because it is rare, but not necessarily nice to look at. But then again, beauty is in the eye of the beholder. I really dislike this Vons in it's current state. At the end of the day it is just a market that needs to provide groceries to the neighborhood. Right now, this Vons is the worst market in the hood, this remodel will be a nice addition to the neighborhood. I don't think the new design is bland, I like it and I'm the one that has to live with it. Plus, the new Vons will have more variety of groceries , which I'm happy about!

You are exactly right. Frequently, those who oppose any new development are out of control with their appeals to get something declared as historic. Here in DC, a some people wanted to get a surface parking declared historic because it was one of the earliest examples of an auto-centric strip mall: http://www.flickr.com/photos/mr_t_in_dc/2207013427/

Another egregious abuse of historic preservation involves another grocery store in DC. Much like this Vons in Long Beach, there is a Giant supermarket (http://www.wisconsinavegiant.com/conditions.htm) that consists of a large surface parking-lot, a one-story dilapidated supermarket with inferior selection, and boarded up stores along a major street. Here are the conditions today: http://www.wisconsinavegiant.com/conditions.htm . There are plans to replace this with a modern, clean grocery store with new retail stores, rowhouses and 120 condos. The anti-development community, however, wanted to get this building declared historic because it serves as an example of a 1950s commercial shopping center.

luvLBC · #**1633** Posted **Jan 11, 2010, 12:46 AM**

I am so glad that the Vons on Broadway being remodel. There were not much items that I want from walking to there. Otherewise I have to drive to another supermarket to find the one I want. Can't wait to see the improvement of that area.

sopas ej · #**1634** Posted **Jan 11, 2010, 5:05 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by LAMetroGuy

I agree this architectural style is a vanishing breed, however I believe that the new design is much better and more functional. I feel that preservationists sometimes hang on to a design just because it is rare, but not necessarily nice to look at. But then again, beauty is in the eye of the beholder. I really dislike this Vons in it's current state. At the end of the day it is just a market that needs to provide groceries to the neighborhood. Right now, this Vons is the worst market in the hood, this remodel will be a nice addition to the neighborhood. I don't think the new design is bland, I like it and I'm the one that has to live with it. Plus, the new Vons will have more variety of groceries , which I'm happy about!

I actually think the new plans are indeed a better use of the site with much better use of space; this Vons as it is now is small. And the addition of a gourmet deli, etc. will be a plus for the community for sure. I just think it's kinda sad that fewer markets look like this. There was a Ralphs in my own town of South Pasadena that had a similar look to this with the arched roof but a more glassy front facade, it was a total time warp and I thought it looked really retro Atomic Age, and cool in that respect. But it was later remodeled into that tacky faux Craftsman architecture and so now it looks like it could be in Rancho Cucamonga circa late 1990s-2003. Oh well.

I'm sure people didn't lament the larger postwar mid-Century supermarkets that started replacing these Streamline Moderne-style supermarkets, which I think also look cool; too bad these don't exist anymore, this example having been in LA's Crenshaw district, photo dating from 1942 courtesy USC archive:

FlyBono24 · #**1635** Posted **Jan 12, 2010, 7:52 AM**

Is there a petition or anything about removing the Wal-Mart downtown? That place is a magnet for the homeless and the ghetto thugs from the Wesss-side and all those ghetto communities along the Blue Line. They all seem to come down from Compton and Lynwood or whatever via the Metro and congregate outside the Wal-Mart and cause trouble.

That whole area would be much nicer if they got rid of that and put a Target or a department store.

CityKid · #**1636** Posted **Jan 24, 2010, 7:22 PM**

From the Contra Costa Times:

New Kroc Center offers home to Long Beach Junior Concert Band
Construction slated this spring at Pacific Coast Highway and Walnut
By Al Rudis, Staff Writer
Posted: 01/23/2010 06:44:56 PM PST
Updated: 01/23/2010 07:00:28 PM PST

The Salvation Army's Ray and Joan Kroc Center, which begins construction this spring at Pacific Coast Highway and Walnut in Long Beach, has offered a home to the Long Beach Junior Concert Band.

The Army's Major Glen Madsen announced at Saturday's funeral for Marvin Marker the creation of the Marvin Marker Memorial Endowment for Music at the center.

"Since Marvin Marker left his entire estate to the Salvation Army, Major Madsen wanted to create a way to carry on Marvin's legacy of building character through music," said Evan Lamont, a spokesperson for the Army, Saturday.

"If you look at the individuals that have gone on from the band to be tremendously successful people, that's the kind of theme we want to take over to the Kroc Center as well. The center's theme is going to be giving kids an opportunity to reach world-class potential."

"You're going to be able to train with Olympic-class athletes at the swimming pools, and our music conservatory will bring in the best professors and teachers from Long Beach State, City College and Long Beach Unified School District." Lamont said the conservatory would be named the Marvin Marker Music Conservatory.

In addition, the center will become the band's home. "Major Madsen met with the band on Thursday evening," said Lamont. "They've been having some issues with paying their rent, and it just seems like natural synergy to make the Kroc Center their permanent home."

When completed, the Kroc Center will cover 168,000-square-feet on a 19-acre campus. "We're looking to start our grading process after the rainy season in April, and construction will probably take two to three years after that," said Lamont.

Video from LBPost.com:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cNnbgWG_JBI

CityKid · #**1637** Posted **Jan 25, 2010, 7:07 PM**

Was a little slow in finding this one, but here it is from www.presstelegram.com:

Downtown Vons getting a renovation
By Kristopher Hanson, Staff Writer
Posted: 01/12/2010 05:09:53 PM PST

LONG BEACH - The 1960s-era Vons at Broadway and Atlantic Avenue is being shuttered until fall while it undergoes a multimillion-dollar renovation.

The site has been scheduled for upgrades amid growing competition between downtown grocers eager for a slice of the growing population and changing consumer tastes.

The new store will more than double in size, covering the existing parking lot. The remodeled store will offer rooftop parking, a bank and a pharmacy.

At about 50,000 square feet, the redeveloped property far exceeds the existing site's 22,000 square feet, said Daymond Rice, a spokesman for Safeway, Vons' parent company.

The current market closed Tuesday night and is expected to open again by November, said Rice.

The market's pharmacy will move across the street to 523 E. Broadway during the renovations. It opens there Friday.

In the run-up to the closure, Vons held a fire sale for its remaining groceries, offering up to half off for such goods as canned fruit and veggies, bread and baby food.

The store's shelves had been picked clean of perishables, meat, liquor and soda by Monday, however.

Originally built in 1966 as a Safeway, the supermarket became a Vons location in 1989, Rice said.

It's the second Vons in Long Beach to undergo a major renovation in recent years. The Vons at 3900 E. Ocean Blvd. in Belmont Shore was closed about a year for a major upgrade involving its interior and exterior.

When it reopened in May 2008, the 15,000-square-foot store had been rebranded The Market at Vons and featured more fresh and prepared foods than the previous supermarket.

The Broadway store had long been the only major supermarket downtown, but faced increased competition in recent years with the opening of a Walmart at Fifth Street and Pine Avenue and an Albertsons at Sixth Street and Long Beach Boulevard.

The renewed Vons will be also feature more fresh foods and more food and store shelves overall, as well as a U.S. Bank branch.

As for the workers, Rice said all were transferred to other Vons and Pavilions locations in the area.

For now, the closest Vons locations are at 3900 E. Ocean Blvd. and at 1820 Ximeno Ave.

[email protected], 562-499-1466

Few items remain on the shelves at the Vons Grocery store in the 600 block of East Broadway in Long Beach on Tuesday. The store is closing for remodeling and is expected to reopen this fall. (Jeff Gritchen/Press-Telegram)

Few items remain on the shelves at the Vons on Broadway. (Jeff Gritchen/Press-Telegram)