Long Beach Construction (Planned, Proposed, & Current)

[rolinda]

hi,
does anyone have an update on west ocean? do you know when they will open? Howdoes it look? Any retail stores in place for the building? What are rents going for in that type of building 1 and 2 bedrooms? thanks!

[drisee]

i like the courhouse from an aesthetic point of view. it's a cool midcentury style office building. not sure when it was built...perhaps in the 60s. i wonder what they'll do with after the courthouse shifts. i would vote for adaptive reuse.

[regboi21]

Do you all think that the long beach city planners should redevelop that city block on long beach blvd behind the press telegram building the city block has a dennys restaurant a el pollo loco fast food place a one story old brick building that has a chinese food restaurant a prescription drug store taco bell and a ymca center i think those buildings should be razed and rebuilt with something better and upscale this block is on long beach blvd between east 6th st and 7th st.

[drisee]

Originally Posted by regboi21

Do you all think that the long beach city planners should redevelop that city block on long beach blvd behind the press telegram building the city block has a dennys restaurant a el pollo loco fast food place a one story old brick building that has a chinese food restaurant a prescription drug store taco bell and a ymca center i think those buildings should be razed and rebuilt with something better and upscale this block is on long beach blvd between east 6th st and 7th st.

Oh hell ya. What's funny is that you don't even think about these type of lots sometimes because there are bigger projects going on but this is another good spot for the future that shows what a blank slate downtown is sometimes. It would take some time to do this though...a big developer would have to swoop in and buy up all the land to piece it together. Or the RDA would have to piece it together but i doubt they have the money for it.

Would be nice to do somethigng there.

What do you guys think about our new city manager being hired today after the long search, Pat West?

[LAMetroGuy]

Source: Monument to Humanity at www.monumenttohumanity.org

Monument Launches Website
The proposed $250 million Monument to Humanity in the Long Beach Harbor has recently launched a website and fundraising campaign. The 333-foot statue and learning center would be located near the Long Beach Harbor.

The statue called the Monument to Humanity Research & Learning Center which would be located near the Long Beach Harbor.

Click here to visit the website: www.monumenttohumanity.org


The LA Times, which ran an article about the proposed statue a few months ago, describes it as "a transparent globe supported by four bronze pan-racial figures, two men and two women, representing all ethnicities atop a steel tower. The monument will include a museum of human history, a broadcast arm, an elevated rail to transport visitors from parking structures, and a peace academy program.

(Article source: LBPOST.com)

[LAMetroGuy]

Concerns about the Shoreline Gateway Project are less about the building, more about the cars
By Heather Reger
The District Weekly


THE SHORELINE GATEWAY

The shortest street in Long Beach is about to have an estimated 500 more cars driving on it.

A 35-story residential and retail tower, soon to be the tallest building in the city, is expected to break ground within the next two years, the first phase of a two-phase project. While the Shoreline Gateway project has been in the works since 2005 and has undergone numerous changes, including a downsized lot, there are still kinks to be worked out, the most prevalent being bare minimum parking accommodations and uncertain traffic impact at the busy intersection of Ocean Boulevard and Alamitos Avenue.

After receiving mixed reviews from residents on their original design concept, which featured a shorter tower, Gateway developers Anderson Pacific and designer Michael Bohn, a 43-year Long Beach resident, unveiled new plans at a July 30 community meeting. The plans called for a heightened tower—417 feet—with a sleek and slender appeal. Although many like the tower’s new appearance—featuring tinted glass to deflect light with a curvier, sexier body inspired by a sailboat’s shape—there are still concerns that the plan doesn’t entirely address the issue of increased vehicles and congestion at an already hectic intersection.

“I’m not going to lie to anybody and tell them that there isn’t going to be an impact on traffic,” says David White, a redevelopment project officer for Long Beach. “But I can assure you that everything is being done to limit that impact.”

One of those things is a building camera provided by the city that will monitor the tower’s sole entrance and determine traffic patterns during peak travel time. From these patterns, signals can be altered to accommodate traffic flow, White says. The Environmental Impact Report monitored 58 intersections in the surrounding areas, and no alterations are anticipated at the Ocean/Alamitos intersection. However, a new signal will be installed at the intersection of Lime Avenue and Seventh Street once the tower is erected.

The original design allowed for multiple entrances into the development, including one on Ocean and another off Alamitos; but, according to White, after a review by Long Beach traffic engineers, it was decided to create only one entrance accessible from Medio Street, which, at one block in length, is the shortest street in Long Beach. How is that going to work? Well . . .

“As you know, it’s conjecture; we don’t really know,” says Long Beach Councilmember Suja Lowenthal, whose Second District includes the Gateway Project. “We’re making presumptions. We’re just living through this as the project develops.”

The first tower is planned to house an estimated 495 underground parking stalls to accommodate residents in approximately 220 units, as well as retail-store employee, guests, and some public parking. Some community members believe the number of parking stalls is far too low. Bill Anderson, president and CEO of Anderson Pacific, said at the July 30 meeting that he didn’t want to get specific about certain strategies relating to traffic and parking due to the early stages of the project. Ryan Altoon, an Anderson vice-president, said that the allotted parking spaces are within the city’s requirements and that not all of the units are two bedrooms. (The city only requires 1.5 spaces for one bedroom units, and the 6,300 square feet of retail space requires nominal parking stalls.)

Still, with 167 two-bedroom units and 54 one-bedrooms, that means that 415 parking stalls will be given to residents, leaving just 80 spaces to accommodate guests, employees, and general public parking.

The project’s acquisition also includes a portion of Lime Avenue, which will no longer be used for vehicular access but will be replaced with an urban garden for public use. This street is used by some residents as an alternative way to turn west onto Ocean instead of waiting in mainstream traffic on Alamitos.

“Anytime you’re dealing with a project of this size, there are going to be issues of traffic, density, and congestion,” White says. “For people who are afraid of change, this can seem scary.”

The Shoreline Gateway Project is just one of several tower developments in the works for the downtown area. And with development comes more vehicles. Local resident and Anthem magazine publisher Andreas Herr doesn’t necessarily think this is a bad thing. Unlike most other residents, he says he hopes that the parking and traffic get worse in the downtown area, because then the city will be forced to seriously consider public transportation.

“It’s time for us to rethink our lives.” Herr says.

Perhaps. Or perhaps we can wait to do that until the project’s second phase begins.

[SantaCruzGuy]

Last week I e-mailed all my concerns to District 1 and 2 council members, and the mayor. District 2 council member has not replied... Here is what they replied:

District 1: Bonnie

J***,

Thank you very much for sharing your concerns regarding downtown. If you would be so kind as to provide your contact information (address/phone), I'd appreciate it. That way I would know better which neighborhood association's area you are in and can refer you to a group that shares your concerns.

I completely agree with you regarding the retail downtown. In fact, I have asked the City's Economic Development Bureau to tell me how the City can help bring higher end retail to the downtown. Residents have been asking for this for the past two years! With the recent addition of hundreds of new residents downtown, this is a very legitimate request. The City has partnered with the Downtown Long Beach Associates (DLBA) to contact a number of potential retailers. The answer is always the same: when more residents locate downtown with higher incomes, retailers will consider moving here. The City currently has a number of new residential projects either in the early or later stages of development. So that is good news! But it is going to take some time to make it happen.

The trolleys suggested by Councilmember Suja Lowenthal are undergoing a study to determine how much it would cost, who would pay for them, and what the timeframe might be. With every public agency undergoing budget problems (from the feds to the cities), this is going to require creativity to bring to fruition.

Please stay in touch, and thanks again for your email! And please send me your address and phone.

Bonnie


Mayor's office:


Mr. E******,

Thank you for contacting Mayor Foster regarding your concerns about the lack of retail and overall cleanliness of Downtown. As part of the Downtown Visioning Process, we are trying to bring more retail stores to downtown. I agree that this is a key component currently missing to make a Downtown more successful. The Economic Development Bureau is working to attract businesses to Long Beach and assisting them in establishing themselves in our City.

Thank you for sharing you thoughts on this issue with Mayor Bob Foster, please let me know if I can be of further assistance.

Sean Petersen
Legislative Deputy
Office of Mayor Bob Foster
333 W Ocean Blvd. 14th Floor
Long Beach, CA 90802
PH: 562-570-5999 Fax: 562-570-6538

[LAMetroGuy]

forgot to post the bigger render:



Source: The District Weekly

[drisee]

santa cruz guy, nice work.

so lemme get this straigh, residents have been asking for retail for two years now and now the councilmember is going to ask the econ development guy what's up. that hasn't been asked before?!

cooler, higher end retailers don't just magically appear. they have to see the potential. you don't just see that with more condos. there has to be a buzz about the streets, there has to be momentum. give the residents of downtown something to be proud of rather then just a park filled with bums.

[yibs]

This is another reason that i don't go near pine ave at night.

http://www.lbreport.com/news/aug07/pinerob.htm

[yibs]

And also being someone that lives right near the shoreline gateway site. I'm also worried about more traffic. I'm sure it can work with a well thought out plan, But pardon me if i have no confidence in the city doing that. And the monument to humanity is odd. Where is the humanity in depriving this city of a natural beach? I don't see much humanity on the west side with the homeless camps everywhere.

[LB Life07]

Yibs I'll admit the area referred to in this article (6th and Pine) can get a little sketchy after dark. As you get further back on pine we all know the area starts to deteriorate. Hopefully with the Press Telegram Lofts which happen to sit right on the corner of 6th and pine, it will help eliminate some of this activity, bringing more light and pedestrian activity to the area. An update on the PT Lofts, I drove past yesterday and noticed that they have now put up a construction fence around the entire building, hopefully this means we'll see ground break soon.

[yibs]

double post. sorry!

[yibs]

I just wish that area could get cleaned up. I don't want people to be moved out, but lets face it, there are a lot of bad people living in some areas around here. I have mentioned before about a friend of mine being robbed of her purse on pine and 5th st last year. I can't remember the last time i heard of stuff like this on 2nd st or even retro row on 4th st. I like some parts of long beach, but downtown is kind of bad at night. And most of the cute little shops are within 4 st, then it just gets worse the further up you go.

http://www.lbreport.com/

[LAMetroGuy]

Little “Wow,” Plenty Of Restaurants At Pike

By Kurt Helin
Editor

It was envisioned as a “wow” project.

When City Council members first talked about the Pike at Rainbow Harbor a decade ago, they had a grand vision — a pedestrian-friendly, bustl-ing, urban waterfront destination that would draw Long Beach residents and people from throughout the region, and would connect Pine Avenue and the water.

Open for less than four years, almost nobody thinks the Pike has come close to those goals.

“The Pike has become a high-rent food court and that’s not what was promised to the city,” said Second District City Councilwoman Suja Lowen-thal, whose district includes the Pike. “It’s not what was promised to the tenants.”

Lowenthal met with representatives from Pike owner Developers Diversified Realty last week to discuss both ongoing concerns — such as problems with parking and the valet service south of Shoreline Drive — as well as the tenant mix.

Those concerns spilled over into the City Council meeting last week when Lowenthal asked the entire council to oppose transfer of a liquor license to the yet-to-open Pint & Piano Bar in the Pike (which also would serve some food).

She said it was time to draw a line in the sand, to tell DDR officials that changes in the tenant mix were needed. That idea got support from Pike merchants as well as the majority of the council (although the final decision on the license rests with the state Alcohol Control Board).

DDR officials say that the Pike is a mixed-use entertainment center, and negotiations for a couple more restaurants are in the works.

“We are pleased with the demand for space and believe that the tenant mix is right for the market,” said Jennifer Gartland, marketing director for the Pike.

And, she said, the Laugh Factory owners plan to open by the end of the year. Work has been going on in the site.

While the tenant mix is a short-term concern, some of the biggest concerns about the Pike are not things easily changed — issues surrounding the basic design. Any change there would be much more extensive and expensive.

Tenant Mix

Eric Johnson, co-owner of the Auld Dubliner at the Pike, told the council last week he has been taken for quite a ride as one of the first (and most successful) tenants in the Pike.

“It has been an absolute roller coaster,” Johnson said. “When we first talked with DDR about opening here, they told us the mix would be one­third restaurants, one-third retail and one-third entertainment. As you know, the Pike has become more of a food court.”

Existing tenants have talked to DDR management about their concerns, Johnson said. Each time they were told there would be no more restaurants. But that was four restaurants ago, he said.

“DDR’s advertising the last three years has been ‘shop the Pike’ when in practice it has been ‘eat the Pike,’” Johnson said.

When the city first started talking about the Pike development more than a decade ago, what city officials envisioned was something more along the lines of the “lifestyle center” such as The Grove in Los Angeles (next to the historic Farmers Market). That successful center is a mix of upscale shops (Apple store, Tommy Bahamas), good restaurants (Morels French Steakhouse) and interesting architecture that has a Main Street feel. It appeals as much to adults as “mall rat” youth and teenagers.

However, The Grove has one thing going for it the Pike does not — demographics.

Located in the heart of Los Angeles with well-to-do neighborhoods around it (or just a short drive away), The Grove has a well-heeled clientele living nearby to draw from.

Draw a one-mile circle around the Pike and 50% of what you get is ocean. While there are some high-end condo complexes and neighborhoods in the circle, there are lower-income areas as well.

That has been the challenge of selling downtown Long Beach for the past decade — not just at the Pike but also along Pine Avenue, in CityPlace, the East Village and beyond.

“I think the Pike shares some of the same problems attracting quality retail that the entire downtown does,” said Brian Ulaszewski, project design director at Studioneleven (part of Perkowitz + Ruth Architects in Long Beach). Ulaszewski was part of a team that worked with Alan Pullman, one of studioneleven’s principals, on a “Pike symposium” a couple years ago.

Lacking the hard numbers retailers want, City officials and retail experts have worked to sell a vision of Long Beach that is just now becoming reality with the building and selling of thousands of higher-rent condominiums downtown.

“I think what’s really going to help is when the Sierra Suites hotel opens,” Ulaszewski said of the already approved hotel for the Pike property. He said that will bring some needed foot traffic from diverse age and economic groups.

Gartland with DDR said that demand for space in the center remains strong.

There have been retail successes at the Pike. For example, the Long Beach Clothing Company has become a popular spot and has already expanded. That is not a store found in other shopping areas but rather something unique to the Pike and the city.

DDR had counted on the CineMark 14 Theaters, the successful GameWorks and the relatively-new Borders bookstore to anchor the entertainment and retail end of the project.

Gartland also pointed to a high lease rate — currently about 90% counting spaces with leases but not yet occupied — as a sign that the project is a success.

“That’s a success for DDR, but what about it is good for the city?” Lowenthal asked.

Design Issues

But while issues such as tenant mix are things that can be fixed without dramatic structural changes, many feel the center is struggling with a design flaws that are holding the project back.

Lowenthal called the problem “pods,” referring to the seemingly suburban style of shop that was just dropped into the project.

“Rather than a pedestrian-friendly waterfront and area woven together, it’s just pods dropped in that could be anywhere,” she said.

“What they tried to do is create an internal-facing project, the kind of thing you could drop in Orange County,” Ulaszewski said. “They didn’t utilize the unique environment they were in.”

The Pike does have features seen in other urban centers — winding streets running through it, some non-store attractions (a Ferris wheel and carousel) and more. These were some of the things insisted on by city staff in the design process.

But many downtown residents still feel the center has a “cookie cutter” feel with both the shops and layout.

Then there are challenges in the design to make The Pike compatible with the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach. Grass areas facing Shoreline Drive were required so that grandstands could be set up.

However, when you walk out of Gladstone’s or P.F. Chang’s, rather than feeling invited to walk and explore you see a long distance to anything (and much of what you do see is the back of the inward-facing development) Ulaszewski said.

“There were a lot of things designed for the one weekend a year we have the Grand Prix,” Ulaszewski said.

While city officials may recognize these concerns, they are not issues the city can force DDR to address right now.

“All I can really discuss with (DDR) is the tenant mix and parking issues,” Lowenthal said. “What is in a redesign for them?”

The issues she did discuss with DDR are not small ones — the problems with parking and valet service have cost the restaurants south of Shoreline Drive business and remain an ongoing concern for those owners.

But in the long term, finding the real “wow” for the Pike remains an elusive problem.

[LB Life07]

Details For Downtown Vision Will Wait For Study Money

By Kurt Helin
Editor

Making recently completed grand visioning plans for downtown a reality will take a more specific blueprint, and the money to develop those ideas.

Last week, the City Council said they want that detailed plan — as soon as they can find the money.

The council approved starting the work as soon as the needed $290,000 can be found in the city budget. When that will be is hard to say, although Second District Councilwoman Suja Lowenthal said she hopes that it can be this year.

While residential and commercial development has exploded downtown in the past few years, there have been concerns about the long-term future and growth of the area.

“I think downtown is at a development and transportation crossroads,” Lowenthal said.

To help guide the area through that crossroads, a resident-based “downtown visioning task force” was put together to look at where they wanted to see downtown evolve. That group made a presentation to the City Council last Tuesday.

The core of the plan is to have taller buildings in a more compact downtown (similar to New York or San Francisco). That would free up land to have more and better public spaces. The report also discusses the need for better public transportation and embracing both the waterfront and the arts.

One key suggestion is to encourage bold and interesting architecture downtown. Among the suggestions was mixing restored historic buildings and funky new architecture next to each other. Another goal should be to attract creative and technology-based businesses to the downtown core by bringing in companies that want to be in an urban environment and offer good paying jobs.

City Council members said they liked the plan.

“I think it’s essential for a first-class city to have a first-class downtown,” said Seventh District Councilwoman Tonia Reyes-Uranga.

However, transitioning from the broad strokes of the visioning effort to a concrete plan takes work, specifically coming up with a more detailed plan, then finding ways to incorporate it into the city’s building and zoning codes. That is something some downtown advocates have asked to see for years.

“There are parts where the zoning in downtown didn’t work (for projects coming in) and we were piece-mealing things together,” said First District Councilwoman Bonnie Lowenthal.

Putting that together will take considerable city staff time, plus there will be continued outreach and meetings in the community through the process, the council was told.

That costs money. With a very tight city budget currently before the council, the needed $290,000 to continue the evolution of this visioning process is not currently available, the council was told.

The council’s unanimous action last week will move the visioning process to the next level of detail once the money can be found, either through savings or unexpected windfall.

[LB Life07]

Lofts bring closure to CityPlace failed indoor mall
By Don Jergler, Staff columnist
Article Launched: 08/27/2007 12:00:00 AM PDT


Video: Realty Bites v-blog: A visit to the CityPlace lofts
The Redevelopment Agency continues to erase the remnants of the ill-fated Long Beach Plaza, bringing some closure to a bad memory left by the failed indoor mall and adding another piece of the puzzle to downtown's development jigsaw.

The first phase of CityPlace Lofts at Fourth Street and Elm Avenue is complete and more new downtown residents are already moved in.

The lofts, next to the Albertson's shopping center between Long Beach Boulevard and Elm, offer prices starting from $399,990 up to about $700,000 and sizes from 1,092 square feet to 2,085 square feet.

The $35 million CityPlace Lofts are a 72-unit condominium/loft project. The south building, Phase I, was completed in December 2006 and Phase II, the north building, is scheduled for completion in September 2007.

The Long Beach Plaza was


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Advertisement

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
demolished in 2000. The downtown Long Beach structure, built in the late 1970s, had become a prime example of failed enclosed retail.
Thanks to redevelopment, that failed mall was replaced with the roughly 475,000-square-foot CityPlace shopping center, a large apartment complex that weaves throughout the center and also fronts Pine Avenue.

"That mall really wasn't functioning," said Craig Beck, Redevelopment Bureau manager.

The Redevelopment Agency, which owned the land, spent $17 million to assist the project, including land write-downs and public improvements.

CityPlace includes more than 300 residential units on eight city blocks in the heart of downtown. Retail anchors include Nordstrom Rack, Ross Dress for Less, and Wal-Mart. The project includes 2,400 spaces of structured parking.

Many of the lofts have hardwood flooring. Lofts also include stainless steel appliances and granite kitchen countertops.

Phase I is 51 lofts, of which 17 have been sold, according Debbie Tucker, superintendent of the project.

Phase II is 21 lofts, and all lofts in that phase are up for sale.

The lofts, which the developer describes as contemporary, are spacious.

"They're all very nice and airy and they have nice finishes," Tucker said. "People like the openness. They can walk in and see everything as they walk through the door."

The developer dropped the asking prices on the lofts by about 10 percent off the original price.

"They took into consideration the market, and the fact that Long Beach is very competitive," Tucker said.

Call (310) 848-5153 for the sales office.

Don Jergler can be reached at don.jergler@presstelegram.com or (562) 499-1281.

[drisee]

not sure why people still search for ways to "fix" the pike. just start over and develop something new. clueless RDA folk with another lame project.

and city place lofts??!! not even fair to call those lofts. they're shitty condos that once again just make downtown worse, not fixing a damn thing.

the RDAs slogan should be "replacing blighted areas with blight". how can so many people be so clueless.

sorry to be mr. negative, but is there anything positive to talk about in regards to the downtown? anybody have some good news?

[yibs]

Some more people got shot recently. And if long beach is a first class city, then what is Paris or Venice? I wouldn't live here if i wasn't on the beach. The area around the cityplace condos is so dead at night, except for the wackos and thugs wandering around looking for adventure and fun.

[LAMetroGuy]

yibs, glad you risk your life on a daily basis for the privilege to live on the beach... you're a true example of a smart person!