[SantaCruzGuy]

I'm thinking of joining Golds Gym DT, but I am wondering...does that gym have free parking? I am on the run all the time, and I need to drive to work (fullerton) right after... so public transp. is out of the loop.

[regboi21]

Why are people on this message board saying some bad things about long beach honestly and truthfully long beach like all cities on planet earth has its bad places and its good places also it has bad people living there but at least the city long beach is being redeveloped for the better even though there are some projects like City Place mall which has the walmart which some people want to see go and the pike which was designed poorly (I think the pike shouldnt be torn down but improved because it would be to expensive and its practically brand new like 2 or 3 years old) but im sure that 30 or 40 years from now this city would get better like what is happening in downtown Los Angeles now.

[drisee]

i can't speak for everyone else but i sometimes have a negative view because i believe the area could be so much better then it is. it could be a world class "international city" if we just stepped it up but a switch needs to happen.

i don't think anyone living here wants to wait for 30-40 yrs for a good city to develop.

also, the fact is that mistakes that have been made in the past will happen again if don't learn from them.

you say that long beach is being developed for the better, do you have some examples of that? where do you see good things happening in the downtown? like you said the pike is only 2-3 yrs old so that should show you that current planning is still really off. we should demand more.

[yibs]

So are you saying that were lying about what we see in our own city? I don't care about city place. and i live near the pike, but don't go there because i can only eat so much food. There is no shopping in downtown. I only use the albertsons, and some of the independent stores on 1st street, otherwise it's off to the east side or into orange county. Sure every city has its bad, but long beach has a lot of it. You can't be first class when 20% of the people living within 5 miles are in poverty. All i ever see in this town is poverty and suffering on levels that i don't see in many other cities. One article said Detroit is worse off then us, well that is not too hard to see. Detroit has some of the worst neighborhoods in the whole nation. Not to mention there have been a ton of gang shootings in downtown recently. I'm so sick of thugs and wannabe gangbangers. I wonder when the rest of this city will get sick of them too, and stop protecting them with there civil rights accusations.

[regboi21]

MY example of long beach ca being redeveloped for the better are 1.In the central area of long beach blvd there are some properties that have been demolished and redeveloped like the olive court project and the mexican themed restaurant by the pacific coast highway metro blue line station also the once abandoned parking garage near the station that i mention above that will become a king taco restaurant in the future im sorry if i rubbed anyone the wrong way but im just trying to be positive about long beach.

[Nimdok]

Forgive me. Long time lurker/Long Beach resident who cannot let some of the critical comments on this board go without comment. In fact, it incenses me enough that I registered solely to post this one missive.

I've lived in Long Beach for 23 years, ranging from Belmont Shore to Bixby Knolls (current residence). I work for a major vendor to the city -- you would recognize the name -- and am that company's representative to the city, Port and other Long Beach institutions. I am also significantly involved in local charities and the arts. I love this city and what it has accomplished with very little help from outside our borders.

Ignoring the fact that the subject on the board has deviated from "tall buildings" and construction as a topic, I have to take exception to some of the posts belittling the progress made downtown and the ethnic mix of the residents.

Some of you are newer residents and may not be aware of how far downtown Long Beach has come in the last two decades. Yes, you're correct in that there is still a lot to be done, but considering the state of the area now versus in the mid-eighties some quite substantial work has been done. Pine Avenue in 1990 was a part of the city you would never visit after dark, becoming a virtual -- and dangerous -- ghost town once the sun went down. Many downtown tall buildings sat vacant, and those that were occupied were priced well below the LA region's price per square foot.

In the last ten years we have seen significantly higher occupancy rates, dramatic construction of downtown living space, and a complete renovation of the area from dangerous inner city to an active and vibrant entertainment district.

Yes. As I state above, a lot has to be done, and I agree that major projects like the Pike need special consideration/reconsideration. But again, if you are only recently transplanted you may not be aware of the complete makeover downtown has already achieved -- and should therefore understand where things began rather than do nothing more than complain about where they may be. And trying to demonstrate that a multicultural populace is a liability is both misguided and -- frankly, considering Long Beach is proudly the most "diverse big city" in America according to TIME magazine -- contrary to the city's stated goals for the future.

Downtown is still a work in progress, but the road behind is much longer than the one ahead. The fact you'd even consider buying downtown is itself a testament to the work that has been accomplished. There is a lot for us to be proud of as residents, and much to look forward to in the near future. Long Beach moving forward in the changeover from a wounded and declining community when the Navy and Boeing left town, to an admired example of a bootstraps community effort at renewal, and we're doing so much faster than many other cities in the country. If what has been done isn't to your taste, may I recommend you examine St Louis, Atlanta and Miami for possible comparisons.

That stated, I will resume lurking in the hopes this board returns to the stated purpose, which is the discussion of tall buildings and other construction.

[drisee]

MY example of long beach ca being redeveloped for the better are 1.In the central area of long beach blvd there are some properties that have been demolished and redeveloped like the olive court project and the mexican themed restaurant by the pacific coast highway metro blue line station also the once abandoned parking garage near the station that i mention above that will become a king taco restaurant in the future im sorry if i rubbed anyone the wrong way but im just trying to be positive about long beach.

i'll agree with those projects, i think they have a small effect on the image of downtown, but it's a very small effect. why, because they're too far out to put it simply.

Olive court is a good example of what frustrates me about downtown. From what i can see so far (i haven't toured the property) its a great example of stylish affordable housing. it's well designed from the outside and i think will attract a good group of people to invest in it. sure, it's not in the greatest spot but it sets the mark for the surrrouding area and that's a good thing. there is a project near sunset junction in LA right of sunset that looks very similar just to give you an of how nice this project is and how fortunate we are to have it so close to us.

So what frustrates me is that we have new developments going up in the downtown right now that aren't even as attractive as olive court. keep in mind olive court is built for the economically challenged. the projects in downtown i'm referring to are for people of normal economic status and look like crap from the outside. who gives a shit what they look like from the inside, i realize that's important as well but what's more important for the rise of this city is what they look like from the outside, because that attracts new residents to the area when they see a great looking up and coming city. i'm referring to projects like the cityplace lofts, new promenade developments and the future west gateway projects. these higher end projects look like crap and certainly don't set the bar. if anything they just give us more of the same.

so since this is a discussion board lets discuss it. would anyone like to argue the merits of those projects. keep in mind long beach is trying to turn itself around and position itself as a non walmart/city place/pike city. we're trying to be a world class international city. do these projects cut the mustard?

[drisee]

Nimdok. Glad to have you join the discussion. Couple comments in return.

First, i think all our discussions relate back to the site nicely. they all relate to building a great city. it would be quite boring if all we talked about was tall buildings as there is much more to building a great city then just putting in some tall buildings. i like the direction the discussion has gone and more people seem to be interested in the chats then ever before, which is great. We even got you to come off the bench and get into the game.

All i had to see from your comment below is the part about having lived here for 23 yrs and i could have assumed the rest. With all due respect, this is the same conversation that anyone has that has been here for a while will spout. Basically that DT was so crappy that anything is better then we had then and we should be doing backflips over how much progress we've made over the last 10 yrs.

all we've really done is ride the back of the housing boom and the resurgence of downtown loft living. but the reality is that other cities/downtowns have done a much better job at taking advantage of those market conditions while they lasted. basically if we were investors our rate of return on the investment we've made would be about average lets say in comparison to the returns that other cities have been able to produce.

the reason other cities have seen a better return is because they actually had a plan that allowed them to take advantage of the changing market conditions. i ask you, what have we really done. in your own words you say that we've created "higher occupancy rates, dramatic construction of downtown living space, and a complete renovation of the area from dangerous inner city to an active and vibrant entertainment district." so basically we've built some new condos and put some cops on the streets.

if you're really a fan of history, then perhaps you realize that downtown has gone up and down for decades. whose to say that it can't go back downhill again. if all we have around here is a bunch of guys backslapping about the fact that people can actually walk around at night that's exactly what might happen. we need to build a smart sustainable city for the future and that takes smart planning, not just a bunch of new condos surrounded by piss poor entertainment options such as the pike and city place.

i can assume that most people that moved to the area moved here for a couple different reasons. one was that the price per sq foot is cheaper then most surrounding cities for property this close to the beach. the other more important reason is that they saw the potential. the people on here that are being negative are only pointing out the flaws so that hopefully we can reach out true potential as opposed to just saying, hell, this place is heaven, you should have been here 20 yrs ago.

so i urge you to look around, walk around, take in the city. then travel to a really great progressive city to get an idea of how far we still have to go. perhaps then you won't be so pro current downtown. you'll realize that sure, we've come along way but if we stop too long to smell the roses we'll be even further behind the 8-ball.

and who said that a multicultural populace was a liability? trash comes in all colors, white, black, yellow, brown, etc. class comes in all colors too. personally i would rather live around people with class. at least that's all i'm saying.

[tujunga]

http://www.monumenttohumanity.org/components/com_fpslideshow/images/monument.jpg
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)

A monument like this would be so cool underneath the flight path of LAX to greet people as they arrive into the city, it need fire too. :)

[tujunga]

http://www.monumenttohumanity.org/components/com_fpslideshow/images/monument.jpg
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)

A monument like this would be so cool underneath the flight path of LAX to greet people as they arrive into the city, it needs fire too. :)

[regboi21]

How come when the city planners decides to get new building projects to be built in long beach it ends up being a disaster in a way example when city place was built the loading and unloading areas of the stores like walmart were facing towards long beach blvd when it should be the other way around and some of the present stores should have been facing towards long beach blvd cause honestly that don't seem right also the Edgewater was supposed to break ground in june or july but now they say that they will start construction 2 years from now that is really confusing if you ask me my point is do these developers not realize that their projects like the pike don't seem to turn out right thats all for now chao.

[yibs]

Nimdok, most of downtown still is a ghost town at night. People get mugged on pine ave all the time. I sometimes see handfulls of people walking around, and alot of the times it's groups of people that look shady. Comparing things now to where they were 20 years ago is not viable. Anything is better then what was here 20 years ago, that doesn't prove anything to me. Somebody was shot and killed last night on locust while being mugged, again! How many times do i have to read the paper and see more robberies downtown. more shootings/stabbings downtown? It just gets really old. and has stopped alot of people and businesses from moving here.

[lbguymetro]

nimdok, i agree with your opinion...my exact feeling about long beach is that it is a beautiful city, im happy being here as it is as nice as other cities and i do understand that we just cant wait for it to blossom into its full potential ...on the other hand, i also agree in one comment that all long beach needs is a switch so that people will start to completely notice it as a destination...this forum has been discussing multiple issues about long beach...major issues must be resolved so that solutions to other problems will follow...we shouldn't cry too much over a spilled milk..we've heard enough and got sick of petty complaints.... hugh!..what is the switch then ? maybe it's high-end retail...and where should that start? the city has to decide a center area for shopping where people can find a mixture of national and eclectic chain stores...if ever it's the pike, its exterior and landscape must exude an aura that made LA the grove triumph...i think this is one major switch that long beach needs....anybody heard here what the "big cow theory" means? ....we need a healthy social environment.....then we might discover that people don't have to be of a certain race to become a decent looking, classy resident of long beach for they will start becoming conscious of how they behave and present themselves....we can never erase the unique diversity in long beach but hopefully, we can inspire its residents to blend with the fine manners of the majority...

[lbguymetro]

what i mean sorry is the , "purple cow theory" in business:)

[yibs]

Lack Of Follow Through
Deadly To Pike, Projects



















It starts with the vision thing.

A decade or so ago, the vision was about all there was at the Pike at Rainbow Harbor. The harbor itself was barely off the drawing board.

There was a vision, though, of a vibrant downtown waterfront anchored by an aquarium and a “21st Century retail and entertainment destination.”

Drive down Shoreline Drive most weekends, or visit Friday and Saturday night, and you might be tempted to say the vision has become reality. There certainly are plenty of folk trying to get in at Gladstone’s, P.F. Chang’s and the rest of the restaurants on the south side of the road. From Pine Avenue, at least, the north side of Shoreline seems plenty busy too, with full patios at Auld Dubliner and California Pizza Kitchen, and glimpse of people wandering the Pike interior, where Gameworks and CineMark can be found.

But anything more than a cursory glance, and it is clear the vision of a decade ago has lost something in the execution. No, make that lost a lot in the execution.

The actual waterfront is coming close to the dream. The harbor is filled with unusual and interesting floating attractions. The esplanade is hopping from the Aquarium of the Pacific and Bubba Gump’s to Shoreline Village and Parkers’ Lighthouse. Speaking of lighthouses, the Lions’ Lighthouse for Sight and surrounding park is a gem.

But the complex across the way is simply sad. What originally was supposed to be an innovative, cutting edge mixed use project that would become a regional draw has become a reflection of centers found in suburbia around the country. As much as we might love Islands and Cold Stone Creamery, we can find them at plenty of other spots. Borders? We love it. But we know of plenty of Borders stores where the parking is more convenient.

This is a regional draw? We don’t think so.

This result was a matter of execution, not necessarily vision. Developers Diversified Realty, the owner, struggled to find enough partners to complete the original vision, and was being pressured by city folk (rightly so) to start building something to complement the city-backed aquarium. DDR pushed back with requests for concessions to accommodate companies who were willing to sign leases.

The complex is now 90% plus leased. That’s a success in a developer’s world. The same can’t be said for a city’s desire to create something special.

There’s plenty of blame to go around for the less than stellar result. There’s the private developer intent on the bottom line, the city bureaucracy required by circumstance — and politics — to take what they could get, the simple fact that Southern California had enough Old Towne Pasadenas, Third Street Promenades and Universal Citywalks.

It starts with the vision thing, but it really requires the execution to become the real deal. That, in turn, requires a leadership with its own vision and with a backbone capable of standing up to the pressures of reality.

It’s possible that Long Beach will get another crack at The Pike down the road, likely when DDR decides the time is right to take its profits and run by selling. In the meantime, there are other critical developments that we must prepare for.

It will require vision and a vast amount of perseverance to take advantage of the city’s landmark, the Queen Mary. What kind of wow can compete with the overwhelming industrial presence of the Port of Long Beach? Nothing small, that’s for sure.

Master planning of areas such as southeast Long Beach (SEADIP to the cognoscenti), the Atlantic Avenue and Long Beach Boulevard corridors, etc., are by definition all about vision. But we would argue that the application of that vision is just as important.

Find the visionaries, but also find the folk capable of maintaining the vision and turning it into reality. Only then will we avoid the moniker of “Food Court by the Sea.”

[yibs]

Long Beach is only nice on the waterfront, and some of the rich neighborhoods on the east side. Ever notice that the camera on abc news only shows the waterfront area, because if they turned the camera slightly inward it would show a not so pretty town. I believe that crime has kept many away from this city. People still have an impression that long beach is full of gangs, drugs, and violence, and in reality that is true for many parts of this city. Take a drive around downtown and go past 6 st. Then all you see is typical ghetto. Liquor store, pawn shop, check cashing places, 99 cent stores. This is the real long beach, and not the little waterfront bubble that is projected to the outside. If i was a tourist and looked at the long beach website, i would think hey i am going to be in paradise. Then when you get here you realize it is nothing like the website promised, and i don't know about you, but i would not come back to a place that was that misleading. The website never says that the ghetto is right near by. This is not hollywood and miracle mile where people come from all around to visit. The problem is this city has tried to build a tourist destination, and they have thrown us locals to the side of the road. All they had to do was build a downtown that the locals would love, and that would attract tourists. I want to give money to the local businesses down here, but a lot of the shops are for tourists, and i don't need to buy shit that says long beach on it when i already live here. Build a town that your residents love, and the tourists will always follow. Build a town that the residents don't love, and you will sit there scratching your head wondering where things went wrong. Sadly the above article is right. No changes at the pike will happen unless ddr sells the place, and that might take a while when ddr claims that the pike is a great success.

[drisee]

yibs. great article below, where is that one from. it's right on in terms of the pike. i personally don't think the initial vision made sense for the city and then on top of that the execution as we all know it was piss poor. i really hope the city learned its lesson about working with clueless developers who only care about the bottom line and could care less about the city.

your other comments are right on as well. i've been saying the same thing for a while now in regards to supporting the locals. we should all start to promote the simple thought of promoting the locals. support the locals, build this city for us and the rest will follow. stop believing the bull shit pr the city spews out and recognize the word on the street. build us a great city and we'll be your pr agency. it's a simple thought that most people overlook because they're too busy thinking up home run ideas with shitty developers.

grab a clue long beach, your city is special on a smaller boutique level, stop trying to be everything that you're not and figure out how to be yourself, be authentic for once.

[LB Life07]

DOMA finds downtown L.B. a successful market
By Don Jergler, Staff columnist
Article Launched: 09/03/2007 12:00:00 AM PDT


Scott Hamilton takes a Zen-like philosophy on the chicken and egg question. As principal of DOMA, a real estate marketing company focused on downtown Long Beach, Hamilton and company have worked the past few years to market residential properties in downtown by promising residents that the streets would be alive with retailers, restaurants, bars and entertainment.

Three out of four isn't bad. Downtown Long Beach, and Pine Avenue in particular, has a plethora of restaurants, bars and clubs.

But when it comes to retail, the promise that Hamilton and others have made to draw residents to the area's plentiful and spacious historic lofts is still unfulfilled (there are four store fronts sitting vacant at the corner of a key intersection of Pine Avenue).

Those who have been working to market the area over the years have had two philosophies: when the area achieves a critical mass of residents with spending capabilities the retail will come; or, when the area begins to be seen as a thriving place in which to live, shop and play, residents will come and bring more retail.

But Hamilton has combined both philosophies.

He and his DOMA partners Steve Titus and Tim Carr recently opened their new
18,000-square-foot, $6 million headquarters in the city's historic Walker Building at 401 Pine Ave.
There, DOMA, a real estate sales and marketing company founded in 2001, is both occupying vacant retail space and bringing residents to downtown.

"We see that the type of buyer who's buying in downtown doesn't necessarily match the demographic of the Census data that retailers are looking at," Hamilton said.

That data is based on the incomes of people who have been living in downtown, not on those who have been moving into downtown, he said.

That's helped sell lofts to residents, and helped place tenants in the Walker building, Hamilton said.

"We took a building that was vacant for 20 years and we tenanted it up in three months," he said of the ground floor space in the Walker building.

Walker believes downtown will eventually catch on for retailers.

"Eventually people are going to catch on that they can actually succeed by opening a storefront in downtown," he said, adding that the downtown lofts will continue to be the area's strong point. "Unlike most loft scenes, we actually do have historic buildings that are located in a truly urban environment."

The partners acquired the headquarters in the Walker Building for $5 million and invested more than $1 million in renovation. Another 11,500 square feet of space has been dedicated to retailers and other businesses, which include 530medialab, Senses Day Spa, The Olson Company and Countrywide.

More than 30 DOMA representatives are at the new headquarters, which features open ceilings and utilizes raw materials like polished concrete, glass and wood.

DOMA's Web site, www.domapropert

ies.com, invites visitors to view photos of properties, e-mail listings or register on an Interest list.

The company has represented projects such as:

The Walker Building; the 556-unit, twin-tower AQUA condominiums on Ocean Boulevard; the 390-unit Stadium Lofts project in Anaheim's Platinum Triangle; the Courtyard Lofts in downtown Long Beach; the Appleton building in Long Beach; The Insurance Exchange building in downtown Long Beach; the Pan American Lofts in downtown Los Angeles; the 216-loft Santee Village project in downtown Los Angeles; the 72-unit City Place condominiums in downtown Long Beach; and the 158-loft Pine at Sixth building in downtown Long Beach.

Hamilton acknowledged that loft sales will be impacted by the real estate slowdown.

"Most of the builders have automatically reacted to it," he said.

Builders have already adjusted their pricing and project plans to reflect the changes and the slower sales rates, he said.

"They will adjust and things will start moving again," he said. "It's a lot like the stock market: It takes a little bit of belief before it happens. You just have to invest in it and watch it grow."

For more information about DOMA Properties, visit www.domaproperties.com or call (888) 472-5638.

[SantaCruzGuy]

Too much negativity...
Let's turn this forum a tad bit happier and gay (hahaha):
Where are the good gay bars and clubs here? =p :cheers:
I keep looking for them online, and i only get one or two options... Is that it?

[staraman]

I only know of Mick and Macks since I live a few blocks from there. I'm sure if you go in, you can just ask the folks there about other spots. Long Beach has the 2nd largest gay population in Greater Los Angeles... supposed to be several places on Broadway.

[sopas ej]

Long Beach has the 2nd largest gay population in Greater Los Angeles...

Some even say that Long Beach has a bigger gay population than the City of San Francisco.

But regardless, and I don't wanna stereotype, but because of that large demographic, you'd think the shopping would be better. You'd think that with a large gay population, Long Beach would have a Pottery Barn, Restoration Hardware and an H&M!

[PromenadeIrishmen]

Nimdok, most of downtown still is a ghost town at night. People get mugged on pine ave all the time. I sometimes see handfulls of people walking around, and alot of the times it's groups of people that look shady. Comparing things now to where they were 20 years ago is not viable. Anything is better then what was here 20 years ago, that doesn't prove anything to me. Somebody was shot and killed last night on locust while being mugged, again! How many times do i have to read the paper and see more robberies downtown. more shootings/stabbings downtown? It just gets really old. and has stopped alot of people and businesses from moving here.

Please Boys Please ! Although there are reports of crime increase in downtown Long Beach on a weekly calendar. But as a new resident of the 133 Promenade I find that the shady people aren’t the problem, it’s the people that come from out of town to come in for the night for a wild one get completely wasted and try to tempt the other idiots running a muck on the streets, the homeless that are there are trying to do one thing get some work or make money in any way they can, the shelter takes them in but it still coasts them $12 a day. There not bad people. Your mistaking me for the shady folk im the one that is out trying to scare the people that are coming in not appreciating the town. And the streets are full of police at all hours. Just last night I decided to see how fast they can react to a 911 call with a scuffle in the parking lot underneath my balcony…45 seconds and there were two cars and two bikes. Pretty good work on the LB PD I can’t complain about that. And we know as things move forward with the up and out of it all you can image how much safer and nicer it will become.

[staraman]

Love the Promenade... I have a unit there, but it's leased out for the moment. Can't wait to move-in myself.

Yes I do think there's a bit too much negtivity on the board right now. Long Beach will continue to improve. It's just going to take some time.

My friend grew up in San Diego and has said repeatedly that it was far worse than the current state of Long Beach. He said 15 years ago nobody dared to venture downtown at night. So yes, maybe Long Beach could have done even more to progress, but then again San Diego did not suffer from the same economic blows.

Anyway, the current state of housing may actually help Long Beach as commercial real estate tends to fair well when housing is down and vica-versa so I think the retailers are coming, but the City planners knew they had to pull in more high-income folks first to lure in the luxury retailers as well.


BTW, neat job on your artwork :tup:

[lbguymetro]

yeah , lets paint this forum with an optimistic view of long beach...the first time i joined this here, negativity has been my observation with some of the posts...its perfectly permissible to welcome criticisms on the downside of this city but the contents of some posts just made me feverish, especially with one post citing that long beach will always be a "ghetto"....one could enumerate myriads of complaints about the city but to have this collective prejudice about this place is truly a display of pessimism and misery....and clearly, thats not the kind of atmosphere we want to have here albeit we want to air our positive and negative views about the city ...

[lbguymetro]

yeah , lets paint this forum with an optimistic view of long beach...the first time i joined here, negativity has been my observation with some of the posts...its perfectly permissible to welcome criticisms on the downside of this city but the contents of some posts just made me feverish, especially with one post citing that long beach will always be a "ghetto"....one could enumerate myriads of complaints about the city but to have this collective prejudice about this place is truly a display of pessimism and misery....and clearly, thats not the kind of atmosphere we want to have here albeit we want to air our positive and negative views about the city ...

[SantaCruzGuy]

We live in a society where negativity and fear are far more interesting to people than the good in life...

[MooneyFWD]

It's good to see fellow residents of the Promenade on the board! :cheers:

Any news on the hotel thats is supposed to be going up across Broadway from us? My balcony looks right at it and I don't see them even clearing out the cars yet.

Also, has anyone been able to tour the West Ocean towers? I'd like to walk through them just to check them out.

I love my unit at 133 Promenade. It's definitely exceeded my expectations as a first time home buyer (even though I'm still waiting for my closet doors for the bedroom :shrug: )

[drisee]

right on about the positivity. lets talk about the positive stuff happening in downtown...anybody got anything...any news?

[ChrisLA]

Does anyone know whats going on at the corner of 3rd & Pine? Why did all of the businesses move out. Each corner is empty, and only the F&M Bank occupy one of them. Is there some new development happening because right now its now an eyesore, and what was once a corner with fairly decent activity now is dead.

[drisee]

well that's not positive...anybody else?

[InsExchLoft_dweller]

Does anyone know whats going on at the corner of 3rd & Pine? Why did all of the businesses move out. Each corner is empty, and only the F&M Bank occupy one of them. Is there some new development happening because right now its now an eyesore, and what was once a corner with fairly decent activity now is dead.

Not trying to spread rumors but I heard there are discussions with H&M for that corner. In the meantime, the artwork being displayed looks quite nice.

The hotel is a mystery... but we are currently negotiating where our parking lot is going to be moved so...

[LAMetroGuy]

Not trying to spread rumors but I heard there are discussions with H&M for that corner. In the meantime, the artwork being displayed looks quite nice.

The hotel is a mystery... but we are currently negotiating where our parking lot is going to be moved so...


An H&M would be a great catalyst to spark retail along pine and the upcoming promenade! I hope it comes through!

Yeah, the hotel and edgewater are taking way too long...

[PromenadeIrishmen]

An H&M would be a great catalyst to spark retail along pine and the upcoming promenade! I hope it comes through!

Yeah, the hotel and edgewater are taking way too long...

Heya Hey whatever they come up with for restaurant / retail space to fill the nearby areas around the Promenade im all for it, ill be applying for work at one of them in order to make ends meet with this DAM HOA bill every month. Just can’t work at a Italian place because im Irish and Pinkberry is just....well Pinkberry. Been living above it for 5 months and only tried it once.

As for the hotel cant wait, I love new construction always a fan….disregarding the fact I no longer have a parking lot across the street where I can store my boat, anyone have an idea of anything in the area I might be able to look into storing it?

[regboi21]

Do you guys think the long beach blvd corridor from 7th st to willow st should be like wilshire blvd in downtown los angeles in the future i think future developers should build more highrises along this important corridor and help put the metro blue line from willow station to transit mall station underground so that could free up more road space for car traffic or turn the right of way into a bike/jogging trail and have subway stations entrance and exits at the current ones.

[yibs]

That sounds like a cool idea, but i don't think the city has the money or know how to even start something like that. What is miracle mile now took decades to emerge. There is no quick fix to making long beach great, just needs lots of time, and really good planning. The hotel and edgewater should start breaking in 2-4 years from what i heard. Things take way too long in this town, but it is what it is.

[yibs]

http://www.lbreport.com/editorial/sept07/edsalta3.htm

[regboi21]

How come some of the highrise projects in downtown like the edgewater condos takes so long to breakground cause on this thread the edgewater condos was to start in june or july but it might take 2 or 4 years to start construction also do you all have any pictures or an update on the project going on on long beach blvd and aneheim by the metro blue line station thanx.

[yibs]

The demand for urban high rise condos has dropped big time over the past couple years. Most of the already built places still have lots of empty units, so it's common sense that all of these plans are now on hold or could even be taken off. I had a thought after recently going to San Francisco, that a good sign to see when you have a bustling city is taxis driving around everywhere, and in long beach you have to call one, you can't flag one down like in other major cities. So to me that is a sign that will show if and when long beach makes it. Number 1 goal for downtown is safety. You can not expect business or tourists to come if they have to worry about violence or robberies, and i know many people myself who like east long beach, but don't go near downtown because of the problems, and i don't blame them.

[regboi21]

What do you guys think Long beach's skyline would look like 50 years from now


A. San Deigo

B.San Francisco

C.Los Angeles

D.Chicago

[LAMetroGuy]

Luxury hotel planned at Pike
Boutique hotel to include 138 rooms, rooftop pool; '09 opening expected.
By Don Jergler, Staff writer
Long Beach Press Telegram
Article Launched:09/26/2007 12:00:00 AM PDT

LONG BEACH - Construction on a new hotel in downtown Long Beach that was slated to be built more than two years ago is now underway - with a new completion date and a different brand.
The new hotel going up at the Pike at Rainbow Harbor shopping and entertainment center by the harbor is part of a new boutique hotel collection called AVIAs that will be better than the one originally planned, an executive with the hotel builder said on Tuesday.

The hotel, which will be situated next to the Pike parking structure, will have upgraded interiors and more services than the one originally planned, and it's set to open in the spring of 2009, an official for hotel builder Wichita, Kan.-based LogeWorks LP said Tuesday.

When it was first announced in 2004 that a long-term lease for the spot to build the hotel was signed, developers on the LogeWorks project said completion was slated for 2005.

The 7-story hotel will feature a rooftop pool, 138 rooms and a bar and a bistro on the ground floor.

Rates will be comparable to the higher priced hotels in downtown Long Beach, said LogeWorks executive Cheryl Doll.

"We are going to be competitive with the top of the market, with Westin (Long Beach) and the others," Doll said.

The hotel was originally slated as a Sierra Suites, but conversations with city officials and a look at the area's growing convention and tourism business convinced company executives that Long Beach was the spot for a boutique hotel, Doll said.

"We are going more upscale," she said.

Not only will be rooms will be more expensive than LogeWorks' Sierra brand hotels, but the hotel will offer bell and valet services, and have nicer amenities, such as bed turndown, she said.

The AVIA will feature an interior tree sculpture that replicates a mini-forest, and indoor lounges with retractable walls. In-room features include spa-inspired bathrooms, high-definition televisions and iPod connections.
The hotel will have the same number of rooms, and the same amount of meeting room space as the one originally planned, Doll said.

Setbacks with construction planning and the process of changing the development to a boutique hotel played a hand in delaying the project, Doll said.

"We were set back about six months by the concept shift alone," Doll said.

The first AVIA hotel breaks ground this month in Savannah, Ga., and is set to open in December 2008. Subsequent openings are planned in Long Beach and Napa.

LogeWorks executives chose the Pike because it's near the Long Beach Convention & Entertainment Center, and it's near "the nighttime entertainment hub" on Pine Avenue, Doll said.

Tourism officials cheered the thought of bringing a boutique concept to Long Beach.

"It's a great location, and it's also a marketing niche that has not yet been filled in Long Beach - we do not currently have a boutique hotel," said Long Beach Convention & Visitors Bureau President and CEO Steve Goodling.

There are now plans for three boutique hotels in Long Beach.

The Coast Hotel near the Queen Mary is being converted to Joie de Vivre. The conversion to a boutique hotel is set to begin in the winter. The hotel is set to remain open during the change.

The Hotel Esterel, a four-star, 165-room boutique hotel on the Promenade is set to break ground at the end of this year.

Boutique hotels, often smaller and incorporating more intimate interior architectures, are gaining in popularity and are a sign that an area has a strong tourism base, Goodling said.

"The boutique lodging product tends to be edgier, and offer a more intimate feeling," Goodling said.

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

[PromenadeIrishmen]

What do you guys think Long beach's skyline would look like 50 years from now


A. San Deigo

B.San Francisco

C.Los Angeles

D.Chicago


Not to be a shmuck but how about option
E. Long Beach :D
http://img133.imagevenue.com/loc73/th_35534_STRONG_BEACH_122_73lo.jpg (http://img133.imagevenue.com/img.php?image=35534_STRONG_BEACH_122_73lo.jpg)

[LAMetroGuy]

New render and logo for the AVIA by LodgeWorks:


http://www.lodgeworks.com/lwcs/images/header/logo_longbeach.jpg
http://www.lodgeworks.com/lwcs/images/map.jpg

[regboi21]

Does anyone have any info on the project that is proposed on the parcel that currently has a burger king restaurant a old studio apartment building and a bank its pacific ave right by the metro blue line pacific station and the former top value grocery store also what ways do you guys think downtown could be a more safer place to live work and play.

[PromenadeIrishmen]

Does anyone have any info on the project that is proposed on the parcel that currently has a burger king restaurant a old studio apartment building and a bank its pacific ave right by the metro blue line pacific station and the former top value grocery store also what ways do you guys think downtown could be a more safer place to live work and play.


I have a good idea, have the police that pulled me over for a no seat belt ticket on Monday night and put them on bike duty they seam to have there eyes open for anything, I sure am glad if attended the charity for them at the Blues Cafe on Saturday as if they didn't get enough money out of me by choice now im forced to pay them.
:cheers:

But all seriousness the few things that can be done to improve safer place to live to live in Downtown im sure are already being done, but its going to take more than the city works to improve on it. is there any form of neighborhood watch in place, or monthly meetings for a little bit of a pow wow for the city safety. Little things can help a lot for each others neighbors.

[PromenadeIrishmen]

New render and logo for the AVIA by LodgeWorks:


http://www.lodgeworks.com/lwcs/images/header/logo_longbeach.jpg
http://www.lodgeworks.com/lwcs/images/map.jpg

http://img148.imagevenue.com/aAfkjfp01fo1i-13854/loc805/44069_avia_122_805lo.jpg

[PromenadeIrishmen]

3

[yibs]

http://www.presstelegram.com/news/ci_7009951

And making downtown safer would be nice, but you would have to get rid of a lot of the crime element out of the area. Sadly there are a lot of bad people living in downtown, and the city has designated downtown as a low income area for housing for lower income families. Notice that most city officials live on the east side, and then people wonder why they want all the poor people to live downtown. I was yelled at by bums on the west side saying get out of our park, it's for homeless people only. I told then to f off, and get a life. I'm so sick of these people. Nobody wants to come to a town where your bothered with that kind of stuff. Well San Francisco can be bad, but makes up for it in being a such a beautiful world class city.

[InsExchLoft_dweller]

I have a good idea, have the police that pulled me over for a no seat belt ticket on Monday night and put them on bike duty they seam to have there eyes open for anything, I sure am glad if attended the charity for them at the Blues Cafe on Saturday as if they didn't get enough money out of me by choice now im forced to pay them.
:cheers:

But all seriousness the few things that can be done to improve safer place to live to live in Downtown im sure are already being done, but its going to take more than the city works to improve on it. is there any form of neighborhood watch in place, or monthly meetings for a little bit of a pow wow for the city safety. Little things can help a lot for each others neighbors.
It sounds like a lot of people, even us on the thread, bought into the pitch that downtown is this great city... now that we know it's not - we need to try to change things. I know this thread is about "new developements" but let's face it, all these pretty renderings are crap and that's why I don't read the thread so much anymore... time has proven that all these renderings are just that, renderings. Now that this thread seems to be more about, hey what the hell is going on and why is this city still a pile of shit, i'm going to come back more often. Here's a group of residents trying to make a difference.


North Pine Neighborhood Alliance

MEETING NOTICE-
Monday, October 1st, 6:00pm at King's Fish House on Pine- Community Room

This next meeting will set the tone, agenda, and leadership for the North Pine Neighborhood Alliance for the next year. The meeting will be conducted in an open forum so that all NPNA residents will have the opportunity to help develop the goals and priorities of our association.

Your input is very important!

AGENDA

Develop goals for NPNA
Pass the NPNA Bylaws
Elect open executive board positions
Form committees
Make a difference inour neighborhood....see you all on Monday.

Robert Garcia

NPNA President

[Ruby]

Hi,
Hi, everyone. I am new to the Forum. I am buying a place in the Aqua Tower and it is going into escrow next Monday.

Originally, we were going to purchase a loft in downtown LA. We reserved a 1 bedroom unit in a historic building called Roosevelt which is located right across from Macy’s. The unit is on the 4th floor facing 7th street and it comes with one leased parking space, free for ten years only. I have been very skeptical of DTLA but my hubby thinks it has potential. There are numerous homeless people strolling around and even doing their bathroom business right in front of the building. :slob: The whole place smells like a public toilet. Most of the ground level retail spaces along that street are empty and it looks so run down. Before we signed the final contract, we inspected the unit and found out the advertised 913 sqt living area turned out to be only 750 sqt; the developer includes all the exterior walls and façade into the calculation. Then unbelievably, the purchase price in the contract was 3% higher than what we reserved it for.(@#x*!) That was the last straw and we canceled the reservation right away.

I’ve always loved to own an ocean view condo so we started looking at Long Beach along Ocean Blvd and we were shocked when we saw downtown Long Beach; it is renovated since the last time we were there and that was 15 years ago. We actually owned a rental place in Belmont Heights we still had no idea the development that has been happening. We walked in the Aqua Tower and we were sold in seconds. I got so much more with less money compared with the stupid loft in DTLA. I can own a 2 bedroom apartment on the 15th floor with an unobstructed frontal view of the ocean and that comes with 2 car deeded parking. We actually got more excited as we discovered that there are some type of urban living in the area within walking distance; restaurants along pine street, the pike and the rainbow harbor. Oceanfront combined with urban living, this is so unique in Los Angeles and I am still wondering why I didn't know about this before.

[drisee]

InsExchDweller. This NPNA thing looks cool. In my opinion that's the type of stuff needed for this downtown. Screw waiting around for the city to develop something and make some changes. I'm going to try and make it out.

That goes along with what i think this city needs to make it more safe. we need a better environment to walk around in. something more conducive to getting out, getting to know your neighbor and activating the streets. Busy streets are safe streets. beautiful streets are busy streets.

as for this last post by Ruby. I call BULL SHIT. You sound like a shitty buzz marketer hired to spread good pr about Aqua. Thanks but no thanks, take your anti DTLA yeah for Long Beach crap somewhere else. Aqua and its fake art deco look bum me out.

[LAMetroGuy]

drisee,

I'm sick and tired of your stupid posts on this thread. Ever since you started posting here, all you do is bitch and moan about downtown Long Beach. Why don't you take your agoraphobic ass out of the city and move to orange county where you can walk freely and far away from any ethnic "cholos". To call bullshit on Ruby is pure conjecture and totally uncalled for.

I live in Aqua and I support Ruby's sentiment and just because you don't feel the same way, well that is your problem. I love having a deeded parking spot, a great ocean view and being walking distance to restaurants and the Pike. Like always, you are quick to point out architecture that you don't like but we have yet to see what architectural wonder you live in... the place you choose to call home, the location where you spend your monthly rent or mortgage... how divine must this place be? I know that you "just want what is best for the city" but that tired sentiment is just not working for me. Yeah a city of a population of 500k needs work, are you really that surprised? What utopian city did you think you lived in? No city is without flaws, we are finding ours and fixing as we go... but that isn't good enough for you and yet you still shell out a monthly fee for the privilege of living in a place you despise... you are a clever one~!

And to Ruby's point, yes the area in and around the Roosevelt in downtown LA is a cesspool (but that will change in the future) but it is the reality today... deal with it!

[Ruby]

drisee,
You really should chill off. I am a new member to the forum and soon to the community of Downtown LB, I expect welcome and courtesy from fellow community members, not unfound hostilily. I am here to share my exciting news of acquiring a new home, hoping people living around the neighborhood can give me some encouragement and guidelines before we move in. Your attitude really puzzles me since you assume anyone who would buy in DTLB now must be marketing for some body while at the same time you had chosen to live in the same area. If I am bullsh*ting, forgive me to say that, you and I are soon to be living in the same pile of sh*t. I guess your pile would be more sh*tly since you are in it longer than I. After the credit crunch, the real estate bubble has busted. No active marketing can sell a property anymore; the property needs to sell itself based on its own uniqueness and appeal to different types of people. Aqua doesn't need me to market for them since they are almost sold out.

In your post, you seem to be eager to meet your neighbors so together we can build a better place to live, play and enjoy. However, at the same time, you are telling me, a soon to be your new neighbor to take my crap somewhere else. Mutual respect and tolerance for people who might have a different opinion than you is the corner stone for starting a strong community. Why sound like a bitter, beaten, tired old soul when you can be so much more?

[LAMetroGuy]

drisee,
You really should chill off. I am a new member to the forum and soon to the community of Downtown LB, I expect welcome and courtesy from fellow community members, not unfound hostilily. I am here to share my exciting news of acquiring a new home, hoping people living around the neighborhood can give me some encouragement and guidelines before we move in. Your attitude really puzzles me since you assume anyone who would buy in DTLB now must be marketing for some body while at the same time you had chosen to live in the same area. If I am bullsh*ting, forgive me to say that, you and I are soon to be living in the same pile of sh*t. I guess your pile would be more sh*tly since you are in it longer than I. After the credit crunch, the real estate bubble has busted. No active marketing can sell a property anymore; the property needs to sell itself based on its own uniqueness and appeal to different types of people. Aqua doesn't need me to market for them since they are almost sold out.

In your post, you seem to be eager to meet your neighbors so together we can build a better place to live, play and enjoy. However, at the same time, you are telling me, a soon to be your new neighbor to take my crap somewhere else. Mutual respect and tolerance for people who might have a different opinion than you is the corner stone for starting a strong community. Why sound like a bitter, beaten, tired old soul when you can be so much more?

Well said!!! :cheers:

Ruby, welcome to SSP and Aqua!

[drisee]

LaMetro. With all due respect, i feel like we got off on the wrong foot somewhere. now i can either A) be a dick back to you or B) try to understand you and have you understand me. like how people would be in a real community, which yes i would like to see.

Perhaps you should go back and read more of my posts. Yes i'm negative but i've also tried to generate ideas that will move us forward and not just bitch and moan. InsExchLoft_dweller said it best, there are a lot of people both on this post and not on this post that live in the downtown that feel somewhat suckered and realize the potential sold to us is still just that, potential. the city hasn't really developed at all and if it has it's in a bad generic way. so yes a lot of us bitch but we're also trying to get involved and make a difference.

so PLEASE stop with the oh you bitch too much you should move to irvine statement, it's TIRED!!!

also recognize that community means that we all won't agree, that's the beauty of it. but we should be able to have an opinion and not be told to leave town or move somewhere else because of it. i have an opinion. like it or love it, it's mine. the reality is there was never as much talking on this post until we started talking about the issues, go figure right.

I don't like Aqua. It's my opinion and the opinion of many others that have an understanding of architecture, design and culture in general. Great, you bought one, somebody had to. Without the view that building wouldn't sell shit. It's fake pasted on architecture that looks like an old folks home from Miami with its horrible color palette. It's not what the original plans looked like, the city planners fucked it all up and asked for lame changes. I live in a loft downtown, which one shouldn't matter. If you have opinions to share, the stage is yours.

Ruby. I still don't believe you, i think you're just trying to play out your story at this point. Maybe i'm wrong, but so be it. I don't mind being wrong. if you are for real, then i will have mutual respect for you even if we do disagree, i'm all about it. And ya, perhaps Aqua is "almost sold out" but it's been selling for about 3 years now!! It was selling when the market was still pretty hot. Just fyi.

So respect to all.

[yibs]

I think the aqua is somewhat silly looking. Not to mention the units are very small. I've been inside the aqua, and the hallways remind me of a simple apartment complex, unlike other buildings that have more of a 5 star hotel feel when walking around the halls. I still see lots of banners on the balconies. i presume those units are empty, and a lot of people must like empty balconies, because i don't really see chairs or anything, which make me think the unit is empty. I don't know what's so great about living next to the pike. It's just chain restaurants and empty shops. But i did hear the laugh factory will finally open this year after waiting the past 4. That should be very good for the area, but that still doesn't get rid of all the gang banger crap, and poor/homeless people walking around begging for money. Last month some guy was basically living below the pacific building smoking crack and being loud at night. Took the cops almost a week to finally come arrest the guy.

The downtown area is designated as a low income area, so they build million dollar condos across the street from people living in poverty. Now i don't know about you, but that is going to cause tension. Rich people will not like the poor people, and poor people will feel left out seeing all this grand stuff being built around them while they live in poverty. Let me say also that their are crime elements in this city that are hoping for more rich people to move in, because they will become targets for robbery like a friend of mine was on pine ave. This town will never become great if people and business owners don't feel safe. Build all the buildings you want, but without safety you will just have empty units like we do now.

[LB Life07]

..wwWWOOOooww............. I don't know what to say!! Ruby Welcome to the forum. LA Metro Guy....I have to agree with you!! drisee.....this is a city! every one of them have problems......they all have there blighted areas....nice areas and bad!! That's what makes a city feel like a city! San Fran has it, Chicago has it, New york has it, they all have it!!! in due time things will work out, this is a city in a rebuilding phase, there are gonna be some bad decisions and there are gonna be some good ones!! it happens. we are all not going to agree with the decisions and keep in mind some of us will!! that's why certain things that you may not happen to like get built! Because someone liked something you didn't.......You get mad when we say that you have to see what LB came from......Ruby is a good example of that to be someone who was here last 15 years ago and is surprised at it's changes!! Alot of us who have been here can really appreciate how far the city has come in such a short amount of time because we were here to see it when it was sh*t!! You would have really been complaining then.....there's nothing new under the sun and the phrase that you have to know where you've been to know where your going couldn't be more true in this situation!! You have to start trusting some of us on the fact that we know what where speaking of!! O.k. things have slowed a lot.....certain projects may not get built but all that means is that it leaves room for more proposals and hopefully ones that we all will like!! Shoreline gateway will be a very nice project!! hopefully it gets built. The metro block project will turn out to be very nice!! Press Telegram lofts look to be very nice!! Oceanaire also looks nice. Do you mean to tell me that you can't find any appreciation in any of these projects if they do get built!! because all of them have been approved!! And when they do get built that will be a huge change to the downtown area and it's overall environment, I don't blame the developers for waiting until business conditions in the market improve.....that's just smart business, they'd be idiots to go through with plans that could make them loose money and stand empty.

[yibs]

. they'd be idiots to go through with plans that could make them loose money and stand empty.

Is that why the pike, cityplace, and or city place condos happened? Is that why the aquarium was built? All of the above have lost money,and or hurt long beach taxpayers. All together over 1 billion dollars for these projects that have done nothing. The real estate market is not going to be like it was from 2003-2005. So most of these projects will not happen. Maybe in 5-10 years. Shoreline gateway says it will be completed in 2012, But nothing is ever on time. The 3 cities you mentioned do have bad areas, but those downtowns are bigger, and like i said you can deal with bad stuff when you are in a world class city, and the 3 you mentioned are better than long beach in so many ways that it's pointless to list. And I've lived here long enough to remember the really bad times, and all i can say is could it of gotten any worse? I'm sure it could of, but saying it's better then 15 years ago is laughable because anything is better than a mixture of hookers, gang bangers, punk rockers, the navy and everything else that goes creep in the night. Although we still have some of the above. lol

[LB Life07]

^^change takes time everyone........yibs as for your comment, I can't really fight what your saying, all I can do is refer you to my last post too. Every world class city I've been to has blighted conditions and bums, a hell of a lot more than we do. San Fran is a very beautiful city, but it is loaded with bums who will constantly ask you for things that you don't want to be bothered with!! these cities also have much higher crime rates than we do.....but Im sure that all of us here would take all those issues to have a city like San Fran.....you think the people who live there don't share your same complaints of crime and poverty! they do. For a city of 500,000 our crime rate is not that bad! I just had a cousin recently visit me from Philly and he was amazed at how many cops we have patrolling our streets!! Even though we got hassled by some for crossing the street where we shouldn't have he still appreciated that he felt safe! We don't have 500,000 cops for every person who lives here so they can't watch all of us at the same time! So some things will go unnoticed and some people will get robbed or a building might get vandalized, someone will get shot!! the issues we deal with are no different from the rest of the cities we are striving to be like!! there's always a bad side to the good! Eventually downtown will make some good moves and things will start to fit into the puzzle better!! bums will get pushed back as certain areas improve and they'll make there homes in areas that have not improved. It's life, and every city in every country shares this same part of life!! ours isn't the worse and it's not the best!!

[yibs]

Never said our city is the worse, Not at all. My issues are with people and some in the city council who claim we live in a world class city, and i think to myself are they really insulting my intelligence? We don't have enough great things about our city to deal with the negative. That is basically my point. I lived in the mission district in San Francisco which is now actually being redeveloped too. So i know what's like to live in a bad area, but i was ok with it, because of the things i could do up there to make me forget about those issues. Long Beach has been trying to redevelop downtown since the mid 70's, but people act like give them time. They have had 30 years to try. And i am a body boarder, and the fact that this city cares more about the port then it's residents never sat well with me. I fear that i will be long dead or will have moved away and be old by the time this town is great, and i find that to be somewhat sad.

[Ruby]

drisee,

You don't have to believe me, for now. I am going to see you in some of the city council meetings in the future anyway. I am a firm believer that the community members need to be organized so we are a force that would have our voice well represented in the city. I have lost track of the LB city development or lack of it for many years. I used to work for McDonnell Douglas in Long Beach 15 years ago and at the time, I had concluded the Long Beach city council was not competent since they were running business out of Long Beach. I remembered that due to some odd ordinances/policies, we couldn’t paint the exterior of our planes (the last of the MD11s) in our facilities and they had to be flown somewhere else to be painted.

Besides this site, is there a community blog to allow the members to notify each other in case of important meetings and events? When I planned to buy in DTLA, I always read blogdowntown.com and that is an effective way to keep everyone informed. In one incident, the news that the city rejected an alcoholic beverage application by a soon to be open restaurant at Met Lofts traveled fast. One of city councilman commented that if the area improves too much, then skid row can’t expand :koko: . A lot of people including me called that councilman everyday to give him a piece of our mind. If we can organize something like that in Long Beach, that’ll be a wonderful way to communicate.

As for the choice of Aqua, why would I want to buy there if not for the view? My husband and I don’t care for the architecture either but with the view and the brand new interior, all are being forgiven. The sales representatives told us that they are 92% sold and I did check in the LA county assessor’s web to verify the number of units sold as well as the price sold. Aqua is not perfect but it is a nice compromise that we are willing to live with.

[ThreeHundred]

^ You should be aware of the downtown LA rundown thread: http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/showthread.php?t=130839

The Roosevelt shouldn't have scared you off as it is slated to be one of the better loft conversions in DTLA. The ground floor will be replaced with retail therefore scaring off the smelly homeless folk.

There are smelly homeless folk in DTLB too btw. But good luck and congrats.

[regboi21]

Does anyone have any updates on the east village art exchange project like what other buildings on the site has been torn down besides the terry's camera building.

[Ruby]

^ You should be aware of the downtown LA rundown thread: http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/showthread.php?t=130839

The Roosevelt shouldn't have scared you off as it is slated to be one of the better loft conversions in DTLA. The ground floor will be replaced with retail therefore scaring off the smelly homeless folk.

There are smelly homeless folk in DTLB too btw. But good luck and congrats.

We really like historic buildings such as the Roosevelt and that is why we put a reserve on the place. It was not the homeless that drove us out; it is the developer and their misrepresentation that did it. Before we reserved the unit, we specifically asked the salesman if there is any parking and they said there'll be one place. Then we read the fine print and realized the so called included parking is leasesd and it'll be free for five years (they later changed that to ten years). Their advertised living area for that unit is 913 square feet and it measured to be only 750 square feet. After all this, we still stayed on. Then they sent us the contract and they increased the purchase price by 3%. When I called them up, the salesman said they would credit us back the 3% if we go with their preferred lender at close of escrow. I read the contract carefully and found that it said the seller would credit 3% towards use for closing cost only.:hell: That would mean that we have to pay more than $817 per sqt for a place on 4th floor, w/o any view and w/o any parking. We feel that we had given enough concessions towards the building and they've gone way too far and since we are not suckers of the century, we cancelled on them right away.

I love the Roosevelt building and the fact that it is located within walking distance to both LA live and Grand Avenue but I just can't stand the developer and so we quit. We just got a private invitation to see the Brockman which is on the same street but it came a day too late; we've already signed with the Aqua. I am still upset when I talk about Roosevelt; we wasted all these months waiting for nothing.

[lbguymetro]

ruby, welcome to the post....i also live in aqua and i like it a lot...i would totally be disappointed with my place if my friends tell me i did the wrong decision...long beach is much more beautiful than downtown LA! as for drisee, his comments on you was way too unbecoming....to use that word "bullshit" just irritates me.....better learn how to approach issues with decorum...i cant imagine how he would act properly in a formal community meeting...!

[drisee]

Shoreline gateway will be a very nice project!! hopefully it gets built. The metro block project will turn out to be very nice!! Press Telegram lofts look to be very nice!! Oceanaire also looks nice. Do you mean to tell me that you can't find any appreciation in any of these projects if they do get built!! because all of them have been approved!!

yes, some of these projects are exciting and it would be great to see them break ground but they're still far off. the closest one to popping would be Oceanaire...not sure what they are waiting on right now. The MTA block is not approved from what i know and i don't think it's even being planned for anymore, unless someone has different info. Btw, what was so exciting about the MTA block, looked pretty generic to me. And what about the new west gateway project, what are your thoughts on that one? it's horrible!! and what about the new boutique hotel planned for the pike, it looks like generic USA as well. if that's long beach's definition of a cool boutique hotel i think we're really in trouble. come on long beach, step it up. appeal to a more stylish and progressive demographic. stop building crap for the low income peeps and the old and retired crowd. That will not help get this city on track to becoming a true world class international city. like yibs says, don't believe the hype.

LB life, i will agree with most of your other comments as well. Things do go up and down but you have to agree with someone like myself and yibs when we say that long beach could have come so much further and in comparison to other cities we really don't have shit to show for the recent housing boom that brought life to many blighted downtowns.

Ruby, i'm warming up on you...but the jury is still out. I do like your idea of having there be a central meeting point to connect people. from what i understand the various community groups are decent watchdogs and i would expect the new north pine one to be good, but i'm not sure. Perhaps we can post more information here since we don't have a resource like the one you talked about that exists for DTLA.

lbguymetro, how honest are your friends? ever wonder no matter how ugly new babies are your friends will always tell you how cute it is. don't mistake people being polite for living in a cool place. and please, the word Bullshit got your panties in a bunch. i thought we were adults here, when did this forum become PG rated. i think that's fuckin' bullshit. :)

[LB Life07]

I happen to think that the MTA block project would have looked fine in that area!! It has sort of an Elleven and Luma feel to it!! both of those buildings look very nice!! As for the West Gateway I believe the developers have all pulled out except for one!! I never was a big fan of those projects!! I believed that for that area the projects should be much taller!! But Im not necessarily opposed to what they were trying to create there with all of them being mixed use and trying to extend a more pedestrian friendly and retail area to the ground sector of those corridors!! It's like I said, everyone is not going to share the same views on things......we may not like those projects but Im sure there are those who do!! which is why they end up getting built in the first place!! Some people don't like the Pacifica and the 133 promenade buildings but I don't mind them and happen to think that they are nice additions to that area!! The test of time will tell when we see what type of retail fills the ground levels!! that's more important to me at this point....that's what really creates a downtown, the things that you can go do and not so much the look of the buildings.....the look just happens to be a plus!!

[lbguymetro]

drisee,..yeah ...bull shit....well, that is your definition of free speech...but you have actually dispappointed a newcomer in this post and your'e apathetic....anyway, my friends are not idiots...and how judgmental you could be about people...maybe i could say bull shit too if i dont like how your place looks like..aqua is 92% sold according to ruby and its much more beautiful than the other condos ive visited...besides , its its location as well that lured us to purchase the property...the fact that its between pine avenue and the shoreline....its one good piece of property to buy...

[Ruby]

Well, I am not someone that is easily disappointed or offended. Constructive criticism doesn't bother me and everyone is entitled to his/her opinion anyway. I am also used to swearing from my male co-workers; they say bullsh*t everyday to my face.

BTW, can someone tell me where is the closest grocery store? We strolled around downtown today to get a feel of the area. The Pike and Pine avenue has lots of restaurants which is pretty good since I don't intend to cook if I can help it :P. However, there are not too many places to shop; it took us a while to find the City Place and I can't say Walmart or Ross are my favorite stores.

[regboi21]

the following has grocery stores in your area 1. an albertsons is on the city place center property by the old post office building on long beach blvd 2.vons grocery store is on east broadway near alamitos ave 3. and a superior grocery stores are on long beach blvd by the popeye's chicken and on pacific ave by the metro blue line station.

[PromenadeIrishmen]

It sounds like a lot of people, even us on the thread, bought into the pitch that downtown is this great city... now that we know it's not - we need to try to change things. I know this thread is about "new developements" but let's face it, all these pretty renderings are crap and that's why I don't read the thread so much anymore... time has proven that all these renderings are just that, renderings. Now that this thread seems to be more about, hey what the hell is going on and why is this city still a pile of shit, i'm going to come back more often. Here's a group of residents trying to make a difference.


North Pine Neighborhood Alliance

MEETING NOTICE-
Monday, October 1st, 6:00pm at King's Fish House on Pine- Community Room

This next meeting will set the tone, agenda, and leadership for the North Pine Neighborhood Alliance for the next year. The meeting will be conducted in an open forum so that all NPNA residents will have the opportunity to help develop the goals and priorities of our association.

Your input is very important!

AGENDA

Develop goals for NPNA
Pass the NPNA Bylaws
Elect open executive board positions
Form committees
Make a difference inour neighborhood....see you all on Monday.

Robert Garcia

NPNA President

wwWWOOO00oooww! Looks like I missed a good amount of meaning less conversation over the weekend. Dam. :shrug:
Lets not cloud the air waves with battle over who is who and what is what, lets get back into the nature of this blog please.

1)Will anyone else be joining me at the NPNA meeting tonight at Kings off Pine Ave?
2)Anyone interested in the Bixby Knolls area construction off Long Beach Blvd and Bixby. I can provide great pictures of past constructed and future proposed projects, nothing big just if anyone is interested?
3)The Aqua is a GREAT addition to Ocean Blvd. I spent my Friday and Saturday night running back and froth from my place at the Promenade and the Aqua. And making stops at the SKY ROOM / SKY BAR all the time leaving my camera at home. Dose anyone have pictures from the top of the SKY ROOM it’s a great 360 degree of all of long beach,

[drisee]

Irishmen. I'm interested in your #2 from above. It would be cool to see what's going on up in that area. Did you attend that meeting last night, cool to see something like that happening in downtown.

[regboi21]

What do you guys think would make long beach ca a world class city like what steps or special distant future projects would make long beach be like San Francisco in terms of world class status also could you all give me some examples that the long beach city planners designated long beach as a city for the poor or the low income residents.

[SantaCruzGuy]

In order for our city to acquire all the necessary tools to build a unique "international city" we need to spread positiveness in a major advertisement campaign. Many people think of Long Beach as a city that is engulfed with violence, we do have violence like any other major city... What we need to do is to begin to spread a positive note (i know Santa Cruz did) through cable commercials that promote our downtown living, restaurants, and aquarium, etc. to all surrounding counties. When the word is out, we will have more curious people visiting our city, and more interest can build up for people to move in downtown, and hopefully retail can also follow. We can open a macys downtown, or a Hollister, but that will not get the crowds that advertising can...

[drisee]

SantaCruz, i like your idea and i've been thinking about the same type of thing...but a little different.

for me i think the city should champion a cause, a new direction. we should advertise and spread PR to overcome our bad rep, but we should promote a new vision for what we are working towards. definitely not promote what we have now, which is plain to see that it's not that great. people will see right through it unless we paint a different picture and talk about the future. more importantly, start to work towards the future and show people the results. as we all know...talk is cheap.

btw, i can't believe a santa cruz guy would mention hollister as something a beach city should shoot for. hollister is a mid america wanna be surf brand that copies surf culture from CA. that's the last kind of store i would want. there are enough authentic surf stores to shoot for if wanted them.

[PromenadeIrishmen]

SantaCruz, i like your idea and i've been thinking about the same type of thing...but a little different.

for me i think the city should champion a cause, a new direction. we should advertise and spread PR to overcome our bad rep, but we should promote a new vision for what we are working towards. definitely not promote what we have now, which is plain to see that it's not that great. people will see right through it unless we paint a different picture and talk about the future. more importantly, start to work towards the future and show people the results. as we all know...talk is cheap.

btw, i can't believe a santa cruz guy would mention hollister as something a beach city should shoot for. hollister is a mid america wanna be surf brand that copies surf culture from CA. that's the last kind of store i would want. there are enough authentic surf stores to shoot for if wanted them.


But in all reality the last time I think I surfed anything in Long Beach was the sports channels at Smooth’s…..Kidding
I just don’t see Downtown ever taking on that look of surf stores and all that, I think that’s more or less going to be left up to Belmont Shore.

I am working on more of the images that I have of past / present / proposed of Long Beach Blvd. here is a soon to break ground that is directly across from my office. At Long Beach and Bixby.

http://img183.imagevenue.com/loc336/th_45490_Strawberry_Lot_Rendering_150_122_336lo.jpg (http://img183.imagevenue.com/img.php?image=45490_Strawberry_Lot_Rendering_150_122_336lo.jpg)

Developer is Howard CDM not sure on the soon to be tenants yet but it will be retail im sure.

And yes I did attend the meeting on Monday it’s a great group of Pine Ave residents all sorts of ages I highly recommend keeping an ear out for the next meeting and making an effort to get out to it.:worship: :tup:

[InsExchLoft_dweller]

And yes I did attend the meeting on Monday it’s a great group of Pine Ave residents all sorts of ages I highly recommend keeping an ear out for the next meeting and making an effort to get out to it.:worship: :tup:[/QUOTE]

I missed it... but I'll keep posting the meeting invites as i get them.

The idea of the city promoting a cause or theme is great, but man do they need help. The Party On Pine event should have been a great thing... they had a great band that sells out arenas across the country and yet there were barely enough people to fill the intersection on Pine and Broadway. Did they even put a poster up at cal state long beach? Did anyone know that they would play a full set? When i first moved out to LA i never really wanted to go to hollywood... then I heard about a free outdoor cold play concert and decided to go. It was such a good time and even though I wasn't into the hollywood scene, i kept going back (afterwards) just to see what else was going on.

Sometimes there are events going on that I had wished I known about... it's such a shame that this city has such a hard time getting the word out. I mean, I live at the promenade for god's sake.

What if the city just focused on promoting long beach to it's own residents. I am sure if the residents were happy then the word would get out that we do have a great city.

[Ruby]

I am not sure if it is lack of advertisement or lack of word of mouth. I live only 20 minutes away but I don’t come to downtown LB. Until a week ago, I always thought the sports arena is the aquarium.::(

When the residents or tourists don’t go to an area, it is often because the place is lack of attractions or it is too expensive or both. I visited the Queen Mary once when it first opened and I never went back; I never see the Spruce Goose or the aquariam. In my mind, all this tour will take less than one hour and there is nothing else to do afterwards; it is really not worth the fee they charge plus the parking to get in. In order to attract the masses, the city might want to consider free parking and host more free entertainment. If the attendance to the parking lot or the aquarium is poor, slash the price until people come. The aquarium looks so deserted when I drove by the other day; the city can make it more alive by providing free shows or some activities at the entrance. Instead of keeping the fee high so one person will come; cut the price in half so two people will show up. The net is still the same but keep the masses coming; the more, the merrier and the busier the street, the more likely other businesses will follow. My older colleagues in Douglas used to tell me no one was buying the DC-10s at the time and the company was facing bankruptcy. Since the planes were sitting idle anyway, Douglas gave the plane away by leasing them to airlines. It turned out it was a great strategy; the airlines loved them and when the leasing term expired, they bought the planes. May be we can learn a lesson or two from the old Douglas.

[drisee]

The Party On Pine event should have been a great thing... they had a great band that sells out arenas across the country and yet there were barely enough people to fill the intersection on Pine and Broadway. Did they even put a poster up at cal state long beach? Did anyone know that they would play a full set?

What if the city just focused on promoting long beach to it's own residents. I am sure if the residents were happy then the word would get out that we do have a great city.

I couldn't agree more. The Party on Pine totally sucked. I remember walking down to check it out just out of curiosity to only to look over the fence and see nobody there. And the people that were there you can tell had no clue about the music. The big reason for that was that they charged for it. why not just do a free show. are they in the business of being promoters or promoting the city ya know. something like that could be cool but you need a big draw and it needs to be well promoted. things like that never seem to be promoted...even to the people that live right next to it.

I'm also on the same page with you about promoting the city to the people that live here versus just selling a lemon to the people from outside the city. i think if they switched their efforts around to that they would see more value come from their efforts. their best source of pr is the people living here, but there is nothing for us to get excited about.

[SantaCruzGuy]

Good point, and I agree that we need to do more within the city too, but I believe it needs a blend of the two PR campaigns. We need to spread our image beyond LB if we want to bring in more new people. Without people, business and other attractions will not follow.

[regboi21]

Does anyone know where the east long beach area is located.

[LB Life07]

Technically the East and West side of long beach are divided by Pine avenue!! However natives to long beach usually look at it as the areas bounded by 4th to the south Wardlow to the North, the LA River to the west and Redondo to the East!! Technically it would be everything to the East of Pine not considering the North side and Downtown.

[lbguymetro]

i agree that long beach needs to become busy not only during weekends but also weekdays..i hate looking at the pike so empty during weekdays...there's nothing to do after visiting the aquarium..no shopping spots! i hope that this progress of long beach won't be a striking development that died later on...and whose potential went down the drain...city officials should attract people by giving free concerts...when people have to pay much, they turn their backs off....

[LB Life07]

Im still really confused as to why Long beach being a city with 500,000 people doesn't have a mall. The nearest mall is Lakewood! that's kind of strange to me! I've always said that that's what should have been done with city place or the pike!! more of an outdoor environment though with stores such as Macy's or H&M, Bannana Republic, Victoria Secret!! If those stores existed in the downtown area, I guarantee you pedestrian traffic would automatically be present on everyday of the week.

[drisee]

Im still really confused as to why Long beach being a city with 500,000 people doesn't have a mall. The nearest mall is Lakewood! that's kind of strange to me! I've always said that that's what should have been done with city place or the pike!! more of an outdoor environment though with stores such as Macy's or H&M, Bannana Republic, Victoria Secret!! If those stores existed in the downtown area, I guarantee you pedestrian traffic would automatically be present on everyday of the week.

just something to think about lblife. why do we need a mall to accomplish our retail goals? we once had a mall ya know, it's what we had before the city place center. it didn't work then and i don't think it would work now.

we're not irvine, or orange. we're a downtown. we could build our retail into the framework of the downtown like other great cities. malls are suburban solutions, i don't think they make sense for downtown environment. we need to give more support to building a great walkable downtown.

just my thoughts on it.

[rolinda]

Glad to hear you like the Aqua...I am narrowing down on a purchase at west ocean...what do you architecture opinions think about that building...how long do you think they will be selling for?

[Ruby]

I am still all for free parking and free stuff to attract the people. Pomenade in Santa Monica offers free parking for three hours. Downtown Long Beach has less to offer so why should the parking be more? People don't want to spend $10 up front just to go to the Borders.

As for the West Ocean, when I called them before, they said they are sold out in the taller tower but they still have some units availabe in the shorter tower. The sales representative told me they'll try to close before the end of the year. With the current credit crunch situation, some of the buyers who have difficulty getting a loan might have no choice but to back out and default on their 3% deposit; in that case, more units should become available.

[SantaCruzGuy]

What stores were in the mall at DTLB?

[sopas ej]

What stores were in the mall at DTLB?

As I recall, in the 1980s, the anchor department stores were JC Penney, Montgomery Ward, and Buffums. Does anyone remember Buffums? They were a Long Beach-based department store, and had a store in Lakewood, and I think at the Marina Pacifica Mall too, before it was turned into a "power" center. They closed in the late 80s or early 90s.

[LB Life07]

just something to think about lblife. why do we need a mall to accomplish our retail goals? we once had a mall ya know, it's what we had before the city place center. it didn't work then and i don't think it would work now.

we're not irvine, or orange. we're a downtown. we could build our retail into the framework of the downtown like other great cities. malls are suburban solutions, i don't think they make sense for downtown environment. we need to give more support to building a great walkable downtown.

just my thoughts on it.

I don't believe I properly worded what I was trying to say!! what Im trying to say is that I would like to see our retail include some of these stores in the downtown!! I don't want to see a typical mall set up! but more of an urban shopping environment!! Something like union Square in San Fran! All these stores and department stores attract alot of activity to that area......With all the empty store fronts we have on pine and surrounding areas it would be nice to see them filled with some of those stores I mentioned earlier. I wish the Bath and Body works would have never closed as well as the express.....I feel that if they would of stayed open, other stores would have been attracted to the area at this point.

[drisee]

rolinda. who said they liked the aqua. i hate the thing. west ocean is a much better choice and probably the best current condo project we have to offer. i don't love the cities choice of colors for it, but it's a small price to pay for a pretty solid development.

ruby. totally agree about the parking, not sure why we charge so much but i have heard some city peeps talk about the same thing.

ya, downtown over the years has had some strong retail. if you were put it all together we would be in a good spot. the problem is that a lot of our past retail partners were incentivized with programs that were based upon years of existence. meaning that if a retailer stayed for x amount of years, they would get a large kickback or the kickback only existed up front if they promised to say for x amount of years. either way, you get the point. so the retailer hangs out for x amount of years, collects their incentive, then moves on. we've never created a sustainable environment for them.

build the retail into the framework of the city i say. screw the big nationals, think smaller. not mom and pop, but the happy middle ground.

[LB Life07]

I say a little bit of everything is a good choice.....some people like the big nationals!! so you should have those as well as some mom and pop and some in betweens to go to. That keeps the environment selective! Anyway on another note, just to let you all know, I've been noticing quite a bit of activity at the old press telegram building as of lately. I drive down 7th and 6th every day to hit the 710 for work and I've been noticing a lot of trucks hauling things out of the building and dumping trash for the past few weeks. Looks like there clearing the building for the construction that will take place.

[InsExchLoft_dweller]

I say a little bit of everything is a good choice.....some people like the big nationals!! so you should have those as well as some mom and pop and some in betweens to go to. That keeps the environment selective! Anyway on another note, just to let you all know, I've been noticing quite a bit of activity at the old press telegram building as of lately. I drive down 7th and 6th every day to hit the 710 for work and I've been noticing a lot of trucks hauling things out of the building and dumping trash for the past few weeks. Looks like there clearing the building for the construction that will take place.

That's a good thing. There is so much printing machinery that has to be removed... that alone is a daunting project.

[regboi21]

Is it just me or does it seem like the long beach city planners seem to make the same mistakes over again like when long beach plaza used to exist that mall didnt go to well cause it wasnt no market for it so they replaced it with the current mall and yet others on here are saying they dont like the wallmart and other stores that are there now also bad crime in the city which may be the reason why upscale shopping companies probably chose not to set up shop in long beach my point is if this city's planners was aware of the high crime rates and lack of attractions for the locals and tourists then how come they arnet fully addressing these issues.

[PromenadeIrishmen]

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

:skyscraper:Ask and We Shall Receive :skyscraper:

On Pine Avenue, beneath Ocean Boulevard, an elderly man with scissors snipped the pink ribbon and, as it fell away, the entrance to the Jergins Trust tunnel was one again opened Wednesday morning - along with 80 years of Long Beach history. :ancient:

Morgan Humphrey, a lifelong Long Beach resident, cut the ribbon in front of the subway entrance, which opened it up to invited guests and the media. The public will be able to see inside the subway on Oct. 28 when a series of films are shown.

To set the mood of entering the tunnel built 80 years ago, Lis Roche and Jill Taylor, both senior theater majors, dressed in '20s clothing and stood near the entrance to greet guests.

Ron Petke, former president of the Long Beach Historical Society, set up a record player in the back of the tunnel and played music from the '20s to '40s. He also occasionally brought out his ukulele and strummed along with the music.

Ryan Smolar, coordinator of University by the Sea, said the Jergins Trust tunnel was a last-minute bonus. He chose it for the film festival after being taken on a private tour of it with Second District Councilwoman Suja Lowenthal.

Smolar said he picked it because "it's here. It's cool."

According to Smolar, it wasn't easy getting permission to use the tunnel because so many different city departments were involved.:thankyouthankyou:

The films that will be shown display Long Beach's history. Some of the films are home videos taken at The Pike while it was still an oceanfront amusement park and a major Los Angeles area destination. There will also be a first-person view of The Pike's old roller coaster.

There will also be films from Balboa Studios, a Long Beach production company in the early 20th century, that feature Buster Keaton and Ken Larkey.

One film features Earl Daugherty flying over Long Beach in 1918. Daugherty was one of the first people in the country to obtain a pilot license, and in the film he grazes over Pine Avenue, steals people's hats, and performs loop-de-loops.

The Jergins Trust tunnel was constructed in 1927 to provide safe passage for pedestrians to travel under Ocean Boulevard to the beach and The Pike. The subway is an art deco-style tunnel - a design featuring decorative tiles along the floor. Small kiosks and shops were once even opened up in the tunnel due to the amount of foot traffic through it. The area was nicknamed "Los Artesanos Village."

The subway's success didn't last and, in 1967, the tunnel was closed for safety reasons, despite the tunnel having survived a 1933 6.25-magnitude earthquake.

In the '80s, when the Jergins Trust Building was demolished, the entrances to the subway were sealed off and the subway was mostly forgotten. The tunnel was pushed further into the past when the Renaissance Hotel was constructed, which blocked off the north entrance of the subway.

Guests will be able to go inside the subway and watch historical films from noon until 8 p.m Oct. 28.:upload_71700:

"It's gonna kick ass," said Smolar. :righton:

http://media.www.daily49er.com/media/storage/paper1042/news/2007/10/11/News/Finding.History.Underground-3026766.shtml

[nomadmnemonic]

Hi all,

Does anyone have any photos of their units and the new projects cropping up? It would be really great to show off our reemerging city... I want to focus on all the positive aspects that Long Beach has to offer. I wanted to hear from any owners in the lofts downtown, or in Long Beach in general, and hear why they chose their particular unit, and the commonly founds finishes amenities. Some of the projects I really like are 133 Promenade, Olive Court, and West Ocean. Any positive input would be greatly appreciated.

I heart LB... do you?

[Ruby]

I saw this in today's press-telegram. Is this any good? I am not sure what is "creative class".

In Basket: DLBA holds State of the Downtown
Article Launched: 10/08/2007 12:00:00 AM PDT


The Downtown Long Beach Associates will host its fourth State of the Downtown event on Nov. 14.

The luncheon is at the Hyatt Regency Hotel. The keynote speaker is Richard Florida, author of "The Rise of the Creative Class."

Florida, best known for his views on how creativity is revolutionizing the global economy, believes the "creative class" is the best bet for urban cities to develop a thriving economy.

The event draws up to 500 community leaders. Also speaking will be Long Beach Mayor Bob Foster and Cal State Long Beach President F. King Alexander.

For more information or to purchase tickets, visit www.DowntownLongBeach.org or call (562) 436-4259.

[Ruby]

This is from LBReport.com. Not sure where is 5th district and where to check in for discounts. To attract people, they should waive the parking.



News
Oct 11 Evening Aquarium Freebie For Fifth District Residents: From 6:30 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. Thurs Nite, 5th dist Residents Get Free Aquarium Admission

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

(Oct. 10, 2007) -- Thursday Oct. 11 is 5th district Day at the Aquarium of the Pacific...and Councilwoman Gerrie Schipske says that from 6:30 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. Aquarium admission will be free to all 5th district residents.

Three caveats (1) Parking is $6.00. (2) The free Aquarium admission is only for 5th district residents and only from 6:30 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. on Oct 11; and (3) 5th district residents need to check in at the designated 5th district table to receive discounts.

The Aquarium features 12,500 different sea creatures in 19 major habitats, including Shark Lagoon and three main galleries highlighting the major regions of the Pacific Ocean.

The Aquarium of the Pacific is located at 100 Aquarium Way. The office of 5th district Councilwoman Gerrie Schipske has further info if you need it: (562) 570-6932.

[regboi21]

What kind of great attractions like the aquarium of the pacific or the queen mary should be established in long beach one day i think an amusement park on a really big pier should be built in front of the Villa Riviera Building so that the locals and tourist can have something great to do while they are at the pike watching movies and eating at the restaurants,a boardwalk should be built along the beach until its reaches bixby park the open grass area on ocean blvd by the Blue painted old Hotel/Motel building should be redone cause it is showing major signs of erosion the closed off tunnel portal with the mural on it(located in front of bixby park) should be reopened and reactivated as a second entrance way to the beach the tunnel im talking about had a entrance way to the beach on the bixby park property but it was demolished in the late 90's or early 2000's.

[lbguymetro]

Hi all,

Does anyone have any photos of their units and the new projects cropping up? It would be really great to show off our reemerging city... I want to focus on all the positive aspects that Long Beach has to offer. I wanted to hear from any owners in the lofts downtown, or in Long Beach in general, and hear why they chose their particular unit, and the commonly founds finishes amenities. Some of the projects I really like are 133 Promenade, Olive Court, and West Ocean. Any positive input would be greatly appreciated.

I heart LB... do you?


sorry, ive been trying to attach a picture of my unit...i just dont know how to do it:

[drisee]

For those interested, which i assume will be all of you, i thought i would share the below announcement i came across. this is part of a new public commenting process the city is initiating, in order to give stakeholders in the area an opportunity to see and comment on proposed developments early on in the project. This project will take up the entire block and it's right in the middle of downtown. Historically you couldn't say much about a project until it was too far down the process. It will be interesting to hear early comments from the planning commission, since this is being presented to them as well as the public. There is no vote, it's basically just a preview.

If you've got opinions, and a lot of us do, i suggest checking it out and making your voice heard if you don't like what you see.


(from the city)
Please note that at this Thursday's (10/18) Planning Commission meeting there will be a presentation of a proposed mixed-use project on the block Northwest of 3rd Street and Pine Avenue.

The Planning Commission Hearing begins at 5:00pm in the City Council Chambers. The presentation should be at the beginning of the meeting.