[LAMetroGuy]

Borders Books and Music has announced it will formally open a 21,000-square-foot store in the downtown center in the second quarter of 2006. The long-rumored store will be the first large-scale retail store in the Pike.

That should really help the hood's synergy. I believe the only other large bookstore nearest to that right now is several miles away on Bellflower blvd near the 405, or the Barnes/Noble in the LB Towne Ctr next to the 605.

Yeah, there is also a Barnes & Noble at the Marina Pacifica near PCH and 2nd Street. But this Borders Bookstore in downtown is a nice addition! I am very curious as to what other retail will come to downtown. :nuts:

[ChrisLA]

Good to see its now offically reported in the media. My nephew works at Gameworks in the same complex, and a few weeks ago he was telling me that Borders was moving in for sure. I was just waiting to see it announced to the public to know its official. BTW they already started preparing the space. Its one of the reasons I ask my nephew if something was going on because I noticed work on that space.

[LAMetroGuy]

Posted some pictures here:

http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=93892

[LAMetroGuy]

October Five Development has posted a 3D video of the Press Telegram towers project, here are some screen shots of the video:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v600/rpulido/Models/pt4.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v600/rpulido/Models/pt1.jpg

[LAMetroGuy]

Loft buildings continue to blossom across downtown
By Don Jergler, Staff writer

LONG BEACH — There's a turnaround taking place downtown — out of empty lots, old apartments, long-forgotten department stores and rundown office buildings have arisen a host of loft developments that are pushing up the area's income demographic, preserving its historic past and giving homes to urban professionals.

"Downtown Long Beach is exactly the sort of environment you want to see when you're an urban loft developer," said Scott Choppin, with Long Beach-based Urban Pacific Builders, which has eight active loft projects in the Western United States, including two in downtown Long Beach.

The area has 11 loft projects complete or under development more if you count condo projects that may include some units as lofts for more than 500 units.

The general guideline developers use for lofts include large single rooms in typically urban areas that tend to have high ceilings, open floor plans and large windows. Lofts in downtown Long Beach often taken on an industrial feel, with exposed ducting, concrete floors and brick work often left as is.

On Thursday, the Planning Commission will vote whether to give final approval to the Newberry project, now called 433 Pine after its address.

The old J.J. Newberry Department Store has been pegged for an 18-unit upscale loft project worth more than $7 million, with more than 6,000 square feet of retail below the residential.

The architects are Long Beach-based Interstices, the design team behind neighboring Kress and Walker lofts. Interstices has designed a stepped-back structure to allow Kress tenants to keep their views looking south on Pine, and to respect the views of Walker tenants looking north on Pine.

The former five-and-dime , built in the early 1950s and shuttered in 1994, will get an exterior face lift. The two-story building will rise to four stories and include a mezzanine on the first level that counts as a floor.

The upper portions of the building's facade are designed to reduce the scale and provide individuality to the loft-style residential units, said architect Jonathan Glasgow, a principal with Interstices.

"The project respects its historic neighbors, but it doesn't mimic them," Glasgow said. "We're really trying to create more of a Zen building. People who buy lofts, they want to do their own thing within their own space. The simpler, the better."

He described the interior as a "slicked out club-type atmosphere," with white drywall, nice lighting and ceilings up to 14 feet.

Plans call for groundbreaking in March, with project completion tentatively slated for the end of 2006.

The Newberry developer believes such loft developments are raising the standard of living in downtown.

"Life in Long Beach is probably going to be better than Manhattan Beach one day; we're very optimistic," said Ray Alyeshmerni, with L.A.-based Western Imperial LLC.

He said the lofts will average 1,400 square feet and some units will have two stories. Prices have not yet been determined.

Among other loft projects proposed downtown, the Press-Telegram has sold its building, a downtown landmark since 1925, to developers who plan to build two high-rise towers featuring 482 residential urban lofts under a $138 million proposal, and plans are under way for a 30-unit loft project at Broadway and Linden Avenue in the East Village Arts District.

All in all, about 10 percent of units being developed or planned downtown are going to be lofts, said Kraig Kojian, president and CEO of the Downtown Long Beach Associates, which markets downtown.

Kojian sees the addition of loft residents as a way to bring more retailers. He says loft dwellers will likely boost the area's average income, since they tend to be single, childless couples or empty-nesters who tend to have higher incomes.

Lofts are also helping supply the area much-needed housing.

A building stalemate in the 1990s added less than 1 percent to the city's housing stock in that decade. With the anticipated addition of up to 50,000 jobs to the city by 2015, economists estimate 33,000 new units will be required to keep pace.

Another 10,000 residents are expected to move downtown in the next few years. Because loft developments lend themselves to urban infill, downtown could handle even more such projects, said Jae Von Klug of the Long Beach Redevelopment Agency.

"We could easily see at least another dozen in the next five to seven years," she said.

Choppin believes downtown lofts will continue to be developed as the demand keeps apace.

"There are more people looking for lofts than there are lofts in downtown Long Beach," said Choppin, the developer of CityPlace Lofts, a two-building project surrounding Albertsons in downtown that will yield 72 lofts from 950 square feet to 4,000 square feet with prices from the low $400,000s to the low $1 million range.

The first phase is expected to be complete in April, and a second phase is about a year out.

Choppin is also a developer on Promenade Lofts at Broadway and The Promenade, 39 units priced from the low $800,000s to $1.2 million set for completion in about 14 months, though difficulties with the Long Beach Cultural Heritage Commission over a mural on the spot have delayed the project.

On the whole, the area's historical preservationists look at lofts as an ideal way to preserve the city's historical feel.

They hold up the 11-unit Insurance Exchange, $1-million-plus lofts in a long-abandoned men's store on The Promenade, and the Walker building as examples of historical preservation and adaptive reuse.

"There's been really good exterior preservation," said Dan Pressberg of the commission. "Nobody wanted to see the Insurance Exchange building torn down, and I would rather see something like that than I would see a building go down."

Considering the limited number of ways to develop the city's historic building stock, lofts are "probably going to be the only way we're going to be able to go from here on out," Pressberg added.

[LAMetroGuy]

The city of Long Beach has released the Environmental Impact Report for the Shoreline Gateway Project. You can find it here:
http://www.longbeach.gov/plan/pb/epd/er.asp

The city wants the publics opinion on this project due to its proposed height and location. I am going to write a letter in support of this project because the residents in the Villa Riviera Tower accross the street (south east) don't want anything to rise on that corner because it will "block their views". These residents will write tons of letters saying why it shouldn't go up for all the wrong reasons. I hate these NIMBYs living in downtown Long Beach.

Summary:

The project proposes a mixed-use development involving a 22-story residential tower at the northwest corner of Ocean Boulevard and Alamitos Avenue, a 15- to 19-story stepped slab building west of the existing Lime Avenue and Ocean Boulevard intersection and a 10-story building northeast of the existing Artaban building. The proposed buildings would be situated over a two-story podium of residential, retail and live/work units, resulting in a maximum height of 24-, 21- and 12-stories, respectively, from grade. Development of the project would allow up to 365 residential units including live/work spaces, townhomes, one to three bedroom apartments, and penthouse units and associated amenities.

The project proposes locating live/work units adjacent to Ocean Boulevard and townhouse units adjacent to the Bronce Way alley and Medio Street. The proposal would involve relocating the existing Bronce Way alley northward to the edge of the project site providing direct access to the proposed townhouse units. A maximum of 20,000 square feet of ground floor retail, art gallery, café and civic space uses would front the proposed residential tower and stepped slab building on Ocean Boulevard. Lime Avenue between Medio Street and Ocean Boulevard would be vacated to allow for an elliptical-shaped paseo between these buildings.

Parking for approximately 860 cars would be provided in three subterranean parking levels and in a concealed parking structure located at-grade and one level above-grade. The parking structure would be concealed from the public by the proposed live/work and townhouse units and the proposed retail uses. Additionally, a residential garden would be located directly above the structure, surrounded by the existing Artaban building on the west and proposed residential uses on the north, east and south. Vehicular access to the project site would occur from Atlantic Avenue, Ocean Boulevard and at the western terminus of Medio Street. Project development would result in the removal of 63 multiple-family residential units and approximately 20,980 square feet of retail, restaurant and office uses.

[citywatch]

[b]Choppin believes downtown lofts will continue to be developed as the demand keeps apace.

"There are more people looking for lofts than there are lofts in downtown Long Beach," said Choppin, the developer of CityPlace Lofts, a two-building project surrounding Albertsons in downtown that will yield 72 lofts from 950 square feet to 4,000 square feet with prices from the low $400,000s to the low $1 million range.

I wonder if many ppl who are buying or renting in DT LB also have considered buying or renting in DTLA, & the other way around, or if the 2 hoods are like separate islands in LA county?

[LAMetroGuy]

not sure? But I do think that Downtown Long Beach is coming into its own and a lot of people are not aware of what it has to offer. I know that the Dontown Long Beach Associates are planning on having more open house events (similar to LA's loft tours)... to showcase some of the upcoming developments!

Long Beach is a great city and its only getting better. In just a few years it will have 8 new 20+ story towers. But even on this forum... not many people are interested in LB... we need more LB fourmers!

[colemonkee]

Everyone I know who has either bought a condo or leased office space in DT LB recently didn't even look at or consider downtown LA. In fact, most of them looked in Orange County, found prices too expensive, then went to Long Beach and are very happy with their choice so far.

[LAMetroGuy]

Yeah... Long Beach has had a flurry of restaurants and shops open up recently (along Pine and the Pike). In addition, the following are set to open up real soon:

Spanish Cuisine
http://www.cafesevilla.com/images/bigS.gif

Comedy Club
http://www.nycundergroundcomedy.com/venues10.gif

Grurmet Pizza
http://www.bostonsgourmet.com/files/bostonlogo2low.gif

Boiokstore/Coffee House
http://www.bordersstores.com/images/2003_borders_logo_catman.gif

BBQ Joint
http://www.famousdaves.com/images/Logo.gif

Beer/Wine and Food Joint
http://jakeswings.com/images/logo.jpg

[ChrisLA]

Yeah these are exciting times for downtown Long Beach, can't wait for Borders Books to open. Even though its a national chain I think it will make a nice additon along with the already existiing indie book stores we have.

I love downtown Los Angeles, and had it been another time in my life it certainly would have been a consideration. I have a friend who lives down at the Promenade Condos directly across from the Disney Hall. I'm a little jealous because she's closer to much of the city's attractions, plus all of the beautiful skyscrapers surrounding her. Long Beach would proably still be my 1st choice since I like urban living, along with ocean front living, and we have both. In some ways downtown LB is ahead of LA's. We already have several grocery stores, plus plenty of night life, and two movie theaters. We also have a several museums, a syphony, and several small live theaters. I love living here, and the way things are looking I may not be moving to Chicago after all. My condo isn't selling right now, so I took if off the market. My financial situation may be inproving in the coming weeks so who knows. In a way I still want to move just for a change, but maybe I move in about a year. I hope I can just keep my condo and perhaps just rent it out. So when I decide to return to southern california I'll have a place to live.


Okay now I'll be on my way out the door for a workout on my rollerblades. I'll be enjoying a beach front view, and getting some exercise before I head out to work this evening.

[citywatch]

I love living here, and the way things are looking I may not be moving to Chicago after all.

:tup:

Your photo essays of LA/SoCA have been among the best at SSP! I hope this means we'll continue to see them in the future.

[dktshb]

I love Long Beach and would live there if I didn't work in Chatsworth. The city has really transformed in the last few years and the location right on the water can't be beat.

[citywatch]

I'm a little jealous because she's closer to much of the city's attractions, plus all of the beautiful skyscrapers surrounding her.
It wasn't too long ago that would have been hard to say about ppl living in either DTLA or DTLB. But now with all the changes underway in both hoods, I think they're moving on up, getting closer to the level of better urban hoods throughout the US or world.


BTW, the Alexan condos in DTLA, in Little Tokyo, finally have opened their model units & someone I know who lives in DT (& who I once felt kind of sorry for because of her hood, but who I'm now starting to envy) says sales there have been very strong.

[BrighamYen]

I wish you could just transfer ALL the high rises of DTLA to LB and just called it LA. :P The location at LB has the ocean which is SUCH A nice perk!

[LAMetroGuy]

L.B.: C'mon and take a free ride
By Nedra Lindsey, Staff writer


LONG BEACH — Two days of free rides on a new express bus service are scheduled to begin Monday.
The kick-off celebration for Metro Line 577X will take place at 10 a.m. at the Veterans Affairs Long Beach Healthcare System Hospital, 5901 E. Seventh St.

"I'm very excited about this new service," said Bonnie Lowenthal, a Long Beach councilwoman and Metropolitan Transportation Authority board member. "It will make traveling so much easier and quicker for folks going to work and home to their families."

The Metro Express Line 577X, from Long Beach to El Monte via the San Gabriel River (605) Freeway, will give riders a chance to shave more than a half an hour from their morning and evening commutes, MTA officials said.

"This is actually an effort to help shorten the commute time for riders," said Dave Sotero, senior public communications officer. "The entire trip is 50 minutes, end-to-end, and going one way, that same journey if people didn't utilize (carpool) lanes would take significantly longer."

In Long Beach, the MTA bus will pick riders up on Seventh Street at Cal State Long Beach. The bus will also stop twice at the VA hospital.

Other stops include the Metro Green Line Station on Hoxie Avenue in Norwalk and the El Monte Transit Center.

The El Monte Transit center is the largest bus hub in county, with 20,000 passengers boarding buses daily.

The bus will use high occupancy vehicle, or HOV, lanes during peak weekday traffic along the freeway at rush hour.

It is only the second express bus service offered by the MTA.

Buses will depart every 20 minutes from 5:30 a.m. to 9 a.m. and from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m.

They will leave every 30 minutes between 9 a.m. and 3 p.m. and 6 p.m. to 8 p.m.

After 8 p.m and up to 11 p.m., buses depart every hour.

For information, visit www.metro.net.

[LAMetroGuy]

Council getting a leg up on transport?
By Jason Gewirtz, Staff writer


LONG BEACH — First a monorail. Then mounted horses. Now pedicabs.

The City Council on Tuesday will consider the latest plan to provide transportation and atmosphere for downtown: pedicabs that will whisk people around by leg-power.

The proposal would permit a Colorado-based company to operate up to 20 pedicabs in a zone that will include Pine Avenue, the Pike at Rainbow Harbor, the East Village Arts District, the Promenade, Shoreline Village and the Aquarium of the Pacific.

A ride would cost $1 for each 1/10th of a mile. The rate would be determined by an odometer placed on the bicycle's wheel.

Downtown Long Beach Associates first proposed the idea as a way to get people through the bustling downtown's growing attractions, said Kraig Kojian, DLBA president and CEO.

"We're totally supportive," he said.

The move comes after several abandoned proposals to build a monorail connecting downtown's attractions. In recent weeks, the council has also debated the addition of mounted police to add to the downtown scene.

Kojian said pedicabs would be more practical. "They don't litter," he said.

The Long Beach Municipal Code has a section governing pedicab operations, even though city officials have no recollection of pedicab service being offered in the city, said Jim Goodin, the city's business services officer. San Diego and Huntington Beach offer pedicab service in their downtowns.

Under the deal to be considered Tuesday, operators would be allowed to pedal anywhere in a zone from the Los Angeles River to Alamitos Boulevard and from Eighth Street to the ocean. Customers would be able to hop on wherever they like, although the pedicabs are expected to concentrate along Pine Avenue and the attractions south of Ocean Boulevard.

"The pedicab drivers are going to go where the business is," Goodin said.

Long Beach Pedicabs LLC is the proposed operator, although its corporate office is in Broomfield, Colo.

Tax measures?

Also Tuesday, the City Council will hear results of a recent polling regarding several potential ballot measures in 2006.

The city is considering a range of potential tax increases to pay for libraries, police and other services. The report from a city-hired political consultant is expected to provide the results of two recent telephone surveys made of likely voters.

The results will be discussed at a 2 p.m. workshop.

Jason Gewirtz can be reached at (562) 499-1373.

[LAMetroGuy]

Art of the vine

http://extras.mnginteractive.com/live/media/site210/2005/1219/20051219_073042_051215-CasaVino-3-LCH.gifhttp://extras.mnginteractive.com/live/media/site210/2005/1219/20051219_073126_051215-CasaVino-1-LCH.gif

Mary Kittrelle likes food, wine, music and paintings, and you'll experience her exquisite taste in all four when you visit CasaVino in downtown Long Beach

Wine, women and song. Whichever prehistoric man first came up with that idea must have been a genius.
In those long-ago days, all there was to eat were grubs and weeds, and when you came home from work, the only thing on the wall were some primitive cave cartoons.

But the humans of today are more complex. They want good things to eat and delicious eye candy. So Mary Kittrelle added "food" and "art" to the ancient equation for happiness.

Actually, she also subtracted "women," but I can understand that because women today are too expensive. Only kidding.

So if you're strolling down Pine Avenue in downtown Long Beach and head south across Ocean Boulevard and on down the hill, look up and you'll see it's all there for you at a storefront at 51 S. Pine. The sign overhead says: "Wine, Art, Music & Food." It's CasaVino, and there's nothing else like it in this area.

Kittrelle used to work in corporate finance for Avery Dennison in Pasadena, and wine was her hobby. "I was going to wine tastings at various wine shops," she said in a phone interview this week, "but it would be like in the back room of the shop, so there wouldn't be much atmosphere, no comfortable seating and no food to speak of. Despite all that, they would sell out. People would just flock to these things."

Her epiphany came when she visited a wine bar in Los Angeles: "I said, 'Wow! This is what I like. This atmosphere is what I like. And there needs to be more of them.

"It was a time of my career where I was looking for the next opportunity. I have an MBA from UCLA, so I always had an interest in business, and I was looking to expose myself to other facets of business."

Kittrelle's niece is an artist and was attending Cal State Long Beach. Through her, Kittrelle came to downtown Long Beach and was excited by the redevelopment and the arts community. Her concept was to expand on the wine bar format by offering more food and incorporating art. "And the real estate was cheaper, honestly," she said.

She settled on an empty store that had once been a day spa, and "with all the delays," it took her a year to get ready. She finally opened in January.

I first visited her place many months ago and enjoyed the cuisine of Chef David Escandell. Just when I was ready to review it, the chef moved on, and the new chef Robert Buck naturally changed some things and began cooking his way. So I waited to see what would happen.

Well, not really much happened. The food is slightly different but still excellent, and the service and ambience is as pleasant as ever. When I ate there, only two entrees a night were offered, for about $16 to $20. Now there are four, and Buck says that soon this will be expanded to six. This does not include the selection of individual gourmet pizzas.

Everything I tried at CasaVino ranged from good to excellent, including:

Flank steak. Fresh steak is marinated overnight in olive oil, salt, pepper, garlic and sun-dried tomatoes. It's sauteed to order in olive oil and butter and cut in "ribbons," according to Buck. "If you think of flank steak as a hand, you cut it so that the fingers open."

Polenta. The steak is served on top of polenta, corn meal that is cooked in a double boiler with butter, olive oil and salt. It's put on the plate, and then blue cheese is crumbled over it, and the steak goes on top. So the cheese melts between the steak and polenta.

Baby spinach. The steak plate has one more element, a ring of "gently sauteed baby spinach," as described by Buck. Baby spinach is "the young leaf of the spinach that has a sweet, tenderer texture," said Buck. "The stems aren't as long." By "gently sauteed," he means that the olive oil is not heated up before the spinach is added. The oil and spinach are combined, put on the burner and heated up together.

Chicken paprika. This was great in the version by the previous chef and also terrific a la Buck. An 8-ounce chicken breast is butterflied and browned on both sides in extra virgin olive oil. Then it's oven-roasted. The drippings from the chicken are combined with dry white wine, paprika, caramelized onions and roasted red bell peppers to make the sauce.

Oven-roasted potatoes. These come with the chicken. They are "usually russet, because the flavor is heartier with the chicken." They are roasted with rosemary, olive oil and paprika.

Toasted formaggio. One of the many interesting "small bites" — call them appetizers or tapas if you are confused — they are made from baby brie that's topped with honey and fresh slivered almonds, then toasted in the oven and served with a garnish of baby greens - a blend of organic red and green romaine, red and green oak leaf lettuce, spinach, mizuna, arugula, frisee and radicchio — Jana gold apples and multi-grain crackers.

Mixed green salad. This is the same greens, plus julienne red onions and fresh Roma tomatoes, tossed in a light vinaigrette. It costs $5 a la carte, but if you order an entre, you can get one for $2.95.

Caesar salad. Hearts of romaine are mixed with homemade croutons — pieces of French baguette covered with paprika, infused with olive oil and baked — freshly grated Parmesan cheese, black pepper and a Caesar dressing from a purveyor. Buck is working on his own Caesar dressing and promises to premiere it in January.

Stuffed tomatoes. The halved and cored Roma tomatoes are mixed with fresh oven-roasted garlic, basil pesto from a purveyor (Buck also has plans to make this from scratch) and sun-dried tomatoes, then topped with goat cheese and baked in the oven.

Croustades. This appetizer is made from white bread that's toasted with olive oil and cut into round pieces. The pieces are topped with caramelized onions and disks of goat cheese.

Chocolate mousse cake. It's from a purveyor, and it's a tasty version and popular with chocolate lovers like myself.

Buck was born and raised in Long Beach and attended Hoover and Jordan. His first job in a restaurant was at 15, and he's made pizza for the Italian Brewery in Huntington Harbor, cooked soups from a coffee base at the Dockside Brewery in Marina Pacifica, and made stuffed mushrooms at Limerick's.

For six or seven years he dropped out of creating food to do construction, sales, poetry and music, but CasaVino drew him back to kitchen creativity.

You can enjoy Buck's creations with Voss mineral water or sparkling apple cider, but if you appreciate wine, CasaVino is twice as much fun.

There are many wines by the glass available. "My philosophy is I like variety," says Kittrelle, "so we try to get wines that represent different regions of the world, not just California wines. We have different varietals (from different grapes) and different prices." A glass can vary from $5 to $15, and bottles from $20 to mid-$60s.

It's fun tasting the different wines from everywhere, but even more fun are the flights. These are 2 to 2 1/2-ounce samples of three or four wines, arranged on a platter the way they are listed on the menu, that are arranged around a theme, such as Italian whites or Spanish reds. "It gives people an opportunity to compare and contrast different wines," said Kittrelle. "It gets people talking about the wine and sharing their experiences and their opinions." The wine flights are usually around $10 or $11.

The art is by local artists, usually one or two at a time. The art is changed every two or three months, and all the artwork is for sale.

As for music, that takes place almost every Saturday in the form of an acoustic guitarist and vocalists singing mostly folk and pop tunes. There's so much musical talent in this area, that the quality is pretty high. On the first Friday of the month, there is a jazz guitarist. "When we don't have live music, we play our iPod shuffle," says Kittrelle.

Do you like wine, art, music and food? Do you like them even better if they're all good, all in one place and offered in a friendly, unpretentious atmosphere? Then there's finally a place for you in downtown Long Beach: CasaVino.

[LAMetroGuy]

Lofts In Store For Old Newbury Space



By Kurt Helin
Editor

It’s a perfect example of the changes in downtown Long Beach in the past 50 years.

In 1951, the national department store chain Newbury opened a two-story, 15,000-square-foot department store on Pine Avenue between Fourth and Fifth streets. It was, with Woolworth and other stores, part of a shopping hub on Pine Avenue in the years after World War II.

But as things changed downtown over the decades — new shopping trends, changes in housing and demographics and the decline of the Pike — Newbury’s fell on hard times, as did the “Main Street” feel of Pine.

For more than a dozen years, Newbury’s has sat empty.

Now, a new owner and developer have stepped forward with plans for loft housing and retail stores to fill the space.

Those plans got a nod of approval from the Planning Commission last week.

Interstices Developers plans to have 18 residential units on the site, which will turn the existing two-story building into a four-story structure by constructing a new floor on top and turning the two existing floors into three. About 6,500 square-feet of retail space will be on the ground floor.

The residential units will range in size from 1,100 to 2,000 square feet, larger than some of the other new building projects downtown, company officials told the Planning Commission. Each will have an outdoor patio, plus the project has a roof deck that will be open for use by the tenants.

The basement of the building will be converted to a garage, with 35 parking spaces.

All that work will alter and modernize the façade of the historic building — for example, the rather blank building façade will be replaced by windows. However, special efforts have been made to make sure the building fits in with the historic street, such as using smooth stucco and exposed steel, as the buildings on either side of it do now.

While the Planning Commission had some questions about how it fit historically and the parking (which did not meet city code), it approved the new project unanimously.

[LAMetroGuy]

By Kurt Helin
Editor

With one new building on its way up, the City Council has approved a second construction project for the Promenade.

Lennar Developers plans to build a 62-unit condominium and town home project on the southeast corner of the Promenade and Broadway, and council members quickly backed the plan.

The land is currently a parking lot. The city owns the 30,000-square-foot property and is selling it to Lennar for $1.8 million.

Not all of that is cash. About $1.2 million is, and will go to the Redevelopment Agency coffers. The rest will be in-kind work by the developer to add trees and improve the Promenade (following already finished guidelines). Some of it also will go to a public art project in the area.

The building will fit in with the other development sprouting up downtown, the designers said. There will be retail on the ground floor with several small shops. Above that will be 48 condominiums, ranging from one to three bedrooms.

What is different is that there also will be 14 three-bedroom town homes.

Council members had some questions about the amount of parking for the site, but were told that the developer had altered the plans to make sure that the parking amount matched city code.

There was no discussion of density issues that have come when the council looked at other downtown development plans. A few weeks ago the council asked about setting up some kind of special property or development tax downtown to add money to the police budget to help with the growing population density downtown. That is expected to come back after the first of the year.

The council approved the project unanimously. Details, including who the retail tenants would be, still need to be approved by the RDA board. That body has signed off on the general design plans.

[LAMetroGuy]

Plan For Pike Hotel Gets Nod
Despite Lawsuit About Property



By Kurt Helin
Editor

Plans for a new seven-story hotel on the Pike property downtown got approval from the City Council last week and appear ready to become reality.

That approval came despite a call to put off the decision by an environmental group, and it still would need to be upheld by the State Lands Commission (an approval which is expected).

Sierra Suites Hotels wants to build a seven-story “boutique” all-suites hotel on undeveloped land near Cedar Avenue and Seaside Way. It would have a rooftop pool, meeting rooms, an outdoor courtyard and more. The goal is to have the hotel open in 2007.

There was no disagreement that the hotel would be a good fit or was a legal use of the downtown land.

The basis for the opposition, that caused the appeal to the council, was more to do with an ongoing legal issue regarding parts of the Pike, including the land where the hotel will be built.

Back before the Pike was built, California Earth Corps and other environmental groups sued to overturn a “land swap” deal that made the Pike development possible. That swap said the Pike land could be developed if about 10 acres of land along the Los Angeles River and 710 Freeway was preserved as open space. The Pike was built after a court hearing, but California Earth Corps kept appealing the case saying that this was a bad precedent to set.

Earlier this year, the California Appeals Court invalidated that land swap, an issue now headed to the State Supreme Court. Don May, representing California Earth Corps, said that the plans to build a hotel on this site was not the issue, but that the city’s appeal to the Supreme Court was.

His argument was that the city wanted its cake and to eat it to — that it had one set of lawyers working to get the land swap reinstated and another taking advantage of its absence to get the hotel approved.

The City Council followed the advice of their council, who said these were two unrelated issues. The city wants to land swap to preserve land along the river.

However, when the Appeals Court overturned the land swap deal, the potential uses for the land reverted back to any use permitted on State Tidelands property, city staff told the council. That includes a hotel use.

The hotel itself was not controversial, leading to its approval.

“Since everyone here is in agreement on the hotel, I am also,” said Second District Councilman Dan Baker.

Now that the City Council has reviewed the project, it is the State Lands Commission’s turn.

[LAMetroGuy]

Pedicabs approved, city credit rating up
By Jason Gewirtz, Staff writer

LONG BEACH — Pedicabs will soon be zooming through downtown.

With little discussion, the City Council on Tuesday approved a deal to allow Long Beach Pedicabs LLC to operate up to 20 of the bicycle-powered devices.

"I think everyone's happy to see this coming," said Councilman Dan Baker, whose 2nd District includes downtown Long Beach. "This is going to help the traffic situation in our downtown."

The plan approved Tuesday will allow the company to operate pedicabs in a zone from Eighth Street to the ocean, and from the Los Angeles River to Alamitos Avenue. Rides will cost $1 for each 1/10th of a mile.

The operator plans to put four pedicabs on the streets to start, said Jim Goodin, the city's business services officer. Operation could begin by March.

Other cities that feature pedicabs include Huntington Beach and San Diego.

Bond outlook
Also Tuesday, the city announced its bond rating has been taken off a negative outlook by the Standard & Poor's ratings firm.
"The bottom line is that our outlook has been revised to stable from what had been negative," City Manager Jerry Miller said.

The move, which affirms the city's AA-credit rating, could allow the city to receive reduced interest rates when it borrows money. Standard & Poor's attached the negative outlook in 2002 when the city faced a projected $102 million general fund shortfall.

Since then, the city has reduced $92 million from that gap.

The updated stable rating assumes the city will eliminate the remaining $10 million in projected deficit by 2007.

"The improvement in the city's credit rating is validation that we are on the right course," Miller said.

[LAMetroGuy]

The last 4 posts were posted today! Lots of stuff happening in downtown LB!

[POLA]

alright, rickshaws!

[RBR]

shame about the monorail...

[LAMetroGuy]

Upscale Grocer For
Shore Topic For BSRA

An upscale grocer and market wants to make Belmont Shore its newest location.

Next Thursday, Jan. 12, representatives from Famima Corporation USA will speak to Belmont Shore residents about a proposal to bring its brand of premium convenience stores to Second Street.

Famima!! (the exclamation points are part of the logo) is part of the popular Japanese chain, FamilyMart, which has more than 6,000 stores in that country. FamilyMart stores also are in Korea, China, Thailand and Taiwan.

The FamilyMart Co. Ltd., in partnership with importer/exporter Itochu Group, expanded to the United States in 2004, starting the Famima Corporation. The first U.S. store was in West Hollywood, and in early December a second store opened in Westwood. A third Famima!! in Southern California is slated for the Third Street Promenade in Santa Monica.

According to its web site, Famima!! plans to add 30 stores in the Los Angeles area and the southwest this year, focusing on “areas where consumers have high living standards” and locations with a strong residential base.

The stores tout their selection of premium foodstuffs, and their all-in-one convenience, offering everything from a quick service restaurant and a convenience store to a drug store, bank and newsstand.

Bill Lorbeer, whose family owns several buildings on Second Street, asked to have Famima representatives come speak to the BSRA. He has not publicly discussed where a Second Street Famima!! might go.

The BSRA meeting begins at 6:30 p.m. Jan. 12 in the community room of the Bay Shore Library, 195 Bay Shore Avenue. It is open to the public.

—Amy Bentley-Smith

[LAMetroGuy]

Public Invited To Comment On
Downtown Development Ideas


By Steve Irsay
Staff Writer

The public will have a chance later this month to weigh in on the future of City Hall East, the long-awaited Art Exchange and other parts of a redevelopment project that could reshape a neglected area of the downtown.

Seven teams are vying for the right to revitalize publicly and privately owned sites along Long Beach Boulevard between First and Third streets. They will display their plans and answer questions at an open house meeting later this month, said Amy Bodek, the city project development bureau manager.

The presentation had been planned for next Thursday, Jan. 12, but has been rescheduled to allow more time to notify the public, she said. The new time and location have yet to be determined, but it likely will be an evening meeting in the downtown area.

The meeting, which also will include a community survey on the proposed projects, is the latest turn in the process of selecting a developer or developers for the site — a process that has been criticized as secretive and may be strained by tensions between the City Council and Redevelopment Agency board.

In August meetings of the RDA board, 10 development teams presented a range of plans for the revitalization of the sites, which include City Hall East at 100 Long Beach Blvd., the vacant American Hotel Building near Broadway, several parking lots and a few small businesses including the 70-year-old Acres of Books.

In October, a selection committee made up of city officials and independent consultants chose seven developers to continue in the selection process. The proposals range from high-rise residential towers to mixed-use, low-rise developments. Five of the plans include some form of Art Exchange, a mixed-use enclave of retail, classrooms, studios and housing that some feel will be a hub for the East Village Arts District.

Each developer was required to submit additional information to the committee. But the further paring of that list — expected to take place early this year — has been put on hold, Bodek said.

“We have been asked by the RDA board and the City Council to not cut any other developers until we have fully briefed the agency board and City Council,” she said.

Those instructions came during informal conversations and briefings over the last four months, she added. Neither the council nor the RDA board took any formal action concerning the selection process.

The identities of those on the selection committee have not been released. RDA Board Chairman Thomas Fields and other board members had criticized the process for being closed to the public and the board itself. Fields recently said that while some decision-making must be confidential, openness is critical to a project of this scope.

“This is perhaps the most critical project we are doing downtown,” he said. “That is why we really want to have as many eyeballs as possible on it and those eyeballs include the community.”

But the somewhat contentious selection process may also hint at lingering strains between the RDA board and the City Council. Last year, some members of the council tried but failed to take over the independent board.

Since the project includes a mix of city-owned and RDA-owned sites, it is unclear whether the council or the RDA board will have ultimate say over the developer or developers selected, Bodek said.

Even the issue of which body will be the first to receive the selection committee’s recommendations remains a “tremendously sensitive issue,” she said.

Fields, along with First District Councilwoman Bonnie Lowenthal, both said the RDA and the council would likely consider the proposals together at a joint study session.

“This project has great value for the downtown and the city as a whole,” Lowenthal said.

Kristen Autry, a downtown resident and vice president of the East Village Association, said she hoped the public meeting was a sign of “a more transparent dialogue with the community” when it comes to redevelopment.

“The community is the first step in any city process,” she said. “We live here, and we will live here when the developers are gone.”

For more information, go to http://rda.longbeach.gov.

[LAMetroGuy]

Pike to include Borders store
By Don Jergler, Staff


LONG BEACH — More than two years after opening, the Pike at Rainbow Harbor is getting its first anchor retail store.

Borders is set to open next month in the Pike, next door to Long Beach Clothing Co., one of only a few existing retail stores in the shopping center.

The Pike's scant retail offerings so far have failed to bring in the foot traffic "lifestyle centers," a developers' term for outdoor shopping centers, often generate.

Though it has plenty of well-known restaurants, the Pike has been short on retailers, and some restaurant owners have complained of a dearth of customers to go around.

One eatery Big Dippers Belgian Fries failed because it couldn't generate business.

"It's a very big deal," said John Kokinchak, vice president of property management of specialty centers for Ohio-based Developers Diversified Realty, the manager and developer of the Pike.

Kokinchak likened Borders opening at the Pike to a "bell cow," which in developer lingo signifies that more retailers may be on the horizon.

"When you put a bell on one cow, all of the rest of the cows follow that cow," he said. "It's already starting to show in some of the conversations we're having (with prospective tenants)."

Kokinchak said he is in negotiations with a "yet to be revealed" boating and marine supply retailer for 10,000 square feet across from GameWorks in the 369,000-square-foot center, which he said is now nearly 80 percent leased.

Shortly after it opened in November 2003, the Pike had several large national restaurant chains, including California Pizza Kitchen, P.F. Chang's China Bistro, Gladstone's 4 Fish and Islands Fine Burgers.

A Laugh Factory is under construction at the Pike, and a hotel operator has agreed to open an upscale location.

DDR executives early on blamed failed efforts to get retailers for the center on the loss of Bass Pro Shops as an anchor store.

Bass Pro Shops pulled out of its Pike plans to concentrate on its Las Vegas and other locations, that company said.

Kokinchak said he will continue to concentrate on getting more retailers for the center.

The new 21,000-square-foot Borders will have the features of most newer Borders, including a Seattle's Best cafe and a Paperchase gifts and stationery shop.

A Borders spokeswoman would not give specific reasons why the company chose the Pike.

"We do always look for consumer demographics, strength of the co-tenants, availability of parking, attractiveness of the site," said Holley Stein. "We are very, very excited to be in the location and to be opening up our doors to this community."

There is one Borders in Long Beach, in the Los Altos Market Center. Ann Arbor, Mich.-based Borders Group Inc., which owns Waldenbooks, is the nation's No. 2 bookstore chain after Barnes & Noble with more than 1,200 Borders and Waldenbooks stores around the world.

Borders is a Fortune 500 company with annual sales of $3.9 billion, and its stock is traded on the New York Stock Exchange. The company's combined estimated customer base exceeds 30 million annually.

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

[ChrisLA]

Borders is set to open next month in the Pike, next door to Long Beach Clothing Co., one of only a few existing retail stores in the shopping center.

Where next to the LB Clothing Co? There isn't any available spots as if I recall correctly Smoothie King is next door.

Now this is the only spot where I see work being done. A picture I took a few weeks ago.

http://img278.imageshack.us/img278/7227/dsc000282iv.jpg

http://img278.imageshack.us/img278/3483/dsc000299ay.jpg

[LAMetroGuy]

yes, that is the spot... I was in the area last night and noticed that they already started painting the inside...so Feb looks to be about right for the grand opening.

[LAMetroGuy]

Kokinchak said he is in negotiations with a "yet to be revealed" boating and marine supply retailer for 10,000 square feet across from GameWorks in the 369,000-square-foot center, which he said is now nearly 80 percent leased.

I don't know why this is such a secret... the "yet to be revealed" store is called West Marine... they have a store in the Long Beach Marina, San Pedro and Huntington Beach. DDR has the stores name on their website as "proposed".

[LAMetroGuy]

East Village project to join lofts, retail
By Kevin Butler, Staff writer



LONG BEACH — Aiming to create an entry to the East Village Arts District, a developer will build 82 condominium units and 7,000 square feet of retail space at the corner of Fourth Street and Long Beach Boulevard.
Standard Pacific Homes Los Angeles on Friday completed escrow on the property, which is slightly more than an acre. Next week, it expects to begin demolishing the Dollar Club store and an adjacent building at the southeast corner of the downtown intersection to clear space for the five-story, mixed-use project.

"I think it's a great location," said Adam Call, director of land acquisition for the Irvine-based firm. "It's up-and-coming. There's still some work to do, but I think this building will absolutely enhance that area and that corner."

The firm aims to complete the project in the fall or winter of 2007, he said.

The middle-to-upper-end condos will include six live/work units along Fourth Street that will contain a work space downstairs and a living space upstairs, he said.

The developer hasn't begun negotiations with potential tenants for the retail space on the ground level to be located on the Long Beach Boulevard side of the project, Call said.

Part of the attraction of the one-or two-bedroom units is their proximity to the Metro Blue Line train and major bus routes, he said.

"Part of our intent was to create a transit-oriented development," he said.

The building's courtyard will include barbecues, a large community room, fireplace and open grass space, Call said.

The Dollar Club store has moved to another location, and the site's other building, formerly occupied by the Youth Opportunity Center, is vacant, Call said.

The company bought the property from Belmont Heights-based Maverick Investments, which is owned by Kurt Schneiter and George Karahalios.

"I think (the project) is a great asset to the area," Schneiter said. "I wouldn't have gone with the developer unless I thought it was going to improve the area."

He declined to disclose the sale price.

Standard Pacific, which is publicly traded on the New York Stock Exchange, built more than 9,000 homes last year and is the No. 11 home-building company in the nation, Call said.

The firm has built residential units at Playa Vista in West Los Angeles and currently is building housing in Pasadena, Marina del Rey and Torrance.

The Standard Pacific project is the latest effort to encourage more residents in that area of downtown Long Beach, said Kraig Kojian, president and CEO of Downtown Long Beach Associates.

Ten developers are vying for rights to build a project at the former City Hall East at Long Beach Boulevard and First Street. The project would be home to hundreds, even thousands, of residents.

"We've been advocating for additional housing for quite some time (in the area) … So we're encouraged by the residential component" with the Standard Pacific project, Kojian said.

The Standard Pacific project was designed by architect Rick Aiken of William Hezmalhalch Architects.

Kevin Butler can be reached at kevin.butler@presstelegram.com or (562) 499-1308.

[LAMetroGuy]

L.B. land swap appeal tossed
By Joe Segura, Staff writer

LONG BEACH — The state Supreme Court has dismissed the city's legal effort to protect the Pike entertainment complex from development restrictions asserted by an environmentalists group.

The court agreed in August to consider a case initially filed by California Earth Corps challenging a 2001 land swap, which had cleared the way for construction of the Pike at Rainbow Harbor. Earth Corps argued that the swap violated state tidelands public-trust law. A state appeals court panel sided with Earth Corps last April, prompting the city of Long Beach to appeal to the state's high court.

Don May, head of the California Earth Corps, said he's elated by the court's decision, which reached the group's attorneys late Friday.

"One word says it all: 'Dismissed,"' May said.

City Attorney Bob Shannon said he is surprised by the high court's ruling.

"It's very, very unusual for the court to take the case … and then to dismiss it," he said Friday night.

However, Shannon said a careful review of the decision is needed before deciding what options the city might consider.

"I'm not sure what it means," the city attorney added.

The Pike entertainment complex was built on formerly submerged land where development use is restricted to ocean-and harbor-related functions, such as navigation, fishing, restaurants and limited types of commerce.

In 2001, the State Lands Commission allowed the city to exempt 3 acres of the site from those restrictions. In return, the city agreed to place tidelands restrictions on 10 acres of undeveloped land near a Long Beach (710) Freeway off-ramp near downtown.

California Earth Corps challenged the swap, asserting that a movie theater and video game complex at the Pike site failed to meet the tidelands' public-trust restrictions.

The city and State Lands Commission won the first ruling in the case, but the 3rd Appellate District Court agreed with the environmentalist challenge.

The state Supreme Court's dismissal could give the environmentalists a strong role in deciding the make-up of the Pike, including the eventual replacement of CineMark theater and GameWorks video arcade.

"Revocation of the land swap stands, with prejudice," May stated.

The Pike has several national restaurants, but they're allowed under the public-trust tidelands restrictions. The environmentalists did not seek the removal or replacement of any eating establishments.

The Pike has been slowly filling with tenants, but it has struggled to fill some retail space, in part because of the coastal restrictions.

Attorneys for Developers Diversified Reality, the developer and operator of the Pike, were not immediately available for comment.

[LAMetroGuy]

What gives with the California Earth Corps??? I mean the same land prior to the theater and GameWorks was a HUGE parking lot? This is just crazy... I hope that they don't remove the theater and GameWorks.... UGH!

[ChrisLA]

Yeah Game Works is probably one of the largest attractions, and especially on weekends. I guess my nephew better start thinking about finding a new job. I doubt GW will be taking any employees (including managers) with them if forced to move. I guess Borders Books will have to close as well. The bad thing is they're one month away from their grand opening. This sucks!

[LAMetroGuy]

for some reason, I think that Gameworks, the movies and Borders will not close... I beleive that through arbitration... DDR and/or the City will pay Earth Corps some settlement monies to make them "go away". I'm sure that's all they want.:frog:

[LAMetroGuy]

Both sides could win in Pike land swap
By Don Jergler and Joe Segura, Staff writers



LONG BEACH — A state Supreme Court decision last week that seemingly favors environmentalists in a lawsuit against a city-state tidelands swap at the Pike at Rainbow Harbor may have actually been a victory of sorts for both sides.

The court dismissed the city of Long Beach's challenge to an appellate court ruling in the case, but acknowledged a recent relaxing of the law governing such swaps.

The court apparently felt that the new legislation, according to one official, would allow the State Lands Commission to resolve the matter, which would benefit the city. However, the environmentalists hope that a newly comprised SLC board will be more amenable to their position.

The court's one-sentence ruling refers to the recently approved tidelands amendment that grants the State Lands Commission broader power to conduct land swaps like the one that cleared the way for construction of the Pike.

The court had consented to take up a review of a city challenge to the successful appeal by environmentalist California Earth Corps of a land swap for the 369,000-square-foot retail and entertainment center nestled between Queensway Bay and downtown.

Instead of setting up a hearing, the Supreme Court dismissed the city's challenge of that appellate court ruling. However, the state amendment giving the SLC broader power could end up being used to both the SLC and city's advantage.

The Pike was built on formerly submerged land where development use is restricted to ocean-and harbor-related functions, such as navigation, fishing, restaurants and limited types of commerce.

In 2001, the SLC allowed the city to exempt 3 acres of the site from those restrictions. In return, the city agreed to place tidelands restrictions on 10 acres of undeveloped land near a Long Beach (710) Freeway off-ramp near downtown.

The Pike opened in November 2003 and has struggled to find retail tenants, and managers have placed part of the blame for that struggle on Tidelands restrictions that limit development use to ocean-and harbor-related functions.

"We're re-evaluating our position," said City Attorney Bob Shannon. "This does not necessarily mean that the items that have been built on the property are going to have to be torn down."

The ruling makes the land swap illegal, but Shannon contends that the environmentalists must return with another filing that challenges proper Tidelands usage.

Shannon said any actions taken by the city will be determined after staff meets later this week, and following a closed session meeting with the City Council set for Jan. 17.

"It'll be uncharted territory for anybody," said Paul Thayer, a spokesman for the SLC. "The appeals court went one way, but the legislation cauterized what we've been doing all along. And by dismissing this, the (state Supreme Court) thinks that the new legislation resolved the issue that they wanted to take up in accepting the review, but it still leaves dangling this one case."

Like the city, the SLC is considering its next steps, Thayer said.

Santa Monica-based attorney Douglas Carstens, who is representing Earth Corps, said he expects the case to be referred back to the SLC board, and that the challenge to the land swap plan might encounter a more environmentally friendly decision because of the new members on the panel.

"The bottom line is that the deal must be compatible to public trust," he said, adding that would include open space and recreation facilities.

Long Beach-based attorney Mel Nutter, a former chairman of the state Coastal Commission, said the land-swap dispute is rare for the SLC.

"I don't recall very many lawsuits involving the question whether a land swap is legal when deal with with public trust," he said.

Don May, who heads the Earth Corps group, said the widening of the SLC's power for land swaps could have widespread impacts, since its public-trust issues include rivers, lakes and streams.

"I'm optimistic about this," he said. "The pendulum will swing the other way."

That view isn't shared by Richard Dongell, a partner in the law firm of Dongell, Lawrence, Finney, Claypool, the firm representing Pike owner and operator Developers Diversified Realty.

"It was clear that the Supreme Court originally granted review of the appellate court ruling because they were not comfortable with the ruling and intended to consider doing something about it," Dongell said. "Now that the California Legislature and governor have chosen to amend the exchange statute to avoid the result reached by the appellate court, it is understandable that the Supreme Court saw no need to address the issue any further."

The court agreed in August to consider a case initially filed by California Earth Corps challenging a 2001 land swap, which had cleared the way for construction of the Pike. Earth Corps argued that the swap violated state tidelands public-trust law. A state appeals court panel sided with Earth Corps last April, prompting the city of Long Beach to appeal to the state's high court.

California Earth Corps challenged the land swap, asserting that a movie theater and video game complex at the Pike site failed to meet the tidelands' public-trust restrictions.

The city and SLC won the first ruling in the case, but the 3rd Appellate District Court agreed with the environmentalist challenge.

The state Supreme Court's dismissal could give environmentalists a strong role in deciding the make-up of the Pike, including the eventual replacement of CineMark theater and GameWorks video arcade.

"Revocation of the land swap stands, with prejudice," May stated.

Executives at CineMark and GameWorks could not be reached for comment.

The Pike has several national restaurants, but they're allowed under the public-trust tidelands restrictions. The environmentalists did not seek the removal or replacement of any eating establishments.

Don Jergler can be reached at (562) 499-1281.
Joe Segura can be reached at (562) 499-1274.

[citywatch]

The state Supreme Court's dismissal could give the environmentalists a strong role in deciding the make-up of the Pike, including the eventual replacement of CineMark theater and GameWorks video arcade.My blood pressure goes up.

However, the state amendment giving the SLC broader power could end up being used to both the SLC and city's advantage.My blood pressure goes down.

[LAMetroGuy]

not to mention:

"The court apparently felt that the new legislation would allow the State Lands Commission to resolve the matter, which would benefit the city."

[LAMetroGuy]

Date Set For Public To View
Plans For “City Hall East”



By Steve Irsay
Staff Writer

The public will get to explore the possible future of downtown Long Beach at a Monday, Jan. 30, open house concerning the redevelopment project that includes City Hall East and the proposed Art Exchange.

Seven development teams will present their plans beginning at 6 p.m. on Jan. 30 at First Congregational Church (241 Cedar Ave.). Free parking will be available at the City Hall parking structure on Broadway near Cedar Avenue.

Each developer will have a booth with information on the proposed project and be on hand to answers questions. The public also will have a chance to provide feedback about the projects on a survey that can be filled out at the meeting or mailed back at a later date.

The open house will be preceded by a brief presentation from city staff on the developer selection process so far.

“The idea is to obtain input from the community before a decision is made,” said Sherri Rossillo, the city development project manager.

And to further increase overall public participation in the redevelopment process, the Redevelopment Agency announced that it will begin holding one meeting each month during the evening. (The agency has typically met on the second and fourth Monday of each month at 9 a.m. at City Hall.)

The first evening meeting will take place at 5 p.m. Monday, Jan. 23, at the City Council chamber at City Hall (333 W. Ocean Blvd.) The schedule change will take place for a three-month trial period during which attendance will be tracked to determine if the new time increases public participation.

The seven developers that will be on hand Jan. 30 were “short-listed” from 10 teams that presented plans to the RDA board in August. In October, a selection committee made up of city staff and independent consultants chose seven teams to continue in the competition for redevelopment rights.

The committee is expected to pare the list down further and next month present recommendations jointly to the City Council and RDA board, Rossillo said.

The proposals cover three project sites including a mix of city-owned and RDA-owned properties.

One site includes the city-owned former Southern California Edison building — referred to as “City Hall East” — at 100 Long Beach Blvd.

The second site, located on Broadway between Elm Avenue and Long Beach Boulevard, is for the proposed Art Exchange, an enclave of artist studios, galleries and classrooms.

The third site consists of two parking lots and the vacant American Hotel building on Broadway between Long Beach Boulevard and the Promenade.

While some of the plans may have changed since they were initially presented, many proposals likely will involve hundreds — if not thousands — of new units of housing.

Among those developers making the first cut are the Lee Group, which proposed building 314 residential units and retail space; Lennar Corporation, whose plan included 1,186 residential units with ground-floor retail and commercial space; Toll Brothers, who propose spreading 1,200 housing units over three high-rise towers; Urban Pacific Builders LLC, whose plan includes 279 residential units and a possible art school; and Williams & Dame Development, which proposes 387 residential and live/work units.

All five plans also included some form of Art Exchange, which is seen by some as a possible hub for the East Village Arts District.

The other two short-listed developers, who did not present plans for the Art Exchange block, are Grand Prix Place LLC, whose plan called for converting City Hall East into lofts or a boutique hotel above a museum dedicated to the Long Beach Grand Prix; and Urban Growth Long Beach LLC, which proposed 462 residential units and retail space.

[LAMetroGuy]

Movin' on up
By Don Jergler, Staff writer



LONG BEACH — A safety foreman called "Crash" walks among some 200 workers scrambling around on nine floors of a skeletal structure that will eventually rise to become the city's second tallest building.
Crash stretches his neck to look into a cavernous pit that will be the spot of a stairwell, walks over to a contractor laying out chalk lines for a wall, then boards a wire-cage elevator and heads down.

"We're trying to pour one floor of concrete every five days," says David "Crash" Killough, with the project's general contractor Ledcor Construction.

That aggressive schedule has workers bustling on West Ocean, a $196 million residential project that will yield 246 luxury condominium units in two towers.

Originally under development as part of the adjacent 9.5-acre Camden Harbor View project, the development is rising on the site of a former parking lot at Ocean Boulevard and Chestnut Street near the Pike at Rainbow Harbor. Camden sold the site for an undisclosed sum to Intracorp Los Angeles LLC in 2003. In 1999, Camden Property Trust paid $20 million for the property, according to city records.

The project won't be complete at least another year, but nearly three-fourths of the units have sold.

"Tower 1 sold out around February of last year and we had nothing there, not even a hole in the ground," says Joanne Rowland, Intracorp's vice president of sales and marketing.

Tower 1 will become the city's second tallest building at 345 feet just shy of the 397-foot World Trade Center across Ocean, but higher than the 310-foot Landmark Square on Ocean near Pine Avenue.

The 29-story tower will feature 132 one-and two-bedroom units, which sold from the mid-$400,000s to $1 million, as well as two 3,300-plus-square-foot penthouses that sold for around $3 million, Rowland says.

There are 114 one-and two-bedroom residences planned for Tower 2, the south tower, which will rank as the city's 11th tallest building at 253 feet. That structure, still at the ground-level phase of construction, faces the Pike parking garage. More than 50 units have sold in the 21-story Tower 2, with prices ranging from the low $500,000s to $1.5 million, Rowland says.

Sizes in the project range from 1,000 square feet up to 3,300-plus square feet. Completion for Tower 1 is slated for March 2007. Tower 2 is expected to be finished in June 2007.

"I'm hoping to be completely sold out by this June," says Rowland, who credits the quick sales pace to the attractiveness of towers, the site and the development of downtown Long Beach. "The revitalization that's going on in the downtown area is just so appealing, and every year it's getting better."

West Ocean amenities include a pool, spa, barbecue areas, a club room, a fitness center and meeting and conference areas, according to plans.

However, the building's exterior promises to be one of its best features, says John Perkins Sr., director of Vancouver-based Perkins & Co., the project's architect.

Perkins' lead architect on the project, Louise Webb, designed the thin, tall towers so they diverge from traditional square-shaped buildings. The towers feature some rounded edges, particularly on the ocean-facing side, to enhance the views, Perkins says.

The floors in the building are smaller than normal, restricting the number of units per floor. That optimizes the views from inside the towers, while providing a low profile respectful to the views of the project's neighbors, he says.

Perkins has designed dozens of towers up and down California's coast. With less space available for development and a growing number of battles over coastal views, Perkins says to expect more of what are being called "point towers."

"They don't block the views as much as the old buildings," he says.

Called "contemporary classic," the look moves away from the older square-shaped style, and uses more metal and glass, with curved sides facing the water "to signal that's a special side of the building," Perkins says.

The two towers will be connected at the first few floors to allow people to walk between either tower and a four-floor underground garage. The lower portions of the towers are colored to tie into a concept seen in other projects along Ocean, Perkins says.

"These are going to be rather timeless," he says. "I think they're going to look good for a long time."

Suzanne Frick, director of Long Beach planning and building, says the structure fits in with the quality of design being sought for Ocean: colorful buildings with structures that have distinctive bottoms, middles and tops.

"What's most important is that they relate to the street and they fit in within their context," Frick says.

The project has 3,569 square feet of ground-floor retail, but developers haven't decided on the usage.

"We're going to have probably something that's conducive to the area," Rowland says.

Other residential towers in the works along or near Ocean are Aqua, a pair of rectangular 22-story towers totaling 556 units. That project is slated for completion in February.

A group of developers announced in May that they hope to build the city's largest residential condominium project on a 5.6-acre parcel behind the World Trade Center. Plans call for three, 20-to 30-story towers with 1,050 upscale condominiums and ground-floor retail.
Developers are in discussions over preliminary designs, city planners say.

The same developers, Molasky Pacific, a high-powered team of business people that includes Kenneth Wynn, who developed several of brother Steve's lavish Vegas casino-resorts, scrapped a proposal earlier in May to construct the city's tallest building on Ocean and Alamitos Avenue.

The proposed 40-story residential tower drew criticism from residents living near the project who worried it would obstruct their views and create traffic congestion.

Anderson Pacific, a developer who owns the property, is planning a three-tower project. The project, known as Shoreline Gateway, proposes 310 residential units spread over buildings of 8, 15 and 22 stories.
City planning and building officials recently conducted a public meeting to gather input on the proposed project.

Don Jergler can be reached at (562) 499-1281.

[LAMetroGuy]

http://www.gazettes.com/Resources/construction.jpeg

http://www.gazettes.com/Resources/dowtow3.gif

[LordUnum]

Lookin' good! :cool:

All of a sudden, I've forgotten all about that ill-fated & in all likelihood uber-cheesy 'Tower of Toscana' project. Good riddance; The Beach doesn't need it with this momentum.

Thanks for keeping us well-informed, LAMG. :tup:

[LAMetroGuy]

I found this new rendering of the Edgewater On Ocean:

http://www.gruenassociates.com/images/edgewater.jpg

Edgewater Condominiums , Long Beach, California

Designed to invoke the inventive architectural style known as “Miami Modern”, this ocean-view condominium tower consists of 24 floors with 155 residential units and 24,000 square feet of retail space. Located on prestigious Ocean Avenue in downtown Long Beach, the project has a clear geometric form capped with a signature curving roof profile which reflects its name.

[colemonkee]

Blech. I guess I'm not a fan of the "Miami Modern" style, whatever that is.

[LAMetroGuy]

I agree... I like this rendition, not sure what the final version will be.

http://www.jrare.com/images/EdgewaterOnOcean.jpg

[citywatch]

^ Yea, that rendering makes the bldg look a lot better. The version of the Edgewater tower in the computer simulation isn't going to be the best for the skyline. But since a lot of highrise devlpt has been so tough & taken so long to get going in hoods like DTLB, I think of the idea that beggars can't be choosers. Still, if any proj has to end up delayed for yrs on end or ultimately cancelled, I guess it's better if it were Edgewater instead of another proposed bldg.

[LAMetroGuy]

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v600/rpulido/City%20Hall%20East/DSC00746Medium.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v600/rpulido/City%20Hall%20East/DSC00747Medium.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v600/rpulido/City%20Hall%20East/DSC00753Medium.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v600/rpulido/City%20Hall%20East/DSC00748Medium.jpg

[citywatch]

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v600/rpulido/City%20Hall%20East/DSC00746Medium.jpg

This poster & the yellow tint of the photos made me swear at first this was something from the 1950s. If it weren't for the map showing the Carnival cruise terminal, Queen Mary, aquarium, I really would think this was a proposal from over 40 yrs ago.

The idea of a people mover for LB, at least in 2006, is totally surprising to me.

[LAMetroGuy]

I updated the first page to reflect the recent LB news.... man I'm so excited!


Condo complex planned
By Don Jergler, Staff writer

An artist's model of the proposed residential costal development that would be adjacent to the Long Beach World Trade Center. .
http://lang.presstelegram.com/socal/gallery2/news/020206_tower/1.jpg

An artist rendering of the proposed residential costal development that would be adjacent to the Long Beach World Trade Center .
http://lang.presstelegram.com/socal/gallery2/news/020206_tower/2.jpg

An artist rendering of the proposed residential costal development that would be adjacent to the Long Beach World Trade Center .
http://lang.presstelegram.com/socal/gallery2/news/020206_tower/3.jpg

This map shows the intended location of the proposed residential costal development that would be adjacent to the Long Beach World Trade Center .
http://lang.presstelegram.com/socal/gallery2/news/020206_tower/4.jpg

[LAMetroGuy]

http://www.gruenassociates.com/images/edgewater.jpghttp://www.jrare.com/images/EdgewaterOnOcean.jpghttp://www.lbreport.com/images/04/edgwatr2.jpg

Edgewater Condominiums , Long Beach, California


Empty lot set for new life?
By Don Jergler, Staff



LONG BEACH — Developers of Edgewater on Ocean, a high-profile condo tower development on the busy corner of Ocean Boulevard and Pine Avenue, say they are set to begin construction on the $180 million project this summer.

It would mark the first activity on the vacant lot since the late-1980s, when the Jergens Trust Building was torn down.

The Planning Commission on Thursday cleared a hurdle to begin development by unanimously granting a project variance that allows changes to the building's exterior design, an additional level of underground parking, an increase in lot coverage, a change to Victory Park improvements and a reduction in the amount of space required for corner cutoff at the driveway entrances.

The developer says the variances were necessary.

"I think we have substantially improved on the original plan," Steven Clark, executive vice president of James Ratkovich & Associates, told planning commissioners.

The site has sat vacant as several residential and hotel proposals have fallen by the wayside.

The 23-level structure 19 stories over four levels of parking will feature 155 condominiums between 800 square feet and 2,700 square feet priced between $400,000 and $3 million.

The project will include roughly 1,900 square feet of retail space at the intersection of Pine and Seaside Way. It will also feature 9,060 square feet of retail and 6,466 square feet for a restaurant and bar at the Ocean Boulevard level.

The four levels of parking will provide 359 on-site parking spaces. An off-site parking structure at 207 Seaside Way will provide an additional 276 parking spaces, according to plans.

The project calls for construction of two pedestrian bridges from the parking structure to 180 E. Ocean Blvd and the Long Beach Convention Center Plaza. One of the 20-foot wide pedestrian bridges will be built over Locust Avenue and connect to 180 E. Ocean Blvd. The other will be built over Collins Way to Convention Center plaza to provide pedestrian access from Pine Avenue to the convention center and the neighboring Aqua project.

The owners of the Breakers, a retirement community at 210 E. Ocean Blvd., have raised an objection, citing the parking problems a development on such a crowded corner would create for its neighbors.

"Twenty-five is just not enough," said Charles Rosenberg, who represents the Breakers and the Sky Room restaurant and bar atop the building. "We are suffering in our business because of the lack of parking."

Planning Commissioners dismissed Rosenberg's complaint as a matter between the Breakers and the Edgewater developer and voted unanimously to grant the variances. The project still needs further planning approval.

"Let's get this show on the road, it's been an empty lot long enough," said Planning Commissioner Charles Greenberg.

Don Jergler can be reached at (562) 499-1281.

[LAMetroGuy]

Landscaping, Art Could Remake
Promenade As Urban Trail

http://www.gazettes.com/Resources/downtownconstruc.jpeg
http://www.gazettes.com/Resources/promen11.gif

By Steve Irsay
Staff Writer

With three separate developments expected to bring nearly 300 new units of housing and almost 30,000 square feet of retail space to The Promenade area, changes are afoot for the pedestrian right-of-way itself.

Extensive landscaping, art installations and public seating are all part of the preliminary Promenade Landscape Master Plan, an ambitious multimillion dollar attempt to remake The Promenade between First and Third streets.

While it is still conceptual, the plan recently received endorsements from the Redevelopment Agency board and Planning Commission, both of which must ultimately approve it. Construction could begin later this year.

Some have said that regardless of the ultimate plan, virtually any changes to the Promenade would be changes for the better.

The Promenade was created as part of a downtown land use plan that eventually gave rise to both the CityPlace shopping center and The Pike entertainment complex. The Promenade was to be a pedestrian connection between destinations.

Despite the presence of the long-running farmer’s market (which relocated last year) and other special events, The Promenade long has been seen as an underutilized public space.

The goal now is to “activate” the space, said Jon Cicchetti, the landscape architect coordinating the master plan.

“The key is to think of The Promenade as a destination rather than just a through corridor,” he said.

Cicchetti described The Promenade as “a little sterile.” But that seems likely to change.

Late last year, The Olson Company broke ground on the west side of The Promenade between First Street and Broadway to develop a new mixed-use building. The multi-phase project ultimately will create 97 for-sale residential units and 12,820 square feet of retail space — more than half of which will be on the ground floor.

Next month, Lennar plans to build 62 for-sale residential units and 4,333 square feet of office space on the east side of The Promenade just south of Broadway.

And Lyon Realty Advisors is in negotiations with the Redevelopment Agency to build 104 rental lofts and more than 11,500-square-feet of office and retail space on the east side of the Promenade just south of Third Street. (A portion of the project would be on a parcel on Long Beach Boulevard.)

Cicchetti’s plan, which includes input from the three private developers and other stakeholders, is to lure people to The Promenade with a series of gardens, pocket parks, art installations and seating. The amphitheater at First Street will be renovated as well.

“We wanted to create a series of outdoor spaces — rooms, if you will — versus the linear element that is there now,” he said.

The tentative “design narrative” of the space will be Long Beach’s history with the aerospace industry, Cicchetti said. The Arts Council for Long Beach will oversee the selection of the public art.

Cicchetti estimated that it could cost $4.5 million to improve all three blocks of The Promenade. Any project likely will proceed in phases.

Rick Meghiddo, a local architect and RDA board member, described The Promenade as a “wilderness” of pavement, buildings and parking without any cohesive design.

“I think no matter what we do there, it will be a change for the better,” he said. “I don’t think it was a very positive environment.”

With the master planning approach, The Promenade can be woven into the growing downtown, he added.

“I think that it is going to be what I call the living room of the downtown,” Meghiddo said. “It is going to be a gathering place and the downtown desperately needs a place like that.”

http://www.gazettes.com/promenade02062006.html

[LongBeachUrbanist]

Cicchetti described The Promenade as “a little sterile.” But that seems likely to change.

"A little sterile"? If it were any more sterile I could do surgery there!!!

The tentative “design narrative” of the space will be Long Beach’s history with the aerospace industry, Cicchetti said.

Aw crap, one of these guys. A "design narrative"??? The promenade doesn't need a "design narrative", it needs a design based on practical and aesthetic considerations, such as the need for connectivity, security, lighting, seating, walking paths, trash cans, trees, etc.

Think of about a dozen great parks/promenades I've experienced, none of them had a "narrative" other than "a place to chill" or "a way to pleasantly get from here to there."

Nobody's going to go to the Promenade for a "design narrative" about the aerospace industry. If this guy thinks this will draw people, he's delusional. Put up a statue if you want a commemoration. The only people who benefit from conceptual designs like this are egotistical, self-congratulatory "designers" like this guy. In the end, it is the public that loses.

[ChrisLA]

Here is the lastest progress going on in Long Beach. Borders suppose to open this week Feb 16 according to the noticed posted on the door. Taken today Feb 14 as I went out for some excercise on my rollerblades. I should have did this yesterday when it was hot. It was rather windy, and cool so not good for skating.

http://img49.imageshack.us/img49/8454/dsc000016ut.jpg

http://img49.imageshack.us/img49/6964/dsc000022so.jpg

City Place Lofts is coming along too, these are on the lot of the Albertsons Supermarket.
http://img49.imageshack.us/img49/7826/dsc000036hv.jpg

http://img49.imageshack.us/img49/29/dsc000046bt.jpg

http://img119.imageshack.us/img119/4561/dsc000055rs.jpg

http://img49.imageshack.us/img49/5079/dsc000090qz.jpg

http://img49.imageshack.us/img49/9540/dsc000080st.jpg

[citywatch]

^ Thanks! I think that's the first photo update of DTLB in quite awhile.

For us ppl who live far away from your part of town, we have to settle for things like this remote cam (http://www.pacharbor.com/contracting/longbeach/control.htm)----you need a fast net connection & have to switch the cam around so that it faces the coastline.

And good to hear that after settling in to your new job, you'll start snapping photos again in the future. And it helps that you have a night-owl work schedule, because taking photos during the day (certainly the weekday) is more limited when ppl have typical 9 to 5 work hours.

[LAMetroGuy]

Wow, that Borders looks GREAT!!! I am so happy for downtown LB.... this will really add to the downtown experience. Thanks for the update!

[LAMetroGuy]

Pike gets Borders book store
By Don Jergler, Staff writer



LONG BEACH — Borders opens today at the Pike at Rainbow Harbor, bringing to the downtown center its first anchor retailer and a sign of hope for neighboring businesses.
The Pike's scant retail offerings so far have failed to bring in the foot traffic that "lifestyle centers" a developers' term for outdoor shopping centers often generate.

Though it has plenty of well-known restaurants, the Pike has been short on retailers, and some restaurant owners have complained of a dearth of customers to go around.

One eatery Big Dippers Belgian Fries, now a vacant storefront next to Borders failed because it couldn't generate business.

Borders sits below the CineMark theater and across from one of the few existing retailers in the center, Long Beach Clothing Co., encircled by the outer portion of the Pike.

"There are so many people who do not venture into the inner sanctum of the Pike," said Long Beach Clothing Co. owner Jay Tilles, who is producer of KROQ's (106.7-FM) Kevin & Bean Morning Show. "This is what we paid for when we moved into the Pike."

Tilles has been called one of the Pike's biggest promoters. In addition to car and motorcycle shows and DJ contests, he has brought several KROQ events to the center, including the station's well-publicized semi-annual single's party, which was broadcast live from V20: The Venue at the Pike in 2004.

Tilles hopes Borders and its Seattle's Best cafe, the doors of which open about 30 feet from his shop, will bring browsers onto the sidewalks within the complex.

"I think it's one of the best possible additions to the center," he said. "With that lounge-like atmosphere in Borders, people will be inclined to spend a little more time here. It adds the much-needed retail element, and it's a spot that will bring people down to soak in a little more of the Pike."

The new 21,100-square-foot Borders will have the features of most newer Borders, including a Seattle's Best coffee shop and a Paperchase gifts and stationery shop. The store employs 45 people.

Holy Stein, a Borders spokeswoman, said the company chose the Pike because redevelopment of downtown Long Beach is taking shape.

"There's a lot going on down there," she said. "It's just a wonderful, wonderful area."

There is one Borders in Long Beach, in the Los Altos Market Center. Ann Arbor, Mich.-based Borders Group Inc., which owns Waldenbooks, is the nation's No. 2 bookstore chain after Barnes & Noble, with more than 1,200 Borders and Waldenbooks stores around the world.

The Pike store is open Sunday to Thursdays from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m., and Fridays and Saturdays 10 a.m. to 11 p.m. Parking is available at meters and in the Pike parking garage. Borders doesn't yet offer parking validation; however, managers say they are working on a validation program.

The store's phone number is (562) 491-0558.

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

[LAMetroGuy]

Pine Avenue changes coming

Sales in the works may boost retail on entertainment-laden thoroughfare

By Don Jergler, Staff

LONG BEACH A wave of property transactions on Pine Avenue may give rise to several changes on the street, including higher lease rates, more retailers and a possible ban on new bars.
Six Pine Avenue properties are up for sale or have recently sold:

Woodland Hills-based Adler Realty Investments Inc. announced in August its purchase of 100 W. Broadway, a six-story building best known as home of King's Fish House at Pine and Broadway.

Earlier this month, a private investor announced the purchase of a property at Third Street and Pine Avenue for a reported $2.9 million, and said he may bring more food sellers to the corner. The 10,000-square-foot parcel at 247-257 Pine Ave. houses A & M Deli, Universal Jewelers, Koru Spa Salon, Tape & Record Room and Omelette Inn.

Ries Realty has put up for sale its 200 Pine Ave. property, home to Aladdin, Wasabi and an office building, and its 115 Pine property, which houses Alegria and L'Opera.

Pine Square, the location of an AMC theater and various food and goods sellers, and apartment units, has been listed for sale. Its owners already have secured city approval to convert the apartments to condominiums.

Property at Pine and Third Street that houses now-closed Express and Bath & Body Works, as well as Starbucks and Crown Books, has been on the market, and sources familiar with the property say it has been sold.

"When you see all of this activity happening it does signal major change," said Becky Blair with Blair Commercial Real Estate. "Rents will increase, because people will be paying record prices for these properties. Higher-end tenants will have to come here."

The sales come at a time when experts see the real estate cycle ending, and commercial development is usually the last to see increased prices and leasing activity.

"We may be at the end of this real estate boom," Blair said. "And the sellers are anticipating that they are taking the money and running or they are holding."

Ted Ries, president of Ries Realty, a privately held Beverly Hills company that owns both 115 and 200 Pine, said the company wasn't planning to sell the properties when they purchased them around 1997.

However, prices right now just look too good, he said.

"There's been such a run-up in price that given the equity that's trapped in those buildings now, selling makes sense," Ries said.

The Pine properties both approximately 70,000 square feet are going on the market unpriced.

The company is selling off all is existing assets which includes an 800,000-square-foot commercial portfolio in high-profile areas like Pasadena, downtown Los Angeles, and Beverly Hills and reinvesting in replacement properties in secondary markets.

"We're looking at really almost anywhere in the U.S. at this time," Ries said. "I know it gives us the opportunity to realize some nice gains for our investments and free up a substantial amount of equity."

Pine Square property owner Meruelo Enterprises has put out a listing for the 245 Pine Ave. property, but the company is not currently in negotiations to sell, said Meruelo representative Armando Delgado.

"We haven't sold anything and nothing's been discussed," Delgado said.

Meruelo successfully lobbied the city more than a year ago for approval to convert the apartments to condos, but no further action has been taken on the property.

To undertake the conversion, Meruelo would be required to pay off a Redevelopment Agency bond issued in 1993 for $13.6 million, said RDA staff member Jae Von Klug. The final payment isn't due until 2023, but the company could pay off the bond now at a cost of $12 million, she said.

A collection of buildings on the east side of Pine near the corner of Third Street that houses now-closed Express and Bath & Body Works, as well as Starbucks and Crown Books, may have been sold, sources familiar with the properties say.

The property was put up for sale following the dissolution of the partnership and massive real estate portfolio of Barry Beitler and Jeff Katofsky last year.

Neither partner could be reached for comment, and name of the new owner of the property has not yet been made public.

The property may be a centerpiece in a retail recruitment plan being put together by the city and the Downtown Long Beach Associates.

The closure of Express and Bath & Body Works took two important retailers away from Pine's already scant retail offerings. Pine businesses have been calling for more retailers on the street to bring in and keep visitors there.

Details of the recruitment efforts are due to be unveiled to the City Council in coming months, but sources familiar with the plan say it will involve a shift away from Pine's entertainment focus there are more than a dozen bars and clubs on the street.

Several business owners on Pine have been calling for a moratorium on alcohol and entertainment establishments.

Robert Swayze, the city's Economic Development Bureau manager, declined to discuss the plan until the council has a chance to see it, and he would only say that "we're upbeat about what's going to happen with retail on Pine Avenue."

Word is that The Madison owner Terry Antonelli, who also owns L'Opera, is seeking to purchase both 101 Pine and 110 Pine so he can own the buildings that house his restaurants.

Antonelli, who has already invested several million dollars to upgrade the buildings, said it is too early to discuss a deal for either building.

"We're in negotiations for 115 Pine," he said.

As for 101 Pine Ave., The Madison building, he added, "I may be working on something on that, but it's too early to talk about."

Ronni Gould, with property manager Ensemble Real Estate Services, would only say that 101 Pine is not currently on the market.

"We're not selling anything now," Gould said.

Real estate experts say any transformation on Pine may not be immediately apparent, but when lease rates start going up, many smaller operations may be replaced with larger, more well-known tenants.

"It's absolutely the best that can happen for Pine," Blair said, adding, "unfortunately it may crowd out some of the smaller retail tenants."

Raymond Goucher and Tape & Record Room partner Randy Lee Joseph may be among those forced out if rents go up.

The buyer of the Third and Pine property may plan to increase rents to meet market rates as well as bring in some new tenants to help revitalize the corner, said broker Geoff Tranchina of Irvine-based Sperry Van Ness.

There was no definitive information on which, if any, of the tenants may be forced to leave.

Universal Jewelers has several years left on a long-term lease, however Goucher and Joseph could be short-timers if they are forced to pay more for the space, Goucher said.

They currently pay $3,100 for 3,100 square feet, about half the average lease price of other storefronts in the area.

But the store does just enough business to pay the bills, Goucher said, adding, "We're practically down to the bare bones."

The store has been on the spot for more than 13 years, and has been operating in downtown Long Beach for 33 years, he said.

It won't just be higher lease rates that will bring in large retailers. Blair believes the city's changing demographics, due to upscale residential development, will make Pine more attractive to retailers.

By 2010, it's estimated that more than 5,200 housing units will have been added to the area and the population will have increased by more than 10,000. The average annual income for the downtown area in 2004 was estimated at a little more than $33,000. Adding the nearly 800-plus new upscale units in downtown that have recently been occupied, the average rises to just over $37,000, according to estimates from the DLBA.

By 2010, the average household income in downtown is expected to reach $52,000, DLBA estimates show.

"The Orange County market has tightened up so much and the price per square foot is so high and the same with the attractive areas of L.A., and Long Beach is in the center and people are really seeing Long Beach as a very, very good place to invest," Blair said. "I think that investors are looking for opportunities, and I think that Long Beach has always been an opportunity, probably never so much as this period in time."

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

[LongBeachUrbanist]

The closure of Express and Bath/Body Works was a huge disappointment, but more for my wife than for me. The worst thing is the huge hole it made in that bustling retail strip.

As for me, I'm stoked there's a Borders in DTLB. The Los Altos store was the one I frequented most, but now I'm going to start doing all my book buying at the Pike.

Hopefully the day is not too far off when the Pike will be bustling like it used to.

http://www.scripophily.com/webcart/vigs/pike2.jpg

[citywatch]

Property at Pine and Third Street that houses now-closed Express and Bath & Body Works,

That's lousy news, esp since those are major retailers, & it's not like Pine is competing with a lot of similar streets in the immediate area.

:hell:

I know a Barnes & Noble in DTLA on Hope St, in the Well Fargo Ctr, couldn't make a go of it several yrs ago. Outcomes like that or what's happened to those 2 stores in DTLB always remind me of how volatile it is for commercial spaces & whether they're a success or not, at least on certain streets & in certain hoods.

I read in the NY Times a few days ago that even parts of famous 5th Ave have been stuck with vacant spaces for several yrs, with some of them only now being leased up, to the type of stores common to the typical burb or mall, such as Best Buy.

Stories like that are the reason it's unrealistic to think there should be stores in every bldg, on every street.

[BrighamYen]

COLUMN ONE


Mayhem Before Markup


Ground, sanded, torn, baked, washed in acid -- denim undergoes distressing abuse in a Long Beach factory. Out come $200 jeans.


By Nancy Wride
Times Staff Writer

February 28, 2006

David Johnson hunched over the monster washing machine, dousing his canvas of denim with bleach.

He was interrupted by a voice booming over the PA system: "David, please come to the lobby."

Johnson did a quick rinse of the jeans and tossed them aside. He figured that he would meet a visitor at the front of International Garment Finishing and be back in 15 minutes. Then he would finish transforming the new jeans into a pair that seemed worn by a lifetime in a mine shaft.

Instead, one thing led to another, and he was gone three hours. By the time he got back to the jeans, they were finished, all right. Splotched white here, spotted dark blue there, speckled randomly like mildew. They looked as if they'd been dragged behind a race car and drizzled with motor oil.

They were trashed.

Many high-end fashion designers might have tossed them. But Johnson is an artist of destruction. His palette is indigo, his tools bleach, pumice stone and wood grinders.

He is among the laundry workers who feed the $11-billion jeans market, in which every season demands a new tweak on pants that never go out of style.

Los Angeles is the design hub for that market. In recent years the taste has been for worn-out-looking jeans. And so a back-pocket industry was born for faking authenticity — a job for guys like Johnson and his colleagues at the Long Beach factory.

Their task is to re-create the distressed, almost abstract expressionist looks that designers want on their jeans.

Johnson is so serious about his craft that he once wore the same pair of jeans every day without washing them for more than a year, just to see what they would look like.

After getting over his shock at the condition of the jeans he left folded and soaked for too long, Johnson began to see possibilities. The "three-hour muck-up jeans," a working title altered slightly for print, got some sanding, some tearing, some stitching.

The brand managers at the upscale Taverniti label were thrilled. They added the jeans to their Janis line, and renamed them Dark Acid Wash.

But would anyone pay $200 for a mistake?


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


International Garment Finishing, owned by Richard Kim, is just west of the Long Beach Freeway. The outside looks like any other plant on the street where auto upholstery and polymer molds are churned out.

Beyond the lobby is the "showroom," where jeans by the dozens drape each wall like curtains with zipper flies.

Garment finishing is a niche of a niche of the jeans trade. But like couture in the larger apparel industry, the so-called premium denim market of jeans costing more than $150 drives overall sales. And it has grown rapidly in the last five years, fueled largely by teens and twentysomethings willing to pay up to $400 for that perfect pair of jeans that fits snug and looks custom-made.

The idea is basically to create controlled chaos. Designers bring in wildly distressed jean prototypes — and it's the job of the workers in the factory to perfectly duplicate that look hundreds or thousands of times for sale around the world. Because each designer's vision is meant to be different from competitors', the factory workers must take great care to get the tiniest details right.

On a recent day, things are going very well, according to the cigarette-puffing Frenchmen who manage the Janis brand for Taverniti.

The 50,000-square-foot plant looks more like a quarry dock than the womb of high-cost fashion. Massive bags of gray pumice stone from Mexico tower beside pallets of volcanic rock from Central California. A stream of pale blue liquid snakes around the concrete floor in some areas.

Dark blue jeans are piled by the hundreds everywhere. Most have been trucked from the sewing factories of downtown Los Angeles' garment district.

Workers are sanding, stapling, stabbing or tearing the jeans just so; the pants will be drenched in chemicals, heaved into massive washers and dryers, perhaps a couple of times during the process. It depends on the style.

"Amazing!" said Geoffrey Abbou, brand manager for Taverniti, which is owned by a publicly traded company founded by his father-in-law, Paul Guez, who formed Sassoon back in the infancy of designer jeans more than three decades ago.

Taverniti and International Garment Finishing officials asked that the full recipe for the Janis jeans — named for the late rock singer Janis Joplin — be withheld for competitive reasons.

Janis jeans are made from a medium-weight denim, cut and sewn to ride low around the hips. Taverniti's signature is double back pockets.

The process of ruining the jeans into high-fashion masterpieces begins with a resin treatment that helps the denim hold its shape and stand up to the abuse that awaits. Then comes creasing, followed by repeated trips through a 300-degree oven.

The jeans are then rolled to "the grinding room," where two dozen workers attack hems, waist, collars and other edges with woodworking tools.

Drills would cause a clean puncture, which is not how jeans would tear, so just the right frayed and thready look requires grinding, said Victor Ramirez, one of the plant supervisors.

Janis and other styles next go to a shed outside for a secret process that Johnson said gives the firm a competitive edge.

Near the secret trick shed is the "sanding room," where seamstress dummies dangle like sides of beef. Latino workers croon to ranchera music as they painstakingly sand the crotches of jeans. It is a practiced skill to scrape off just the right amount of fabric to resemble sun rays shooting off the fly. In the trade these are called "whiskers" or the "mustache."

Next may come the washes for the finish. Pre-wash, stonewash, acid wash, distress — these are the modern-day eras in jean finishes. Sometimes the pumice stones are used, other times volcanic rock, depending on the brand. Three pounds of stones are required for each garment, Johnson said. The plant goes through 40,000 pounds of stones weekly.


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


Johnson's design accident looks darker than most of the jeans the plant produces. The wide splashes of navy blue on the jeans give them an almost oily, cloudy appearance, which sets it apart from the busy look of the other lines of jeans.

At first "I thought, 'Oh my God, I'm such a klutz, I totally messed these up,' " Johnson said.

But the jeans were a hit with both Taverniti's brand managers and designers. Taverniti added Johnson's accidental creation to nine other pairs modeled at the critical fall runway shows in New York and Paris, at which international buyers pick the merchandise they will sell this spring. The Janis Dark Acid Wash jeans were planned as a limited edition for customers who "don't want to see everyone else wearing the same thing," Johnson said.

Turns out they were the top seller among Taverniti's samples modeled at those shows, and they went into production.

By then, the artist who created them had moved on — Johnson relocated to a new job in North Carolina. But the buzz about Janis Dark Acid Wash kept growing.

Taverniti's Abbou said the jeans are now being sold in a select number of expensive specialty stores around the country.

"It's doing amazing," he said. "It's in the best store in Bal Harbour, Fla., for instance, Lulu, and the owner loves it. He calls it the museum piece."

"It's one of the best-selling lines," said Lulu owner Eli Akiba, "and definitely the one I prefer in terms of talent."

[citywatch]

Just happened to see SSP's highrises forum, which I rarely visit, & thought for those who also stick mainly to this forum but who are interested in DTLB's newest highrise condo bldg, a thread started by LAMG (http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/showthread.php?t=90932) should be posted here.

[LAMetroGuy]

Big Plans Lead To Big Questions On Pine



By Kurt Helin
Editor

Big plans for a 20-story condominium complex at the Press-Telegram building have city planning officials asking big picture questions about the future of the area.

Last week, the Planning Commission got an update on plans for the Press-Telegram Lofts at the corner of Sixth Street and Pine Avenue, where developers want to convert the historic building into the size of condo development seen along Ocean Boulevard. Plans call for two towers, each at about 220 feet tall, and with a total of 542 units.

That is dramatically bigger — more than twice the height and density of anything around it or currently allowed by city code. That raised questions, not really about the project itself, which the commissioners generally liked, but about just how big the growth of downtown should be allowed to go.

“Should we be entertaining additional (building) height in this area?” asked Susan Frick, director of community development for the city. “Should we be entertaining higher density?”

The question was directed not just at the Planning Commission but also toward downtown stakeholders and residents, Frick said. The reason for a broad discussion is that the Press-Telegram Lofts would not be “spot zoned” — what was allowed at this development would be allowed up and down the core of downtown, she said.

Commissioners were split on the big picture. Nick Sramek said he didn’t like the precedent this would set. Charles Greenberg said that this kind of change was inevitable and that the city is better trying to control it.

What the commissioners did agree on was that they liked this project.

Much of the exterior of the historic building — home to the Press-Telegram newspaper since 1925 — would be preserved.

Set back, but rising up from the façade would be two condo towers, each 220 feet tall. They would be of a more modern design, looking distinct from the lower parts of the building.

What really impressed commissioners was the extent that the developer had worked to make this fit with the community. These would be condos aimed at middle income and first-time buyers, said Jim Brophy, one of the developers. In addition, 60 units would be set aside for professors at California State University, Long Beach, to be sold at the developers cost, in an effort to attract tenured professors.

Whether all those touches will be enough to change plans for the growth of downtown remains to be seen.

[LAMetroGuy]

Urban, East Village Feel Popular
Picks For New Downtown


By Amy Bentley-Smith
Features Editor

What does the public think the downtown area surrounding Long Beach Boulevard between First and Third streets should look like in the future?

Answer: Pedestrian-friendly and decidedly urban, with a mix of high density residential, entertainment, restaurants, shopping, plenty of parking — and something that fits with the existing East Village Arts District.

Last week, the city’s Project Development Bureau released the results of a public questionnaire on the development of three downtown blocks along Long Beach Boulevard. Seven developers are vying for those projects — some for all three — and within the week a Community Development selection committee will announce recommendations regarding who should develop what site, said Development Project Manager Sherri Rossillo. In making its recommendation, the committee “took into consideration” the results of the questionnaire, she said.

The blocks in question are linked along Long Beach Boulevard: City Hall East at First Street and the Bank of America building at Broadway; the Art Exchange Block to the north of that, which includes the Acres of Books and Terry’s Cameras buildings and the lots on Broadway between Long Beach Boulevard and Elm Street; and the MTA Block, which includes the vacant American Hotel on Broadway and adjacent lots fronting Long Beach Boulevard. A portion of that block was designated for future transit parking. The Arts Exchange Block calls for a space for art studios, community events and live-work spaces.

Out of the hundreds of developers who responded to the request for proposal for the projects, the selection committee chose seven plans that ranged from low-rise lofts to high rises, demolition of existing buildings (even historic landmarks like Acres of Books and the American Hotel) to maintaining at least those existing facades. Each included varying mixes in retail, with one proposal by Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach founder Chris Pook suggesting a Grand Prix museum.

The questionnaire asked the public to weigh in on those designs, but more broadly, to give their opinion on land use, height/density, historic resources, public are use, parking and use of public money on developing the area. The questionnaire was handed out at a public meeting in late January, distributed to homeowners associations and was available on the city Web site. Only 179 were returned.

More than 100 respondents favored an urban environment, understanding that would mean high-rise/high density for residential. Many comments elaborated on that opinion.

“I very much like the high rise proposals,” one respondent wrote. “These very dense developments belong here.”

Another person wrote: “ High rise and pedestrian = world class city.”

While there were some who didn’t want to see high rises, the majority of critical comments centered around affordability.

“I was displeased that none of the developments included affordable housing,” one person wrote.

Others stressed that whatever is developed there be unique.

“We truly have something special in the East Village; and I’d hate for our neighborhood to lose its specialness and become like any other retail/gathering location,” one person wrote.

Public parking was important to more than 80% of the respondents, as was the art component of the Art Exchange project. People also supported the use of public money to make the Art Exchange happen.

Rossillo said that the results of the survey were “very much in line with the selection committee members (opinions),” but there was one surprise.

“We were surprised by the support for density,” she said.

The selection committee made a recommendation for each site, Rossillo said. The City Council could vote on those recommendations in the coming weeks. The Redevelopment Agency also will vote on the proposals. Rossillo said that whatever proposals are selection further negotiations on the final look of the projects will take place.

The results of the questionnaire are available at the following link from the city’s Web site, www.longbeach.gov/news/displaynews.asp?NewsID=1669.

[citywatch]

More than 100 respondents favored an urban environment, understanding that would mean high-rise/high density for residential. Many comments elaborated on that opinion.

“I very much like the high rise proposals,” one respondent wrote. “These very dense developments belong here.”

Another person wrote: “ High rise and pedestrian = world class city.”

What, huh, no nimby type responses? No complaints about shadows, congestion, too much density, blocked views?

This should be put in the "believe it or not" file!

[LAMetroGuy]

Real estate on L.B. Blvd. divided for development
By Don Jergler, Staff writer



LONG BEACH — A prime chunk of downtown real estate near the corner of Long Beach Boulevard and First Street that drew interest from several high-profile development teams will be divided into three parts for development, the city announced Tuesday.
The number of teams has been whittled to two competing developers per block, with one proposal that includes a three-story museum that pays homage to the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach.

The site encompasses the former temporary headquarters of the Long Beach Police Department, known as City Hall East; a Metro Rail station; a few small businesses; a Bank of America branch and two parking lots. The combined city and Redevelopment Agency project sits in a major transportation corridor that connects the East Village Arts District to the rest of downtown.

The project originally garnered proposals from 10 development teams when it went out to bid last year.

A selection committee comprised of city and RDA staff, and an outside consultant, narrowed the number of proposals and broke the project into three blocks to speed development and give the area a diverse architectural style, said Amy Bodek, the city's project development bureau manager.

"It became more apparent as the review process continued that it was going to be more beneficial to the city and the Redevelopment Agency to have more than one developer," she said.

Typically developers working on multiple parts of a project complete it in phases, whereas developers focused on one area tend to finish the project all at once, Bodek said.

The city owns City Hall East, at 100 Long Beach Blvd., a parking garage and most of the parking lot on the north side of Broadway. The RDA owns a 50-foot by 150-foot vacant lot, as well as some land at the northwest corner of First Street and Long Beach Boulevard. The remainder is privately owned. Businesses at the site include Acres of Books, Terry's Camera and Shades of Africa. It's unclear what businesses would be affected by any development.

The blocks and developer finalists for the site are:

The City Hall East block bounded by First Street, Long Beach Boulevard, Broadway and a north-south alley east of City Hall East. Finalists are Grand Prix Place LLC, which is supported by Grand Prix founder Chris Pook, and Lee Group/Kensington.

Both firms propose adaptive reuse for the existing City Hall East office building, including the proposed Grand Prix museum. City staff plans to request approval to enter into further discussions with both developers at the April 18 City Council meeting.

The MTA Parking block bounded by First Street and Broadway, west of Long Beach Boulevard. The finalists are Urban Growth Long Beach/The Related Companies and Toll Brothers. Both firms are proposing high-rise, high-density developments on the spot, as well as parking for the MTA station. The site is partially owned by the RDA. City staff plans to request formal approval to enter into further discussions with both developers at the April 24 RDA meeting.

The Art Exchange block bounded by Broadway, Long Beach Boulevard, Third Street and Elm Avenue. Williams & Dame and Toll Brothers are the finalists. Both proposals include residential, retail and a nonprofit art center component. City staff plans to request approval from the City Council and the Redevelopment Agency Board to enter into further discussions with both developers in May 2006.

Toll Brothers had proposed a $1 billion three-tower development with the tallest soaring to 42 stories for a total of 1,205 units that would cover all three blocks.

The proposed building, which would be larger than any of the city's existing buildings, still stands under its MTA Block project. That calls for 628 units, 24,635 square feet, and restaurant and retail space.

The Toll Brothers' proposal for the City Hall East site was eliminated, as was Lennar Communities' 550-unit proposal of buildings of 35 stories, 28 stories and 20 stories, because both plans called for demolishing City Hall East, Bodek said. The building was previously owned by Southern California Edison.

"Given that the building does qualify as a potential local historical landmark, we felt very strongly that proposals that kept the building were a better fit for the entire downtown," she said.

Some worry the high-density developments may bring corporate retailers to the East Village that will compete with the area's small, niche businesses and cause lease rates to rise.

"We are definitely worried about the possibility of chain-store retail and the ever-present specter of corporate lease rates," said S Reed, president of the East Village Arts District Board. "With any large development, landlords start to speculate."

However, Reed said the EVA Board would welcome the proposed art center.

"This project has the opportunity to be a linchpin for the district," she said.

Ousted from contention was the original developer on the project, Urban Pacific Builders.

The downtown Long Beach-based firm was the lone developer for the site when negotiations with the RDA Board were halted after the city stepped in and changed it to a combination city and RDA project.

Urban Pacific and the RDA had reached agreements with private landowners in the area, clearing the way for an $80 million project of 207 units, with 38,101 square feet of retail space and a nonprofit Art Exchange.

"I think we were the only company that had a true understanding what the Art Exchange nonprofit was looking for," said Scott Chopin, a partner in Urban Pacific.

Don Jergler can be reached at (562) 499-1281.

[LAMetroGuy]

Update: The City of Long Beach has announced that several developers have been selected to enter into further negotiations with the City for the redevelopment of three city blocks in downtown Long Beach: the City Hall East block, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority Parking block, and the Art Exchange block.

City Hall East Block - Next Steps: April 18, 2006, recommendation to City Council to enter into MOU's with recommended developers.
Grand Prix Place, LLC (http://www.longbeach.gov/civica/filebank/blobdload.asp?BlobID=10719)
The Lee Group/Kensington Holdings (http://www.longbeach.gov/civica/filebank/blobdload.asp?BlobID=10720)

MTA Block - Next Steps: April 24, 2006, recommendation to RDA Board to enter in MOU's with recommended developers.
Toll Brothers (http://www.longbeach.gov/civica/filebank/blobdload.asp?BlobID=10721) 42 and 21 story towers, I like this one!!! :banana:
Urban Growth/The Related Companies (http://www.longbeach.gov/civica/filebank/blobdload.asp?BlobID=10722) This one looks like Luma and Elleven :tup:

Art Exchange - Next Steps: May 2006, recommendation to the City Council and RDA Board to enter into MOU's with recommended developers.
Toll Brothers (http://www.longbeach.gov/civica/filebank/blobdload.asp?BlobID=10723) I like this one!!!
Williams & Dame Development (http://www.longbeach.gov/civica/filebank/blobdload.asp?BlobID=10724) If they with W&D, I prefer the higher density version!

[ronson]

toll bros is definitely sweet :tup:

[LAMetroGuy]

[/b]

What, huh, no nimby type responses? No complaints about shadows, congestion, too much density, blocked views?

This should be put in the "believe it or not" file!


I agree, this is in stark contrast to the "Save the Long Beach Skyline" organization :jester: I'm glad that the people of downtown Long Beach are for higher density and high-rise construction with high-end retail! This really demonstrates how those NIBYs are full of hot air! :whip:

[solongfullerton]

I was down in the LBC for the race this past weekend and I had a great time. I had a few thoughts on the hood too while I was down there.

Long Beach needs to work on being able to keep all the current and future residents of downtown in the downtown area! Theres tons of places to live, but a relatively small amount of places to spend your money.
The majority of places there now are heavily touristy type spots (ie Bubba Gumps) and locals don't like those kind of places. Hopefully with the opening of Aqua it will create a larger demand for these type of establishments that I speak of. It's wierd though how if you go down to Belmont Shore, every weekend its bustling with peds, but downtown and the little shoreline village is always lacking. Pine St. is pretty cool, but it needs something else (probably more retail). Of course theres potential, but we'll see how far that takes us.

As for the massive crowds that the Pike used to draw decades ago, unless the breakwater is removed and surfing is brought back to long beach, I wouldnt expect anything like that ever again. im not sure what it is, but people love going to the beach to watch waves break, hence the beaches of long beach never really get that crowded (atleast in contrast to the beaches of orange county and the santa monica bay).

not to take anything away from long beach though, its a great city with plenty to do and a nice urban environment. actually, if i didnt live in LA, the only other city in socal that i would consider living in would be the LBC.

[InsExchLoft_dweller]

Hello - It's great to see so much interest in Downtown long beach. As long as you all continue to provide updated info and pic's, I'll do the same. Here is a picture of the Olson Lofts at the promenade. The picture was taken from my loft in the Insurance Exchange building.

http://us.f2.yahoofs.com/bc/41bd4548_17359/bc/Loft+Pictures/olson+loft.jpg?bfmZtSEBGuxWx4w7

[LAMetroGuy]

Hello - It's great to see so much interest in Downtown long beach. As long as you all continue to provide updated info and pic's, I'll do the same. Here is a picture of the Olson Lofts at the promenade. The picture was taken from my loft in the Insurance Exchange building.

Welcome to SSP! Its nice to see the LB thread get a new supporter! So how do you like the IE Lofts? I love that building and I am glad that the surrounding area is going to get developed with nice lofts and retail (thanks to the promenade and City Hall East development). Oh by the way, I am unable to see the picture you posted?

[InsExchLoft_dweller]

Try this... if it doesn't work, I give up.

http://images.kodakgallery.com/photos1849/2/96/77/48/74/0/74487796210_0_ALB.jpg

[InsExchLoft_dweller]

http://mysite.verizon.net/resriq8q/sitebuildercontent/sitebuilderpictures/img_1674.jpg

[LAMetroGuy]

Yes, I see them! Wow, Olson is coming along nicely. I hope they get a great restaurant/cafe/retail! Lets cross our fingers! I read that on Monday, they will break ground on the lot right across the promenade and in July, they will break ground on the Hotel in the parking lot in front of the Ins Ex building.

[InsExchLoft_dweller]

They just started fencing off the lot across from olsen (bounded by promenade, 1st, broadway and lb blvd) this morning. Looks like Lennar has officially started.

http://mysite.verizon.net/resriq8q/sitebuildercontent/sitebuilderpictures/img_1675.jpg

[citywatch]

^ Nothing better than hearing about or seeing another deadzone removed from the hood. However, as parking lots go, that one, because of its perimeter landscaping, at least is somewhat passable.

This board really needs a major photo update of DTLB. Chrisla, you listening?

[ChrisLA]

^ This board really needs a major photo update of DTLB. Chrisla, you listening?

Yes I'm listening, hopefully soon. I may not post a lot lately, but I'm viewing the forum. I just haven't had the time lately I will try when I can. Working the grave yard shift is much harder than I expected. :yuck:

[citywatch]

^ Good to know you're still around!

[InsExchLoft_dweller]

^ Nothing better than hearing about or seeing another deadzone removed from the hood. However, as parking lots go, that one, because of its perimeter landscaping, at least is somewhat passable.

Speaking of perimeter landscaping, the fence for the lennar project was extended around the little amphitheatre (unofficial Homeless Shelter). It looks like they are planning to fill the amphitheatre in to give it a flatter versus a hole in the ground. Not sure how that is going to turn out...

If you are interested in deadzone removal, I noticed that just about all of the condemened structures along 3rd as you approach the 710 have been bulldozed... it looks like the condo projects by Ceasar Chavez School will begin (hopefully).

[LAMetroGuy]

New renderings for the Edgewater On Ocean, set to break ground in August. This tower will be located on the southeast corner of Pine and Ocean. I like it! :cheers:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v600/rpulido/edgewater1.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v600/rpulido/edgewater2.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v600/rpulido/edgewater3.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v600/rpulido/edgewater4.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v600/rpulido/edgewater5.jpg

[LosAngelesSportsFan]

very nice! i like all the glass and the green space.

[citywatch]

New renderings for the Edgewater On Ocean, That's a relief & good news. I was worried it was going to look like this earlier version:

http://www.gruenassociates.com/images/edgewater.jpg


With all the changes to the hood, this board seriously needs a lot of update photos of the various construction sites in DTLB!

[colemonkee]

The new design is world's better than the previous design.

[InsExchLoft_dweller]

I'll try to help post accurate photos. At the moment, edgewater is barely a parking lot. There are two towers going up called West Ocean that are 22 stories each on Ocean Blvd and Chestnut. It looks like they are at floor 10 and just barely visible from my window, a building in the foreground is cutting it off.

I will take a before and after picture (from my window) of the skyline so that everyone can see the impact of these two towers. It's pretty cool to be in the middle of all this construction... but damn noisy at 5am in the morning.

[LAMetroGuy]

What Went Wrong At The Pike?

Panelists Discuss Potential Solutions For Underperforming Retail Center

By Jennifer Wang
Staff Writer

What happens when a $130 million, 369,000-square-foot retail and entertainment complex turns its back on the neighboring waterfront? Well, according to several developers, consultants and urban planning specialists, the result looks a little like The Pike at Rainbow Harbor development, which has been plagued by a lack of pedestrian foot traffic despite a seemingly ideal downtown location (bounded by Pine Avenue, Rainbow Harbor, Chestnut Avenue and Seaside Way) and a 2000 Project Planning Award from the Los Angeles Chapter of the American Planning Association.

A five-member panel, chaired by former Long Beach Planning Commissioner Doug Otto, met on April 10 at the Aquarium of the Pacific to consider the challenges of the Pike and discuss potential solutions for the future. “Long Beach has a storied relationship with the water, but if you look at this development, its relationship with the water is tortured at best,” Otto said, citing its uninviting blank walls, parking and access problems, retail vacancies and isolated nature. “What happened to the vision of the Pike?”

Linda Congleton, principal of real estate and retail market consulting firm Linda S. Congleton & Associates, believes the development fails to target the needs of an urban community. “When I look at the Pike project, it’s almost like Anyplace, America. It doesn’t really reflect the diversity that we have.” She suggested leasing to retailers not found in malls and planning for the residents. “If you make a project really exciting for the locals, the visitors will come.

“The city should focus on for-sale housing,” she added. “The more you have people living downtown . . . the more they have a stake in their home. We have a saying in the retail business and it goes like this: retail follows residential. Not the other way around.”

For Mark Winogrond, former acting executive director of the Los Angeles City Planning Department, the root of the problem is more basic. “[The Pike] got disconnected from its waterfront,” he said. “The organic connection to the waterfront in the past was a healthier relationship than a master plan.”

The first step, he asserted, is to address the “enormous barriers” created by major arterial streets such as Shoreline Drive, which act as a deterrent to pedestrians. “Many other places have solved this. It can be done.”

Winogrond pointed out some successful examples of places that have rediscovered their waterfronts, including San Francisco, Chicago and New York. “The discussion about waterfront reconnection is more important right now. It’s partly up to the city to work with the community and find the solutions.” Part of the solution is a city that works with its community, he said. “Is there a leadership willing to stand up and attempt to make a difference?”

The answer, according to Long Beach’s Director of Planning and Building Suzanne Frick, is yes. Given that the city is currently updating its General Plan, now is an opportune time to plan for the long term, especially with 6,000 residential housing units (4,000 for sale) in the pipeline. “It is too early to tell whether this project is truly going to be a success or a failure,” she said. It is absolutely not perfect, but with the construction and development . . . I think there’s great potential. Cities evolve over time and one project does not make or break a particular city.” As examples, she noted Santa Monica and Pasadena, cities that achieved their visions through incremental changes that occurred over two decades.
“We have to understand how it all fits together,” she said, as she unveiled preliminary planning software – unofficially called Downtown Visioning – that will allow city staff to get an integrated, three-dimensional view of proposed projects in the downtown area. Public participation will also be sought, she added. “We have the ability to make a difference and really restore Long Beach.”

As president and CEO of The Ratkovich Company – a developer that specializes in urban infill and rehabilitation projects like Edgewater at Ocean – Wayne Ratkovich sees the Pike running counter to urban revitalization and the natural organic growth of a city. “Really great cities come from its [residents]. I wouldn’t discard the tourist, but the priority should be the citizens.” And, he said, if it’s the best course of action, rebuilding a portion of the project could be a good thing. “Tearing down something won’t be the worst thing the city’s ever done.”

Like the other panelists, Alan Pullman, associate and director of design at Perkowitz + Ruth Architects’ urban design studio, recommended an overhaul of what he calls “Styrofoam” urbanism.

“The Pike is an example of good intentions gone bad,” he said, pointing out the freeway-like streets as the “biggest” urban design problem. “There are nice things . . . but the streets are treated like blank walls. . . . Shoreline [Drive] should be an urban boulevard – not an extension of the freeway.”

Pullman, however, acknowledged that any redesign process would be a lengthy one and proposed several immediate ways of improving the property, including better maintenance, operations and parking management; the creation of larger zones for foot traffic; and aesthetic improvements such as temporary art and more welcoming seating areas. “We just have to reclaim our waterfront from bad planning,” he said.

The Pike at Rainbow Harbor opened in 2003, and is currently managed by Cleveland-based real estate firm Developers Diversified Realty, which declined to attend the forum. Anchor tenants include Cinemark Theatres, Borders, GameWorks and Bubba Gump Shrimp Company. The vacancy rate is approximately 17 percent.

[LongBeachUrbanist]

The reason the Pike is struggling is simple. For too many people, the benefit is not worth the cost. IOW, the cost of fighting traffic and dealing with the parking structure is not worth it for a development severely disconnected from its surrounding attractions.

In my opinion, the key to making the Pike a success is to make the trip worth the cost. IOW, the Pike needs to solve the issue of being disconnected from Shoreline Village and North Pine Avenue (aka Downtown LB).

Shoreline Drive is too much of a freeway. Also, the major portion of the sidewalks is dedicated to bike traffic. So if you're a pedestrian, you get sandwiched between fast bikes and faster cars.

Everything is car-sized, from the streets to the buildings to the landscaping. There aren't enough trees along Shoreline, and the ones that are there are too tall to give any sense of shade or protection from the street. Also, the grassy areas are useless to pedestrians (they just face traffic).

And what faces the sidewalk? On the south side, it's restaurant parking. On the north side, it's the backs of buildings, including standpipes and delivery entrances along otherwise-blank walls.

The Pine Avenue connection is disrupted by three things. First is the Convention Center and adjacent empty lot. The second thing is the hill. The third thing is Ocean Blvd.

The entire area between Shoreline Drive and North Pine Avenue needs a master plan that brings continuity and pedestrian scale to what should be a beautiful walk. I don't know if a BID exists for the area, but one should exist, and it should invest in developing a street with pretty gaslamps and trees, benches and trash receptacles. Local buildings should try to incorporate person-scaled signs and lights. And the traffic plan needs to be revamped to funnel auto traffic onto streets parallel to Ocean Blvd. In the scheme of things, none of these suggestions would cost that much.

Reconfiguring the Blue Line terminus to extend down to Shoreline wouldn't be a bad idea, either.

[LAMetroGuy]

Long Wait Ends For Spanish Sevilla

http://www.gazettes.com/Resources/cafesevillainter.jpeg
http://www.gazettes.com/Resources/sevillacut.gif


By Kurt Helin
Editor

It has been one of the most anticipated — and most drawn out — arrivals on Pine Avenue and in downtown in some time.

Sevilla, the Spanish-themed restaurant and club, is now open in the heart of Pine Avenue.

“It’s truly a Spanish place,” said Eric Van Den Haute, CEO of Café Sevilla. “We are a night club but we are really three places in one — a restaurant, a tapas bar and a club.”

Sevilla has opened in the long-vacant Jack Rose spot at 140 Pine Ave., bringing some energy to the central part of the city next to Smooth’s and on the same block as Alegria, L’Opera, King’s Fish House and more.



Sevilla will fit well into the “18-hour downtown” idea promoted by some stakeholders, the idea being that downtown would evolve from a business center in the morning to dinner spot in the evening to clubs and nightlife at night.

Sevilla offers authentic Spanish cuisine by day, focusing on tapas — the Spanish appetizers designed to be shared by everyone at the table. There are also grilled items and paella, the saffron rice dish popular in Spain.

Sevilla also caters to corporate events — literally. The company works to bring corporate events into the restaurant or it can bring the food to the business.

As the sun sets, the restaurant will take on the festive feel of Spain, with music and entertainment, Van Den Haute said. Every Friday night there will be a Tango dinner show that includes a three-course meal, performance and dancing. There will be a flamenco dinner show every Saturday night.

When the stars come out, the restaurant will be transformed into Club Sevilla, a contemporary nightclub complete with “high tech” lighting effects, Van Den Haute said.

Sevilla Long Beach will be the third in Southern California, with other locations in Riverside, and its flagship, opened in 1987, in San Diego’s Gaslamp Quarter.

In fact, the similarities Van Den Haute said he saw between San Diego’s popular dining and entertainment district and Long Beach’s evolving downtown that brought Sevilla to Pine Avenue, he said.

“It’s very similar to what we saw in San Diego 10 years ago,” Van Den Haute said. Back in 1991, San Diego’s Gaslamp District had four restaurants; there are now 157 plus retail shops and hotels.

Van Den Haute added that he thinks Sevilla is the kind of destination spot that will really add to Pine.

“We really make it a place that people won’t mind driving 10 of 15 miles to come to, which is something very unusual in the restaurant industry,” Van Den Haute said. “We wanted to make a destination.”

The Spanish destination on Pine opened its doors last week, with the official grand opening party on Wednesday. To find out more, log on to www.cafesevilla.com.

[citywatch]

^ Happy to hear about the new restaurant on Pine, sorry to hear about the Pike, which must have been designed by half dead or c-grade architects.

[LAMetroGuy]

The architects or developers of the Pike are known for suburban developments... which is very obvious. Fixes are coming and should be quick and easy!

[ChrisLA]

The Pike is probably not as successful as expected, but it still draws a decent crowd. No there isn't a crowd like you would see in Santa Monica, or Pasadena Old Town, and you probably won't ever see that. Yet I wouldn't say its dead, especially on the weekends. Borders is a good addition, and I hoping soon they will bring in a few more popular stores to get other to visit. Hopefully they will make some minor changes in the design to make it a better experience for pedestrians, only time will tell.

[ChrisLA]

Long Wait Ends For Spanish Sevilla

http://www.gazettes.com/Resources/cafesevillainter.jpeg
http://www.gazettes.com/Resources/sevillacut.gif


By Kurt Helin
Editor

It has been one of the most anticipated — and most drawn out — arrivals on Pine Avenue and in downtown in some time.

Sevilla, the Spanish-themed restaurant and club, is now open in the heart of Pine Avenue.

The Spanish destination on Pine opened its doors last week, with the official grand opening party on Wednesday. To find out more, log on to www.cafesevilla.com.

I want visit soon, I'll have to get a group of friends together and check it out.
Here are a couple of pictures I took on Saturday passing by on my rollerblades.

http://img112.imageshack.us/img112/2140/dsc000402aa.jpg

http://img439.imageshack.us/img439/7676/dsc000419xc.jpg

[Mikefly562]

Well...the wait is finally over! After many months of waiting, finally moved into Aqua's West Tower on April 20th. So far so good, and the neighbors are all great. The building(s) are beautiful, and it's great to see what is happening in downtown Long Beach.

I very curious to what downtown LB will be like in 3-5 years from now, but based on what is happening, I think it will be very nice and desirable.

[ChrisLA]

Well...the wait is finally over! After many months of waiting, finally moved into Aqua's West Tower on April 20th. So far so good, and the neighbors are all great. The building(s) are beautiful, and it's great to see what is happening in downtown Long Beach.

I very curious to what downtown LB will be like in 3-5 years from now, but based on what is happening, I think it will be very nice and desirable.


I think LAMetroGuy is suppose to move in there as well. I don't know perhaps he moved in already?

Anyway I've been wanting to check out the models, but don't ever seem to have enough time to visit. I hope they still have models available to see, I just want to be a lookyloo.

[colemonkee]

Congrats, Mikefly562! And welcome to the forum.

[InsExchLoft_dweller]

Mike - I know what it's like to wait so long. Are both towers open for move in? Sorry to hear about the flooding. Was there alot of damage?

[InsExchLoft_dweller]

I think LAMetroGuy is suppose to move in there as well. I don't know perhaps he moved in already?

Anyway I've been wanting to check out the models, but don't ever seem to have enough time to visit. I hope they still have models available to see, I just want to be a lookyloo.

There will be a dtlb tour on May 20th. I took a look at the Temple lofts last weekend and they are so sweet... although the smaller lower units are crap. The new towers on either side of the existing structure look amazing.

http://mysite.verizon.net/resriq8q/sitebuildercontent/sitebuilderpictures/img_1693.jpg
http://mysite.verizon.net/resriq8q/sitebuildercontent/sitebuilderpictures/img_1694.jpg
http://mysite.verizon.net/resriq8q/sitebuildercontent/sitebuilderpictures/img_1692.jpg

[Mikefly562]

Hi InsExchLoft Dweller, Both buildings are now open, they just started the East Tower move ins this past Friday, and on average, about 5-8 people (families) are moving into each tower per day. So far, everything has gone very smooth with the condo, management, and neighbors. Everyone has been so friendly and helpful, and the other residents are all very nice.

I can see the Insurance Exchange Building from my unit, I remember when I looked at those lofts last year, and they were very nice. It's amazing to see how they completely renovated the lofts. I think that when the promenade projects are finished, the Insurance Exchange Lofts will be one of the most desirable places to live in downtown LB. There is so much going on downtown, that I can't even imagine LB 5 years from now....I hope I don't have any job transfers that would take me out of the area.

I'll be going around LB on May 20th for the open house again this year...it's exciting to see all the new c hanges.

[LAMetroGuy]

I want visit soon, I'll have to get a group of friends together and check it out.


This past Saturday, I went to Sevilla with a group of friends! We had dinner on the second floor, dinner was pretty good and their prices were all over the place so there is something for those on a budget. I wanted to have a Spanish wine but they didn't have any (they said they ran out :( ). After dinner we went to the club 3rd floor. My friend got us on the guest-list so it was nice to be escorted fron the dinning area to the club, we even cut in front of the line :notacrook:

The club on the third floor is AMAZING! I wasn't expecting much but when I entered I was amazed at the size! It was really big and had a great sound system. The drinks were not pricey and lots of people, it was packed! It is easily one of the best clubs in Long Beach, next to V20.

I'm glad that Sevilla make Long Beach their newest home, this will only add to the Pine Ave experience.

[LAMetroGuy]

Hi InsExchLoft Dweller, Both buildings are now open, they just started the East Tower move ins this past Friday, and on average, about 5-8 people (families) are moving into each tower per day. So far, everything has gone very smooth with the condo, management, and neighbors. Everyone has been so friendly and helpful, and the other residents are all very nice.

I can see the Insurance Exchange Building from my unit, I remember when I looked at those lofts last year, and they were very nice. It's amazing to see how they completely renovated the lofts. I think that when the promenade projects are finished, the Insurance Exchange Lofts will be one of the most desirable places to live in downtown LB. There is so much going on downtown, that I can't even imagine LB 5 years from now....I hope I don't have any job transfers that would take me out of the area.

I'll be going around LB on May 20th for the open house again this year...it's exciting to see all the new c hanges.

Mikefly562, welcome to Aqua! I moved in on April 25th!!! I must say that the building turned out pretty cool... lots of new neighbors every day and also the views are amazing! My only complaint is the parking spaces are pretty tight.... UGH!

You're right, downtown LB will be more amazing in the years to come given all the projects in the pipeline! Edgewater On Ocean will break ground in August. Lennar's Promenade project will break ground sometime this month. Olson's Promenade project is well underway! Anderson Pacific's Shoreline Gateway and Molasky Pacific's two HUGE high-rise towers will only add to the skyline in a good way!