Long Beach Construction (Planned, Proposed, & Current)

[LAMetroGuy]

Improving the Pike

A fountain and more benches would make it more inviting.

The Pike at Rainbow Harbor, Long Beach's newest retail, dining and entertainment development, is not meeting its financial expectations. And that isn't just a private concern. The City of Long Beach assumed a portion of the risk and is on the hook for millions of dollars if business doesn't pick up.
As the Press-Telegram's Don Jergler and Felix Sanchez reported earlier this month, the city may have to pay $1.1 million or more next year in bond debts because the Pike's parking lot isn't making enough money to pay for itself. The Pike opened about seven months ago, and pedestrian traffic is still noticeably sluggish.

Things are getting better as more retailers climb on board, according to city officials who are tracking parking lot receipts. But there has to be more improvement, and soon. The city has far too many financial problems without adding the Pike to its long list of budget woes.

So what's the problem at the Pike? Jergler and Sanchez interviewed retail and real estate experts who pointed to several difficulties facing the complex: the lack of retail outlets to complement the preponderance of restaurants and entertainment venues, competition from other shopping areas, the location, and the demographics of downtown.

Those are important factors. But as Long Beach resident Pat Fraley wrote in a letter we published July 9, the design appears to be a major fault. The Pike's layout does little to encourage people to spend time there. As Fraley astutely observed, the Pike's core area has no outdoor atmosphere to speak of, and is almost devoid of pedestrian-friendly features such as benches, tables and fountains that lend character to such places as The Grove in Los Angeles and even Long Beach's Towne Center. (To clarify, Fraley was commenting on the inner core of the Pike, north of Shoreline Drive, and not the waterfront section, with P.F. Chang's and Outback Steakhouse, where business is booming.)

There is a smattering of benches at the Pike's central areas, and some outdoor tables on restaurant patios. But at the Pike's core, which should be the heart of the complex, there is a traffic intersection instead of a central fountain, benches or open tables that would create a friendly ambience. The design says: See a movie, eat, spend some money and then get out.

It's not too late to change that.

Fraley's letter hit on four major design flaws, three of which could be corrected to improve the Pike immensely.

First, get rid of the useless interior streets that cut the Pike's core into several disconnected areas for no good reason. Since most people will walk into the Pike from the outside, the streets cutting through the shopping area aren't serving any worthwhile purpose. Reconfiguring them into pedestrian walkways; adding elements like landscaping, benches and kiosks would be a major improvement.

Then, add lots of outdoor benches and tables. People like to eat and drink outside, especially in the summer. They also like to find a place to sit and talk. For a place that was billed as a public gathering area, it's not at all conducive to conversation.

The Pike also needs at least one big fountain. Every like- minded development of note has a fountain, and the lack of one at the Pike is a glaring, correctable omission. (Fraley's other complaint was that that the Ferris wheel and carousel are outside the complex, instead of in the middle surrounded by shops and restaurants. He's right, but it's probably too late to change that.)

Developers Diversified Realty, Inc., the Pike's development company, says it signed leases for a dozen new retailers, and several more are soon to be announced. That will help boost activity at the Pike, as well as use of the parking structure that is so crucial to the city's bottom line.

City Hall and by extension, the entire population of Long Beach has a considerable investment in the success of the Pike. It must not fail. But success is harder to envision if the Pike's outdoor areas remain uninviting. City and development officials ought to order and oversee some design changes while there's still time.

As one real estate expert told the Press-Telegram, the Pike "is not the most convenient place to go." In other words, people have to seek it out. With a more pleasant, welcoming atmosphere, more people would seek it out.