Long Beach Construction (Planned, Proposed, & Current)

[officedweller]

Like the bridge alternatives - I think I've seen the current bridge on so many movie cars chases that it'll be cool to see them on a new span.

[LAMetroGuy]

Struggling Pine Square getting another chance
By Don Jergler
Staff writer

LONG BEACH - Three new businesses are set to open up in Pine Square, setting the stage for a possible reanimation of the beleaguered shopping and entertainment center.

The center, which houses the AMC Theatre, has been the focus of concern because of the large numbers of storefront vacancies and failed efforts to get the operation off the ground.

Owned by Downey-based Meruelo Enterprises, Pine Square was considered an anchor for downtown development when it opened about eight years ago.

The square it was built at a cost of $45 million, including a $3 million loan from the Redevelopment Agency sat largely vacant through 2000 after the project's developer filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in 1998.

At least three groups went into escrow to buy the troubled center, which underwent a $1.3 million remodeling in 1998.

Four years later, operators of the center its most visible tenants are AMC, El Mar and Johnny Rockets are attempting to revitalize it, using downtown's large business population as an impetus.

The center, which includes 142 apartment units, has 90,000 square feet of retail space, more than 65,000 of which is already leased.

On the Pine Avenue side of the center there is about 17,000 square feet of space available, and negotiations are under way to fill 7,600 square feet of that, said Becky Blair, with Blair Commercial Real Estate, which is in charge of leasing the center.

Aside from a cellular store, Sprint PCS, many of the new stores planned for the center are fast-food restaurants.

Blair has ordered new tables and chairs, as well as umbrellas, to be set up on the second floor to revitalize the food court, a change she hopes will prove inviting for the lunch crowd.

"People could come up there, grab a coke or a pastry, and sit there in that area,' Blair said. "It makes it more open or inviting for people who are stoping for lunch or grabbing a show. We want to make it so you want to go upstairs, so it looks like there's something going on up there.'

She added, "I think a lot of people want to have lunch that is more affordable.'

Blair is also talking with AMC officials to see if they can put up a marquee to announce upcoming movies, events and deals.

Only recently has the center began to get a second glance by retailers as other storefront vacancies along Pine begin to be filled, Blair said.

And as residential units begin filling at the 221-unit CityPlace development across the street, Blair believes she can get even more retailers interested.

"There are possibilities of two more' leases being signed, she said. Blair declined to state who she is negotiating with until the deals are signed.

Stores that Blair is marketing to include booksellers, women' clothing retailers, and pastry or snack stores.

"Retail is just going to build, we've got nowhere to go but up,' Blair said.

To give people better access to the center, an additional stairwell was added last year.

[LAMetroGuy]

Playing musical towers
By Joe Segura
Staff writer


The Long Beach Planning Commission has approved changes in a plan for two condominium towers on Ocean Boulevard.

Phase II of the Camden Master Plan won the Planning Commission's original nod on Nov. 16, 2000.

A vote earlier this month modified the project by simply reversing the unit count for the two towers allocating 132 units to the north Tower 1 and 114 units to the south Tower 2. The total density remains at the approved 246 units.

Originally, the plan called for two 26-story towers and one high-rise office tower on the southwestern corner of Chestnut Avenue and Ocean Boulevard. The condominiums were to be side-by-side along Seaside Way.

However, the two residential towers were pegged for the lots along Chestnut Place, and there are now height differences Tower 1 will be 29 stories high with a helicopter pad and mechanical room on top for a 341 feet, and Tower 2 will be 21 stories with a helicopter pad for 257 feet..

The elimination of the high-rise office building will reduce traffic impacts, according to a report by city planner Craig Chalfant.

Intracorp, the developer, also proposed to include photographic and artistic works of historic downtown Long Beach in the Tower 1 lobby and on the eastern walls enclosing the outdoor stairway to Chestnut Place.

"This is an attractive feature, not included in the original project approval, which together with the Victory Park improvements will greatly contribute to increased public interest and activity along the Ocean Boulevard corridor,' Chalfant reported.

The project requires 787 spaces, but 763 are provided a shortfall of 24 spaces.

However, according to Chalfant's report, a parking study concluded that 767 spaces "would adequately meet parking demand' if the reserved residential parking is limited to one reserved parking space per bedroom and if the unreserved office tenant parking is made available to residential guests during evening and weekend.

"The city's traffic engineer has reviewed the study and found the analysis to be in accordance with accepted traffic industry standards and the conclusions to be reasonable and justifiable,' Chalfant added.

[longbeachnik]

341 feet! Awesome...second tallest building in Long Beach! whoo-hoo! A 250 footer ain't bad either!

HAPPY HAPPY HAPPY HAPPY.....

[LA rehab]

This makes sense because the developer can now site the towers to maximize the views from each unit. A pair of identical bldgs both fronting Chestnut would not have provided as many desirable views. LB should have three 300 footers with this project. Not only that, but these towers should fill in a gap that is currently somewhat low-rise between the WTC and City Hall and Landmark Sq. They'll also add height and volume in a currently flat and uninteresting part of town.

I have just one little question however; looking at the site, there is a rather significant slope, and parking would likely have to be below the residential bldgs. Are the 341 and 257 foot figures from Ocean Blvd to the tops of the buildings or are they total building heights, including parking levels from the bottom of the site near the Aquarium?

Oh yeah, and since they'll not be needing that office bldg, how bout another residental tower (gettin' greedy..i know)

[LAMetroGuy]

Overhaul of aging building should be finished early next year.

By Tracy Manzer
Staff writer

LONG BEACH -- Gone are the sallow yellow walls of the jail, the leaking and corroded plumbing, and the layers of asbestos caked like frosting on all the steel girders.

In their place stand new sheer walls made of Shotcrete and steel rebar; sparkling blue, double glazed windows that deflect the heat from a beating sun and help keep cooling costs down; and an entirely new, sparkling plumbing system.

In fact everything, other than the foundation and the steel beams that are the bones of the Long Beach Police Department headquarters, is new on a multimillion-dollar construction project that has seen a complete overhaul of the aging building, as well as Long Beach Fire Department's Station No. 1 on Magnolia Avenue near Broadway.

In February, as construction crews continued to complete the first half of the project, required for seismic retrofit work and the elimination of hazardous materials like asbestos and lead, a second supplemental contract for more than $9 million was awarded to Swinerton Builders, which contracted with 3D/International to do the initial seismic hazard work and the tear down of the structure estimated at more than $16 million.

The entire project, including the cost of relocating both the Police Department headquarters and Fire Station No. 1, will ring in at more than $45 million, city staff members estimate. Footing the bill are public works project city bonds, and a federal grant awarded for the seismic costs.

3DI, known for its design of the Getty Museum and the Farmers Market in Santa Monica, made a successful bid for the first half of the contract back in 2002. The second portion, which deals primarily with interior work, was awarded by the City Council without a bid because it was treated as supplemental.

And the reason, says Del Davis manager of the city's Administration, Planning & Facilities Bureau was to save time, which equals money.

"We would have wasted a lot of people's time,' if they had put the second portion out to bid, said Sharon Gonzalez, from the city's project management office. "Swinerton was already 15 percent ahead of anyone else when it came to costs.'

As Swinerton's crews wrap up the seismic work, they can launch the interior portion of the project. If another builder were brought in, they would have to wait for Swinerton to finish everything first, Davis explained. {BYLINE}By keeping Swinerton on the project, they hope to be done about four to six months ahead of schedule, Davis added.

Logistical problems, such as finding on-site parking for two crews, having two different contractor groups working on various portions of the building and vying for space can be avoided when one group is in charge, Davis said.

Swinerton and 3DI are working with Police Lt. Ted Holst who is the acting jail commander to create a new layout of the offices to make the most of logistics for the department's various divisions. A new lobby that will look nothing like the closet-like room that people used to pile into when going to the Police Department is also a dramatic change and includes a large community room.

"The chief, and the department, felt it was important to provide the community with a place where they can be comfortable and have meetings to share information and help with community relations,' Holst said.

In the jail, the dingy greenish/yellow walls have been replaced by a light gray. It is the same type of paint used for the hulls of ships, and will have a better chance of standing up to the onslaught of inmates. Even things like new toilets and sinks in the rooms, and specially designed windows, which will block full view from outside and within, are making the former dingy appearance of the jail cleaner and brighter.

At the current rate of construction, the building will be ready for the Police Department to begin moving back into its old home by the end of the year. Throughout this time, the headquarters has been housed in the downtown Southern California Edison building, on Long Beach Boulevard at First Street.

Holst estimated that the newly remodeled and rebuilt headquarters should be up and running for public and department use by early 2005.

"We're coming in on-budget and on-time,' said Danny Kaye, project manager for 3DI. "Actually, we're ahead of schedule, and it looks like we'll be under budget.'

[LAMetroGuy]

Blockbuster: We didn't want Pine
By Don Jergler
Staff writer


LONG BEACH - Blockbuster Inc. never considered opening a location on Pine Avenue, despite statements by city officials and a retail recruiter that the video rental chain was interested in the street, a spokesman for the Dallas-based company said.

The remarks cast a spotlight on concerns that the area has too many restaurants and not enough retail. A recent report conducted by a Denver-based consulting group calls downtown's restaurant stock "great,' but says the area has a "weak retail offering.'

Developers of the Pike at Rainbow Harbor, an extension of Pine, have struggled to find retailers for the 370,000-square- foot shopping and entertainment center, which already houses fine dining spots and is the site of a future Gladstone's.

Early statements about Blockbuster opening at 301 Pine Ave., at the corner of Third Street, had criticized the owner of the property, Bernard Rosenson.

Rosenson recently came under fire for signing a lease with $9.99 Shoes for the location. By leasing the spot to a discount seller, Rosenson evidently upset those working to market Pine to "upscale retailers.' But interest was never there, according to a Blockbuster spokesman.

"I can tell you that we're not interested in anything on Pine,' said Blake Lugash, a spokesman for Blockbuster.

Lugash declined to state where in Long Beach the video chain is seeking for its next store he said the city's eighth Blockbuster is set to open on 10th Street and Long Beach Boulevard and he would not give specific reasons why the company would not open a location on Pine.

In choosing its locations Blockbuster considers the amount of foot traffic in an area, space availability, visibility from the street and parking, Lugash said.

Despite Lugash's remarks, city officials maintain that Blockbuster was interested in Rosenson's Pine property.

Melanie Fallon, executive director of the Long Beach Redevelopment Agency, had said during a public meeting of Pine Avenue businesses last month that the city had recruited Blockbuster for the spot but that Rosenson "didn't want them there.'

Chet Yoshizaki, manager of the city's economic development bureau, said it was "my understanding' that Blockbuster had been interested.

Yoshizaki referred further questions to Sandra Yavitz, a retail recruiting consultant with Yavitz Co., who he said was the liasion between Blockbuster and Rosenson.

"I presented the interest of Blockbuster video to (Rosenson) back in December,' Yavitz said on Wednesday. "We did have an interest from Blockbuster.'

Rosenson, who also owns the historic Breakers Hotel on Ocean Boulevard (now a retirement community), said he has struggled to lease the property since he bought it in a foreclosure sale from Farmers & Merchants Bank for about $650,000 about five years ago.

He recalls being approached by Yavitz about Blockbuster late last year, but said a deal never surfaced, so he simply took the first tenant that came along.

"Why would I choose an unbranded retail outlet over a national brand?' Rosenson said, disputing that he turned down a Blockbuster offer. "I would have grasped at it at the time.'

Yavitz said Rosenson "did not like the tenant and he did not like their credit.'

She declined to reveal who she spoke to at Blockbuster and said she could not provide written evidence of a correspondence with the company because all communications had been by telephone.

[ChrisLA]

^
Interesting about Blockbuster. I had read about the interest on Pine as well. Anyway my cousin and I disagree about a large video store in the area. She thinks that it will put the smaller ones out of business, but I think there will still be many who patronize them. Since Blockbusters is more expensive, I think the smaller businesses will still do okay. Especially since the income range in the area goes from low to high. It's a strange mix in this area, so I think both types can survive.

[LAMetroGuy]

Museum may make 2004 historic year for L.B.
By Tom Hennessy
Staff columnist



By the end of the year, Long Beach apparently will have a new museum dedicated to the city's history.

To be built between Ocean Boulevard and Seaside Way near the Convention Center, the building, about 5,000 square feet, will be topped with the historic roof from the Looff building, the last remaining structure of the city's old Pike amusement park.

Part of the building will have a second story.

"The design work already has been approved,' says 2nd District Councilman Dan Baker, who negotiated the construction of the museum with Camden Properties. "I expect construction to start within the next couple of months and be completed by the end of the year.'

No public money will be used to finance the museum.

Explains Baker, "It was written into the agreement with Camden Properties that they would build a structure and relocate the historical part of the (Looff) building and put it on a new structure.'

Camden, based in Houston, Texas, is building housing units in the area where the museum will be.

While the relics of the city's past are spread among several organizations, including the Historical Society of Long Beach, Long Beach Heritage, and a separate group, Long Beach Heritage Museum, the society will be the prime beneficiary of the museum.

"We're going to use it as a new space for the Long Beach Historical Society so they have a very low lease payment,' Baker says. "Happily, that will be nothing at all or maybe a dollar a year. It will give them a permanent place to display their historical artifacts.'

This comes as good news to the society, which is being obliged to move from its present quarters in the Breakers, 210 E. Ocean Blvd.

"We're looking forward to this opportunity,' says Julie Bartolotto, executive director of the 300-member organization. "We're very pleased with Camden and with Councilman Baker's office for helping us find a new site where people will be able to see Long Beach's past.'

Dissenting view

Not everyone involved in preserving the city's past is happy about the arrangement, however.

Ken Larkey, president of Long Beach Heritage Museum, says the agreement is unfair to his organization, which has operated two city museums in the past. He says the Camden people came to him with his proposal last year.

"They even met in my house. They were especially interested in my Pike (artifacts).'

Larkey also says he attended two meetings in Baker's office to discuss the project. "I haven't heard from anyone since then. The Historical Society doesn't even recognize me.' Whatever status he may have had with the new museums, he claims, has been pre-empted by the society.

"I've put my hand out in friendship to them in my last newsletter by writing about their Navy exhibit. We've given them publicity. But they don't recognize us. They don't say 'thank you' or anything.

Bartolotto, however, says her organization is offering Larkey space in the new building. "As part of the agreement, we've offered to display some artifacts from Ken Larkey's collection. We have to decide which artifacts. That hasn't been discussed yet.'

Relics by the ton

On a day last month, I watched Larkey raise the door of a warehouse in West Long Beach. Revealed inside was a massive collection of Long Beach's past.

Here was a car from the Pike's Cyclone Racer roller-coaster. There was the soda fountain from the Harriman Jones building at Broadway and Cherry.

Here was a mannequin in a long-ago uniform of the Long Beach Municipal Band. There was a case of Magruder's salt water taffy, minus the taffy.

And more. A washing machine made in Long Beach in 1917, a gas pump from a station once located at Seventh and Alamitos, cabinets from the old Iowa Barbershop on First Street.

"The kids used to line up there for those old flat-top haircuts,' says Larkey.

Surveying this mountain of nostalgia, he notes, "This stuff has been here six years, maybe seven years. I can't get any more in here. And I have three garages just like this. They're all just standing here, which is no good. We must get these things back on display so people can enjoy them.'

Without funds for a museum of his own, however, his best shot at displaying his artifacts or some of them appears to be a share of the museum about to be built.

Taking count

The new museum comes at a time when, as noted above, relics of the city's past are in the hands of several organizations, including, for example, the Long Beach Police and Fire departments. (The latter has its own museum.)

"There is property all over the city, including artifacts, photographs, and buildings, that serve as resources and a remembrance of our past,' Mayor Beverly O'Neill noted at Tuesday's City Council meeting.

"The Cultural Heritage Commission has played a key role in determining the architectural assets of Long Beach (but) we also need to know the non-architectural assets that are part of the rich history of our city.'

Toward that end, O'Neill has ordered a "collaborative effort' of appropriate organizations to work with the city "to develop an inventory and accumulate information on the items and whereabouts of these historical assets for our community.' Council member Bonnie Lowenthal calls the action "an important first step to identify and catalog Long Beach's historical structure and items, which may be scattered throughout our city.' Tom Hennessy's viewpoint appears Sunday, Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday. He can be reached at (562) 499-1270 or by e-mail at Scribe17@aol.com.

[longbeachnik]

I've seen the design for the new building at the current Historical Society area in the Breakers...I feel like they could have done a lot better designing it. Also, I wonder if this will be near the new 350 foot tower?

[LAMetroGuy]

You should go by and take a picture of it and post it here!

[LAMetroGuy]

What's up: Opening the Vault




Class acts coming to Pine: The best thing about living and working in Redevelopmentville is every day's like a gift-getting occasion as we discover what sort of present is rattling around inside those wrapped-up vacancies along Pine Avenue, in downtown's CityPlace, on the Pike at Rainbow Harbor or in the East Village Arts District.

Sometimes it's a bit of a disappointment.

"Oh, a shoe store that sells everything for $9.99. Thanks, Uncle Ward and Aunt Myrtle."

"Ah! A place that does nails. Can't have enough of those."

Frequently they're nice little stocking stuffers - a Quizno's, a bookstore.

Then there's the mondo gift, the commercial equivalent of the red bicycle. And soon, not to ruin the surprise (OK, to ruin the surprise), we're getting a huge, shiny, expensive, swanky and long-awaited world-class entertainment club which, if it lives up to its promise, will be the finest in recent memory in Long Beach.

Vault 350 (at 350 Pine Ave., in a wild coincidence), may rival L.A.'s and Disneyland's House(s) of Blues as the region's premier music and dining destination.

The club, being gutted and re-fixtured right now at the site of the defunct Latin music venue Leonardo's - and, for years prior to that, a Bank of America branch (with its vaunted vault) - is scheduled to open May 28 with a show by blues prodigy Jonny Lang.

Other acts already booked for the Vault are Mary Chapin Carpenter with Jim Lauderdale (June 12) and the B-52s (Aug. 13).

Aside from the talent booked into the Terrace Theater by its director Dan Spellens, this Vault is getting names several notches above what Big Town usually draws.

When we dropped by last week, the place was alive with workers, but it still looked like little more than a pile of lumber and sawhorses. When it opens in just three weeks, it should look like a million bucks - or better. The owners (going by the rockin' moniker Finance Network LLC) already operate a couple of less ambitious but nevertheless successful clubs, the Malibu Inn and the Santa Barbara Coach House, and they're apparently dumping all available fundage into the Long Beach venture.

For starters, they paid almost $4 million for the place. Another $1 million is going into the club's sound system and other trappings of an up-scale night spot.

The club will hold at least 2,000 people, says property manager Robert Mellor. In addition to standing-room spots on the floor, there'll be balcony seating for diners and, even higher above the riff-raff, a VIP room for folks who want to get away from it all. "The VIPs won't be able to see the band, but we'll have the show on closed-circuit and they can watch the performers on plasma TVs," says Mellor.

Access to alcohol won't be difficult. In addition to VIP and balcony bars, Mellor says, the club will have 10 bartenders working a 175-foot bar on the floor.

While Leonardo's made use of the labyrinth basement of the building (including the vault), that part of the venue will be closed to the public, says Mellor.

"We're putting in three green rooms for the talent, complete with TV, phones, Internet - probably a pool table, and we'll have offices down there. In the future, we might make it into a separate club, with dancing, but for right now we're concentrating on the main floor."

The price you pay for a ticket will add to the swankiness of the Vault 350 experience.

Admission to the Jonny Lang show is $49.50; tix for Mary Chapin Carpenter are $45; prices will be announced soon for the B-52s.

You can purchase tickets through Pay Pal at the club's Web site (www.vault350.com). For recorded Vault info, call (562) 590-5566.

What's Up appears in the Press-Telegram Monday through Friday. You can reach Tim Grobaty at (562) 499-1256, or e-mail: grobaty@earthlink.net

[LBCJeremy]

I've been wondering about the Broadway Lofts project -- there are no signs and wasn't ground supposed to have been broken by now? That corner needs something in a bad way.

Do you guys know about the art exchange project the City is considering and East Village Association is pushing? It would be on the police parking lot between LB Blvd and Elm Av on the north side of Broadway:

<i>A four-story art center is planned in The East Village at Broadway and Long Beach Boulevard. It will be a work space for 70 artists to create, display and sell their artwork. Visitors will be able to view artists creating as the center is open to the public. This will offer a chance for artists to be seen by many new customers. It will be an excellent site to learn about art, and meet artists in person. People of all ages will come to see an ever changing gallery of creations. "In the center, there will be an auditorium where glass blowing, welding and other 'industrial' arts are done" said Steve Eliker, chairman of the project. Stair-stepped platforms will allow visitors to view the artists easily. This space could also be used for lectures, demonstrations, and educational programs. With about 40,000 square feet, the center will be impressive. The Torpedo Factory in Alexandria Virginia is the model for this project. Alexandria is just across the Potomac from Washington, DC During W.W.II, torpedoes were built in a large factory on the river. After the war, the building was left vacant. It was in a neighborhood of other old factories and run-down old buildings. In the mid 1980s, artists got permission to use the building to create and sell art. Over time, the "factory" became a center for local and leading artists. The old buildings nearby got fixed-up, as restaurants, hotels and art galleries opened. This revived one of America's oldest cities, making it a "must see neighborhood" in Virginia. For these reasons, the Art Exchange is planned to totally change Long Beach for the better. A feasibility study has been commissioned by the RDA (Redevelopment Agency) to investigate the cost of the project and research financing. The East Village Association is raising money for this project. The East Village Oktoberfest, on October 11, 2003, will be our annual fund raiser. The money will be used to match grants and pay for the building. "Over the coming years, we need to raise a lot of money and get this project going" said Eliker.</i>

I'd insert images but they're geocities and they won't show up.

I'm not really happy about this, since it'll be a cheesy corporate-flavored venue paid for with a lot of tax money. They'll be removing a whole chunk of the city from productive use -- a key chunk, which could bridge the "East Village" (where I live) and downtown.

If the City already owns the land, they should sell it to a developer. Let there be lofts! Or retail or something. That block is already ruined enough by the awful Bank of America building and that giant eyesore, the Edison parking garage...which could only dominate my neighborhood more if it had a whip.

[LAMetroGuy]

Douglas Park (formerly PacifiCenter) will transform unused Boeing aircraft manufacturing buildings into a dynamic mixed-use community of offices, commercial development, neighborhood retail, a hotel and residential neighborhoods. www.douglaspark.org

-More than 10 acres of parks and open spaces
-Millions of dollars for schools
-An Adaptive Traffic Control System to improve traffic flow on major arterials all around the project
-Improvements to 12 city intersections
-New housing opportunities
-New shops, restaurants and services
-11,000 new high quality, high-wage jobs
-Over $1 billion in new payroll for the local economy



Office and Commercial Development
Up to 3.3 million square feet of commercial floor space will be provided for professional firms, office users, research and development, light manufacturing, and aviation-related businesses. A 400-room hotel is also proposed.





Residential Development
1,400 family friendly single and multi-family housing are planned for Douglas Park, so many employees will be able to walk to work in the morning. Homes for everyone from company CEO's to schoolteachers and recent college grads at the start of their careers will be provided. This dynamic housing mix will make it possible for Douglas Park to attract businesses with high-paying jobs.





Retail Development
Douglas Park will provide a wide array of shopping opportunities for those who live and work in Douglas Park, and for the neighboring community. Included in the 3.3 million square feet of commercial space is proposed up to 150,000 square feet of retail. These stores will be focused on neighborhood retail – more intimate than a conventional center anchored by a major supermarket, with stores and restaurants offering all from the essentials to the eclectic.

Recreation Development


The proposed plan includes 11 acres of park space, which would consist of two larger parks and several smaller parks. Boeing Realty’s goal is to have everyone in the project within a three-minute walk of a Douglas Park park.

[SaF9]

^booo, suburban offices :barf: (damn I miss that smilie)

[LBCJeremy]

I agree, the residential and retail looks nice but the office space is blah.

[SaF9]

The West Ocean

[longbeachnik]

Wow...looks very tall and "modern."

[SaF9]

Yeah, it does. Could fit in perfectly in San Diego

[LAMetroGuy]

SaF9,

Wow, nice picture!!! Very cool.... I hope these get built real soon. I like the look of these towers... I think it will be a nice fit with the rest of downtown LB!

Thanks!