New condos for Pine
Developer buys downtown site to construct 22-story building.
By Don Jergler
Staff writer
LONG BEACH — A Pasadena developer has purchased one of downtown's premium ocean-view sites, and construction on the city's newest upscale residential tower could get under way by this time next year.
The Edgewater on Ocean, a 22-story, 155-unit condominium tower at Ocean Boulevard and Pine Avenue, could be completed and ready to be occupied by 2007, according to developer James Ratkovich & Associates Inc. of Pasadena.
The developers say they have "set an aggressive schedule' to get the project completed.
The firm purchased The Pacific at 850 E. Ocean in 1996, a failed venture developed by a Japanese firm, and completed and sold the 187-unit, 16-story condo development by 2000, said Steven Clark, Ratkovich's executive vice president.
The firm's newest project will be developed by 100 E. Ocean Partners LLC which includes Ratkovich and other investment partners, Clark said. 100 E. Ocean is the site's address.
The site was sold by Ensemble Investments, a former owner of the World Trade Center in downtown Long Beach and a property manager.
Clark declined to give the purchase price.
"It was a lot of money," he said. "We bought it for a great price relative to the current value. We believe we got a good deal."
Clark said units, which range in size from a 990-square-foot one-bedroom unit to a 3,600-square-foot penthouse, will sell for between $400,000 and $4 million.
The building will include a subterranean garage with 338 parking spaces. Additional parking for the structure will be built at the corner of Seaside Way and Locust Avenue by the seller as part of the deal, Clark said.
Ground-floor retail tenants proposed for the project include a gourmet market, a cafe and a spa and health club.
"This building is going to be an icon building in the city of Long Beach's skyline," Clark said.
Up to 4,000 upscale residential units are being added to downtown, many in the form of high-rise towers.
In June, a deal was made for a two-tower, 246-unit project on the site of what is now a pay parking lot at Ocean Boulevard and Chestnut Street. Units in the 29-and 22-story towers will sell for between $400,000 and $1 million.
Further down Ocean is Camden at Harbor View, consisting of 538 waterfront units in two nine-story towers, as well as four towers built to four stories, which have been renting for more than a year. Further yet on Ocean is the nearly completed 556-apartment-unit Aqua, formerly known as Ocean Villas, two 22-story towers, at Linden.
Once ground is broken, the Edgewater project will take from 16 to 20 months to complete, Clark said.
He estimates project costs at between $100 million and $105 million and said he believes they will recoup more than $150 million in sales.
Since Ensemble had previously obtained civic approval to build a 22-story residential tower, no further city action will be necessary to get the project green-lighted, other than basic permit approvals, Clark said.
He said the project attracted his firm because of its locale its near the newly opened Pike at Rainbow Harbor retail and entertainment center, the Long Beach Convention Center and Pine Avenue.
"We like the fact that it's urban living on the beach," Clark said. "Being at the corner of Pine Avenue, that's where it's all happening."