Long Beach has about $1 billion in new development, which includes 2,500 residential units under construction or in a two-year pipeline.
By Greg Aragon
While the landmark Queen Mary sits moored in concrete, the city around her rides the high seas of new development.
"It's amazing; it's certainly a boom," said Barbi Clark, project manager with the Long Beach Redevelopment Agency, which was formed in 1961 to help improve and revitalize blighted areas of the city, as well as promote economic development, job creation and affordable housing.
"People are finding out that Long Beach is a great place to live between Orange County and L.A. County," Clark added.
She said the downtown area currently has about $1 billion in new development, which includes about 1,500 residential units completed in the last year; 2,500 residential units currently under construction or in a two-year pipeline; and more than 1 million sq. ft. of retail space completed or starting this year.
The population of Long Beach, the fifth largest city in California, is 481,000, according to the 2000 U.S. Census.
"I think the downtown housing is a very hot market," said architect Alan Pullman, principal and design director with Long Beach-based Perkowitz + Ruth "As long as interest rates stay somewhat reasonable, it will maintain that position."
Pullman is a member of the Long Beach Design Forum, a consortium of other concerned architects, keeping an eye on new architecture in the city of 481,000. He said that a possible "downside" to the city's growth could be a decline in the quality of the architecture.
"As of yet, it is still too early to tell how our group will affect the design of new projects in Long Beach," said Pullman. "However, the Long Beach Design Forum has encouraged discussion of design for new developments in our city [and] our emphasis on the importance of good design has helped to facilitate the creation of two new city positions: planning Director and urban design officer."
Pullman said that his firm currently has no notable projects in Long Beach.
Highlighting the hot housing market in Long Beach are such projects as Aqua, Puerto del Sol Apartment Homes at West Gateway and the Promenade
The $100 million Aqua, which is scheduled to open in August, is located on densely built Ocean Boulevard, a short walk from shops and restaurants on bustling Pine Avenue and the popular Pike at Rainbow Harbor, a retail-entertainment center.
Developed by Dallas-based Genesis Realty, Aqua's two 18-story towers include 556 market-rate condominiums with 10-ft. ceilings, marble and slate flooring, as well as and panoramic vistas of the Pacific Ocean, Queen Mary, Long Beach Aquarium and Long Beach's expanding skyline.
Prices start in the high $200,000s for a 640-sq.-ft. condo. Eleven floor plans offer one-, two- and three-bedroom units, with the largest plan of approximately 2,500 sq. ft. listed at $1.5 million.
Houston-based EDI Architecture designed the project in an Art Deco style. The Newport Beach office of Summit Builders was the general contractor.
Genesis Realty president Gordon Ip said Long Beach's rapid growth is no accident.
"There's no room in L.A., anywhere," Ip added. "Long Beach is benefiting because the L.A. basin has a lot of demand and not a lot of supply, and Long Beach is halfway between Orange County and L.A. That's very helpful."
On the other end of the economic scale, a 143,000-sq.-ft. housing project is sprouting on Third Street, adjacent to Caesar E. Chavez Park. The $21.5 million Puerto del Sol Apartment Homes at West Gateway, which broke ground in February and will be completed in fall 2006, will feature 64 apartment "work force-units" with rents ranging from 50 percent and below the median income in Los Angeles County.
Lawrence Herman, senior project manager with Irvine-based Jamboree Housing Corp., the nonprofit company developing Puerto del Sol, said the development will be marketed to families that earn between 40 and 60 percent of the median income in Los Angeles County of $54,450. The apartments will rent for between $450 and $900 per month, well below Long Beach's median monthly rent of $1,100 per month.
"There has never been a greater demand for affordable housing," Herman said. "Many families are paying well over 50 percent of their income for housing, and that is an unhealthy situation for communities to be in."
Puerto del Sol will consist of two-, three- and four-bedroom units overlooking an interior courtyard, with a 1.5-level subterranean parking structure. Other features include a computer room, after-school tutoring, and community room, parenting classes and first-time-home-buyer education classes. The four-story project was designed by Santa Monica-based Killefer Flammang Architects and is being built by La Crescenta-based Cobalt Construction.
Puerto del Sol is part of a planned $200 million transit-oriented district called West Gateway. The 9-acre site will span all or portions of eight square blocks in the city's downtown core. The Metropolitan Transportation Authority's Blue Line train runs between Long Beach and downtown Los Angeles.
West Gateway, which is currently in the planning and land acquisition stage, includes the development of approximately 800 ownership and rental housing units. One component-Caesar Chavez Elementary School-was completed last year.
Initial developers of the Gateway project include Lennar South Coast Home building, with plans for 185 units of for-sale housing; Newport Beach-based Lyon Realty Advisors, which is planning 250 units of rental housing; and Seal Beach-based Olson Co., with a proposal of 194 for-sale residential units. It will also include ground-level retail, as well as additional residential units as the project progresses.
A project designed to combine both retail and residential is the new three-block mixed-use endeavor known as Promenade.
Sandwiched between First and Third streets, the $116 million project broke ground in May and will feature approximately 35,000 sq. ft. of retail and about 263 condos and apartments. It is scheduled for completion in early 2006.
"The Promenade is a good residential link between the waterfront and the interior of our downtown," said Kraig Kojian, president and CEO of the Downtown Long Beach Associates, a non-profit organization operating on behalf of downtown property owners and tenants in cooperation with the city of Long Beach and the private sector.
"We're advocating for more housing in our downtown, and the Promenade will provide the necessary residential component and help existing businesses, as well as generate interest from new businesses," Kojian added.
The three companies developing Promenade are Newport Beach-based Lyon Realty Advisors, Seal Beach-based Olson Co., and Irvine-based Lennar South Coast Home building.
Olson's $35 million portion consists of 54,000 sq. ft of land to be used for 97 residential units and retail. Lennar's $17.5 million piece will utilize 30,000 sq. ft. of land for 62 units and ground-floor retail. Lyon's $28.5-million segment will feature 104 rental units on 59,000 sq. ft. of property.
With all this new development, Kojian thinks downtown Long Beach will be a new "destination" for nightlife and businesses.
"I'm not going to predict how long this [boom] is going to last, but we'll ride this wave as long as we can."
The $100 million Aqua, which is scheduled to open next month, is located on densely built Ocean Boulevard. Developed by Dallas-based Genesis Realty, Aqua's two 18-story towers include 556 market-rate condominiums with 10-ft. ceilings, marble and slate flooring, as well as and panoramic vistas of the Pacific Ocean, Queen Mary, Long Beach Aquarium and Long Beach's expanding skyline (photo by Greg Aragon).
Sandwiched between First and Third streets, the $116 million Promenade project broke ground in May and will feature about 263 condos and apartments and approximately 35,000 sq. ft. of retail. It is scheduled for completion in early 2006 (photo by Greg Aragon).
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A Hot Summer in Big City by the Sea
DR - News), the developer, owner and manager of the Pike at Rainbow Harbor, today announced a signed lease with LodgeWorks LP to open a 97,000 square foot Sierra Suites extended stay hotel at the 18-acre entertainment center on the waterfront in downtown Long Beach, California.
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