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A Hot Summer in Big City by the Sea
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.
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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).
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"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.
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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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"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."
Listed below are links to additional
stories included in the Los Angeles/Long Beach Market Report:
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