LBPOST.com: $1 Billion Golden Shore Development Plan Approved

Thursday, September 2, 2010

$1 Billion Golden Shore Development Plan Approved

by Ryan ZumMallen | Long Beach News | 04.22.10 |

| Text Size:

One of two main design plans shown by developers at Tuesday's City Council meeting.

10:00am | The City Council on Tuesday night approved a motion that will allow plans to move forward for the development of a $1 billion waterfront project in downtown Long Beach.

Current high-rise office buildings along Golden Shore Drive that include offices for the Union Bank of California, Molina Healthcare and the law firm of Keesel, Young & Logan would be demolished to make room for a new development including residential, office, commercial and hotel use on property overlooking the mouth of the Los Angeles River and the Pacific Ocean.

Deputy City Manager Reginald Harrison said the project would provide a maximum of 1,370 residential units, 28,000 square-feet of retail space, and 340,000 square-feet of office uses and 400 hotel rooms. Developers say the plan would focus on creating open space and a scenic downtown skyline.

Long Beach Planning Officer Derek Burnham called the proposed project a �Western gateway to our downtown and really an iconic-type development that we�d like to see on the Western edge of the downtown area.�

Assistant City Manager Suzanne Frick called the proposal �a wonderful development project.�

On Tuesday, the Council unanimously (9-0) approved an amendment to the Local Coastal Program and Downtown Shoreline Planned Development District, which will essentially open the door for developers to move forward with the plan.

The project would take an estimated ten years and $1 billion to complete.

Initial plans for the project were shown as far back as November 2007, but developers determined that those plans did not sit well with the community and went back to the drawing bard to emerge with the current proposal.

Click here to read our policy on covering the Long Beach City Council.

Comments

Click Here to Join the Discussion on this Story

19 Comments so far.

Jon
Rather them spend $1 billion on restoring the beach by cleaning up the water and bringing back the waves. The main reason to come to SoCal is the great weather and nice beaches. Reconfiguring the breakwater and cleaning up the LA River or at least preventing the trash from reaching the ocean should be the city's #1 priority in creating growth in tourism.

Dave in Alamitos Beach
Well I think this is very interesting, and probably an improvement over what is already there. My hope is that the City can help implement changes to the south 710 and Golden Shore that turn this area into unsightly asphalt and cement rather than a beautiful entry into the city. There should be better access to the LA river bike path and future "riverwalk?"

@jon
Totally agree. But this money is from private developers. The good news is major work is underway to clean up the LA River and more is to come. And in June hopefully the Army Corp and council will vote to move forward on the breakwater.

Swimmaven
Well Jon, I agree with you, but somehow this business venture did not have any conditions tacked on by the city council. Or, so the article reads. What kind of taxes and infrastructure payments will this projects be required to provide the city? (I suppose they had to cough up a few bucks for some homeless project.) It's kind of too bad the Union Bank building won't be included in the new project. It's a nice example of '60's architecture. oh well. It's ok. You can't save everything.

Andreas
Would be great to see what the mockups look like if you have them. Thx.

Dave in Alamitos Beach
PS Couldn't these developers donate $20 million to the Kroc Center as a gesture of goodwill? I would like to see both of these developments go forward.

E.C.
Agree w/ Jon. This is a good development, but cannot reach its full potential if there is nothing done with the breakwater reconfiguration to truly make Long Beach a destination beach area and thriving downtown.

C.W.
Sounds great but the development will never reach it's potential with the filthy water. I hope there are plans to clean it up. Also I hope that these are not the same developers that designed and built the Pike area development. What a "big box" ugly monstrosity of a mess that is! Please build something aesthetic with open spaces and focus on the water, if it's cleaned up. There should be a very close eye on the relationship between the developers and the city council members.

Jon
If this is being privately funded then great. I hope they don't make the same mistakes as the company that developed the Pike and City Place and take their queue from who ever developed Shoreline Village.

Ryan P
sounds kind of crazy to me. What is down there that would make people want to stop? Most folks just keep going down to Rainbow Harbor or Shoreline Village. And with the failure of The Pike shopping center, do we really need more new construction to sit empty along the coast of Long Beach?

Pam
Really, does any of it matter when we have filthy water with no waves? What's the point of going downtown when you can't even go in the water? We'll see what happens in June. Taking some of the breakwater down would change everything in Long Beach and for the better...the much, much better!

Joe
What about the East end development and the entry to Long Beach via PCH and 2nd. It is an eyesore. The city council could do something to make that development happen

Sarah
This is a great project for the city that will bring lots of jobs to the area, and further help to establish Long Beach as a premier destination on the Pacific coast. Cool.

Pablo Shakespeare?
Sounds great, but tell us more about the drawing bard.

Buster
I agree the beach here is dismal. What will happen in June that will change the infrastructure of the breakwater? I'm all for clean water and more waves.

to buster
In June, the Army Corp and council will decide whether or not to move forward to the final study (ie how to change it, not whether to change it or not). If they vote to move forward, we will more than likely see changes in the breakwater.

LB Native
What a giant mistake and waste of money. FIX THE BEACH!!!

Joseph E
Wow, 4 stories of parking under the whole thing. How many parking spaces is that? It would be nice if there was some grass or open space in this plan instead of big concrete plazas, driveways and parking lots. However, the mixed-use nature of the project, including residential, retail and commercial, is a good idea. The new residents, visitors and workers there could help bring business to downtown, if this project is successful. I hope the architecture and landscaping makes this a project we can be proud of, unlike the ugly developments aroud "The Pike" and Walmart. The renderings from the last plan, as linked in the article, were not very inspiring.

Rickatsea
I believe some one mentioned a “Riverwalk”? Shoreline Village is an example of how people enjoy walking next to the water. This plan should be an extension of a river walk starting at Shoreline Village, on to the Aquarium and continuing to the mouth of the river. Provide places for the arts, the small peddlers, the two-bit actors with plenty of small trees, benches and a bike lane. Keep the parking fees down and people will come. They will stay and spend the day and their money. Allow a small inexpensive tram (people carrier) to travel the route. All the other development will cost billions and can fail if people do not come. Bring in the people first, make it attractive to the little man and his family, then your billion dollar development will succeed.

Long Beach News

LBPOST.com Managing Editor Ryan ZumMallen keeps up on all the current and breaking Long Beach news.

Ryan ZumMallen has served as the managing editor of the LBPOST.com since 2007. He graduated from CSULB with a degree in Print Journalism in 2008 and is a member of the 2009 class of Leadership Long Beach. You can find him on various basketball courts around the city.

Ryan's Community