LONG BEACH | Development News

[saiholmes]

[GarfieldPark]

I love the photo used in the Long Beach Banner for SkyscraperCity today! I haven't been to Long Beach in about fifteen years (I'm from the Midwest) -- but it sure looks a whole lot better in that picture than what I remember it looking like back in the mid 90's. Looks Good!

[goom]

im surprised long beach made the banner

[VZN]

The LBC! I though I would never see my city here on this website.

[VZN]

Somebody has an idea of bringing the pike back with a 1920's themed development.

http://www.islandoflongbeach.com/#!community

Thoughts?

[saiholmes]

[tanzirian]

I couldn't really get a good sense of the project from that link...

For interest of anyone who might not know, in the old days the beach of Long Beach extended much further west than it does now, and the Pike / pier jutted out from the beach a la Santa Monica. This area is all landfill now, with the current Pike shopping complex and the Aquarium of the Pacific located there. IMO, with the changes in the landscape and character of Long Beach over the years, the atmosphere of the original Pike would be difficult to recreate.

An old postcard, showing Long Beach and the Pike, with its well known Cyclone coaster:

[saiholmes]

Originally Posted by Press-Telegram LONG BEACH, CA

Port of Long Beach expansion to create thousands of jobs
By Karen Robes Meeks, Staff Writer
Press-Telegram LONG BEACH, CA
Posted: 01/19/2012 05:26:06 PM PST

LONG BEACH — After a year of negotiations, Port of Long Beach officials have reached a tentative lease agreement with Orient Overseas Container Line on the future Middle Harbor development — a partnership that could make Long Beach the nation's busiest seaport and create thousands of new jobs.

The 40-year lease with the Hong Kong-based container shipping and logistics service company is a $4.6 billion commitment to "the biggest port terminal project in North America," said Port Executive Director J. Christopher Lytle.

"This agreement will allow us to move ahead with construction of the most technologically advanced and greenest terminal in the world," said Lytle, who made the announcement Thursday at his first State of the Port address at the Long Beach Convention Center.

The agreement, which is expected to go before the Harbor Commission on Monday, validates the city's commitment to infrastructure, said Mayor Bob Foster.

"In order for this port to thrive, in order for it to remain the economic engine that it is, we have to expand and we have to be able to move greater volumes of cargo at greater velocities," Foster said.

Foster added that he had spoken to the president of OOCL at the Long Beach Area Chamber of Commerce event, which brought more than 600 city and business leaders.

"He said it's the largest commitment they've made anywhere in the world," the mayor said. "So it demonstrates that we are right in what we said. We're going to plan for the future. We're going to have a port for the future."

OOCL Chief Executive Officer Philip Chow said in a statement that he is very pleased with reaching an agreement with the port to operate the Middle Harbor project.

"It demonstrates our long-term commitment to the Port of Long Beach as the gateway of choice for North America and solidifies our economic partnership with the region," Chow said. "We look forward to seeing the positive impact that this commitment will have for years to come."

Chow declined requests for an interview after the State of the Port address.

Work is already under way on the $1.2 billion redevelopment project, which seeks to fuse two old shipping terminals encompassing 294 acres into a new 345-acre terminal. Improvements will include upgraded wharfs, water access and storage area and an expanded on-dock rail yard from 10,000 linear feet to 75,000, which means less local truck trips, Lytle said.

When completed in 2019, the Middle Harbor is supposed to help improve cargo movement by more than double, cut air pollution by as much as half and add about 14,000 permanent jobs to the local economy, officials said.

"This terminal will be the crown," Lytle said after the event. "It will be the terminal that will represent the highest efficiency, we think, of any terminal in the country. Customers will want to come to that terminal to have their cargo handled there."

The agreement comes at significant time, officials said.

"It's great, especially now with the down economy," Lytle said. "There's a lot of pessimism in the industry, but OOCL is taking that long-term view and looking ahead and realizing that this continues to be a premiere gateway."

OOCL, a Port of Long Beach customer since 1969, would take up roughly 305 acres, and could move into the new space as early as 2016, Lytle said.

"When they're up to capacity, that terminal would equate to the fourth largest port in the U.S. - that terminal alone, when it's up to 3.1 million TEUs (20-foot equivalent units)," Lytle said.

With the Middle Harbor, Long Beach has the potential to overtake Los Angeles as the nation's busiest seaport.

About 6.1 million 20-foot-equivalent containers were moved in 2011 by Long Beach port shipping terminals, while more than 7.94 million cargo containers passed through the Port of Los Angeles last year. If this trend continues and the Middle Harbor reaches capacity, the Port of Long Beach would top 9 million TEUs.

"This lease, if it gets approved, is really going to shape the Port of Long Beach and Long Beach for the next 40 years," said Susan E. Anderson Wise, president of the Long Beach Harbor Commission. "It secures the future for us."

Read More: http://www.presstelegram.com/news/ci_19777252

[milquetoast]

This is very important, and frankly I don't

care if Long Beach pulls ahead on capacity,

just so long as this complex remains relevent

and dominant.

.

P2SENG.COM

.

We're competing with supertanker access through the Panama Canal soon

and, as I see it, they will have a slight problem with bottlenecking, along with

some pirate trouble, but if we concentrate on turnaround, then nothing can impress

our clients more than that! That, and delivering the product to our distribution centers

across the country- in effect, beating the boats to our collective destinations!

.

LILESNET.COM

[klamedia]

Agreed.

[Stamford Bridge]

Very large and beautiful

[elrusodan]

Does anyone have any info on that "transit-oriented" development across the Anaheim station?

[saiholmes]

Originally Posted by Curbed LA

Long Beach's Icky Colorado Lagoon Getting All Cleaned Up
Monday, June 11, 2012, by James Brasuell

Phase II of an ongoing project to restore the previously gross Colorado Lagoon recreation area in Long Beach is moving along smoothly. The Long Beach Press-Telegram reports that by July contractors will have moved about 59,000 cubic yards of sediment to the port. Phase I, finished in November 2010, decreased litter at the 13 acre lagoon via upgrades around the lagoon and a nearby golf course: "The low-flow diversion of urban runoff to redirect it into the sanitary sewer system; installation of trash-traps to prevent debris from entering the lagoon from the three remaining major storm drain outlets; and cleaning the culvert to improve tidal circulation in the lagoon; and install a graded channel with plants to help naturally filter golf-course runoff." The next phase of the restoration project will construct an open channel to replace the underground drain to Marine Stadium. However, that project has yet to seek funding for design or construction.

Read More: http://la.curbed.com/archives/2012/0...cleaned_up.php

[VZN]

Long Beach Arena makeover will stress venue's versatility

LONG BEACH - In its heyday, the Long Beach Arena was bringing the biggest music acts to town - The Rolling Stones, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Elvis Presley and No Doubt, to name a few; but its glory days are over.

That could soon change.

The newest project at the Long Beach Convention & Entertainment Center won't only be innovative and trendsetting, it will be the first of its kind - anywhere.

The $7 million project, which Long Beach Convention & Visitors Bureau President & CEO Steve Goodling said "would put Long Beach Arena back on the map," will bring A-list artists, professional boxing matches, new conventions and a host of other events to town.

The 45,000-square-foot, multipurpose event space will have the capability to customize itself to suit any event planner's palate, he said.

The versatility of the arena will expand dramatically, Goodling said, adding that "it isn't about repurposing the space, but additionally purposing the space."

"When you walk into the arena, you won't feel like you are in an arena, you will feel like you are at a special events arena," he said. "There isn't any public space like this in the world. We are pioneering this idea."

Funding for the project was allocated during a Feb. 17 Long Beach City Council meeting - with money coming from the tidelands Measure D oil revenue. The meeting, part of a quarterly budget adjustment, appropriated more than $17 million in "high priority" capital projects.

The project has been on a fast track and is in the bidding stage, with the convention center's management company, SMG, handling the bidding process for the project. Bidding ends on July 24, with construction starting by or before Aug. 1 and expected completion of the project in January.

Improvements to the arena include creating a "loft-style" ballroom, which will be amplified because of the suspended steel tension grid system that will act as the ceiling. The grid, which can be raised to accommodate a sold-out, 13,000-person concert, or lowered to accommodate a 50-person dinner, or removed entirely, will provide the intimate environment desired when attending any event.

"We are creating a hanging art piece that can change the space dramatically to accommodate any event," said John Fisher, AIA of John Sergio Fisher & Associates Inc., one of the two architects working on the project. "The steel tension grid system allows us to light every single spot of the entire arena. We will have complete and total flexibility to handle any and every event."

The ballroom space, with seating for up to 5,500 people, will double the Convention Center's current ballroom capacity.

The steel tension grid will support $1 million worth of state-of-the-art LED and stage lighting, sound systems and decorative elements.

"If you want to have an event, we are the only people you have to talk to," Mike Ferguson, director of the Theatre Projects. "We will have it all - sound, lighting and atmosphere. This literally creates a focused space for any event. It is a virtual creative space."

In addition to the steel tension grid, electronically operated curtains that drop from the ceiling, enclosing the floor area and covering views of the upper deck seats while providing audio and visual equipment, will be installed. The entire arena renovation project will also include replacing aging equipment and other modernizations.

SMG General Manager Charlie Beirne said the project won't affect events that currently take place at the arena, like Disney On Ice. In fact, he said, the state-of-the-art technology will enhance, if promoters want, the show or event.

"The essence of this project is to transform the arena into a multipurpose `Loft-Ballroom' space that creates a unique theatrical environment," said Jerry Sherman, AIA, of Jerry Sherman Architect, the other architect on the project. "This type of environment will help define the Long Beach Arena as one of the most unique and flexible facilities in the nation. Our interior canopy, if you will, floats over the event space, creating another dimension to the space below that will define each and every event in its own special way."

Goodling said there is no reason that Long Beach residents should have to drive all over for a good concert or boxing match. Instead, he said, the community should be able to look in its own backyard.

If you want to go to a good boxing match, you have to drive. If you want to go to a good concert, you have to drive," he said. "We will now have it available in the heart of 20 million people between the Inland Empire, Orange County and L.A. County.

"The residents of Long Beach won't have to look far, and that is a statement that makes me proud."

The financial impact on the city will be great, Goodling said.

"This will have a positive economic impact on our city - these events will fill our restaurants, our hotels, our streets, and that is what our residents want," he said. "When people catch a show or any event they generally head downtown early to grab dinner, so activating this building further creates a greater overflow to all the surrounding businesses."

The ball is already rolling on bringing in bigger and better events to the arena, Beirne said.

"It is our goal to have to turn people and events away because there is just no available time," he said.

Ferguson said that this is the opportunity to create a new identity.

"This new exciting space is being create in a beloved landmark," he said. "This project will provide a well-appointed flexible space, ready to be transformed to suit the needs and vision of the event."

Great news. This will definitely help out the downtown area and on the grander scheme of things these little renovations will help the Long Beach stadium become "Olympic overhaul ready" if they needed to use it.

[saiholmes]

Originally Posted by Long Beach Business Journal

Aquarium of the Pacific: Benefits by land and by sea
Economic Impact Study Released; $50 Million Expansion Underway
By Micheal Gougis - Contributing Writer
October 09, 2012 - Head for the Aquarium of the Pacific on a warm, pleasant summer weekend.

You will quickly understand exactly what Aquarium President and CEO Dr. Jerry Schubel means when he says that while the facility could, theoretically, accommodate more visitors, “It’s not the kind of experience we want to provide.”

To do a better job of providing for the animals in its care, teaching the public about the waters of the world and bringing economic benefits to the city and the surrounding community, the Aquarium has announced that it is breaking ground on a $50 million expansion project.

The expansion will not only see an increase in the size of the renowned center, but in the sophistication of the exhibits to better educate the public, Schubel says. And it will help ensure that the Aquarium will generate increased economic benefits for the city in the future, he says.

“It’s about enhancing the experience, enhancing the educational value, and being able to accommodate a larger number of visitors,” Schubel says.

The economic impact of the Aquarium continues to grow as it becomes an increasingly integrated part of the Southern California tourism industry. Make no mistake – tourism is critical to the California economy. In 2011, “total direct travel spending in California was $102.3 billion, a 7.6 percent increase from 2010 spending,” according to California Tourism Industry data.

For the City of Long Beach, the Aquarium represents a $57 million annual economic impact, according to a study conducted by the consulting firm AECOM. That is a dramatic increase from the $42 million annual impact documented in the last study, conducted in 2004.

For the greater Southern California region, the Aquarium delivers $142 million in economic benefits – broadly defined as spending, wages and employment created by the activities and presence of the facility – Schubel says. Currently, the Aquarium is responsible for 520 jobs in the city of Long Beach, and more than 1,200 jobs throughout Southern California, according to the study.

For Long Beach, the Aquarium brings money to the city from outside of its borders, Schubel adds. “About 10 percent of the visitors to the Aquarium come from Long Beach. More than 80 percent of the visitors come from elsewhere in Southern California but outside of Long Beach.”

Attracting more dollars from outside of Long Beach will be one of the benefits of the expansion program, Schubel says.

“As we grow and expand, the length of time of stay at the aquarium goes up,” he says. “So people are more apt to get another meal here in Long Beach. We’re hoping that as the city matures, the number of overnights goes up, because there will be more and more things to do in our city. We not only will be a great destination for conventions, but a destination for tourists to stay overnight.”

Expanding the offerings at the Aquarium can greatly increase the number of visitors, overnight stays in Long Beach and even memberships at the facility due to a phenomenon known as “museum fatigue.”

Basically, researchers have determined that visitors to any exhibit-based facility will last about three hours before they develop a desire to run screaming for the door. If you’ve ever tried to cram in too much museum sightseeing on an overseas vacation, you are very familiar with the feeling.

Currently, a typical visit to the Aquarium is between two hours and 30 minutes and two hours and 45 minutes, Schubel says. By expanding the facility, it will take longer for people to complete their visit – more than the three-hour mark – thus encouraging multi-night stays in the city and increasing the demand for memberships, which save money for people who visit multiple times.

It is important not to think of the expansion solely in economic terms, Schubel says. The Aquarium is a non-profit entity, aimed at educating and informing the community about the waters that cover 70 percent of the Earth’s surface. Expanding the facility, and increasing the sophistication of the delivery of that information, will allow the Aquarium to continue to improve the way it pursues its mission, as it has improved it in recent years.

“Over the last two years, we’ve added a number of new platforms like Science on a Sphere, which is part of our Ocean Science Center, and it’s an entirely new way of delivering messages about the ocean and people’s relationship with the ocean,” Schubel says.

“We’ve added a watershed exhibit that allows us to demonstrate to people how human activities on land in the watershed get collected and transmitted to the ocean. We’ve added the Molina Animal Care Center that not only allows us to take better care of our animals, but it lets the public see how well we take care of our animals, and it’s connected to Miller Children’s Hospital, so that children in the hospital are able to observe our vets doing checkups on our animals and they can talk to him – it has an educational component to it.”

Technology at the core of the expansion plans will allow the Aquarium to continue down this path, Schubel says.

“Live animals are the heart and soul of the aquarium. But live animals are not very good at telling the big stories about what’s happening to their relatives in the wild or in the ocean,” he says.

“So we have to use technology and media. One of the things that will be in our expanded facility will be this amazing surround-around 4-D theater that will be the first of its kind anywhere in the world.”

In the end, telling the story of the ocean and connecting it to those of us on land is the reason for the Aquarium’s existence, and why it is working so hard to expand and improve, Schubel says.

“In a not-for-profit institution, the only profit that really makes sense is in how well you pursue your mission,” Schubel says. “If we increase the stewardship, the knowledge, the education of people in Southern California about the world’s oceans, then we will have succeeded. If all we did was make money, we would have failed.”

Read More: http://www.lbbusinessjournal.com/lon...nd-by-sea.html

[saiholmes]

Originally Posted by Contra Costa times

Long Beach Airport unveils resortlike concourse, terminals
By Karen Robes Meeks Staff Writer
Contra Costa times

LONG BEACH - If it weren't for the commercial airplanes visible through tall glass walls, travelers might mistake the new concourse at the Long Beach Airport for a resort hotel.

Visitors will now be greeted by stylish new decor including plush red seats, elongated fire pits and a garden walkway - part of a renovation officials showed off Wednesday.

The new concourse - which will feature two terminal buildings, 4,200 square feet of outdoor seating and more than 10,000 square feet of new retail and restaurant space for Long Beach merchants - is set to open to airline

The public will be able to check it out before the checkpoints are put in place Sunday (tour reservations are required).

"It's a community asset," Airport Executive Director Mario Rodriguez said in advance of the Wednesday evening unveiling that was attended by local dignitaries.

"It really is what we're trying to build here. It's their airport."

The $45 million terminal project - which is five months ahead of schedule and on budget - has been years in the making. The work was funded entirely through airport revenue.

The airport had already built a new parking garage as well as part of the modernization overhaul.

Read More: http://www.contracostatimes.com/cali...urse-terminals

[MatudNilaBaby]

Originally Posted by VZN

Long Beach Arena makeover will stress venue's versatility





Great news. This will definitely help out the downtown area and on the grander scheme of things these little renovations will help the Long Beach stadium become "Olympic overhaul ready" if they needed to use it.

how often does the arena used for big events? i walk around that area regularly and i dont see much going on.

[*GoldFish*]

image hosted on flickr