Firms Combine to Tackle Two Major Developments

Two nationally known figures in real estate development and restoration, James W. Rouse and Wayne Ratkovich, have formed a partnership for a pair of major projects in Los Angeles and Long Beach.

Their respective firms, Enterprise Development Co., of Columbia, Md., and the Los Angeles-based Ratkovich Co. will combine creative forces to revitalize the historic Long Beach Pike property, once the site of a large amusement park, and to complete the second phase of the Wiltern Center at Wilshire Boulevard and Western Avenue.

Redevelopment of the pike property will be the first Enterprise Development Co. project in Southern California as it teams with Ratkovich and works with the city of Long Beach in an extensive renewal program of the 10 acres, which include a nine-story, 110,750-square-foot building occupied by General Telephone. The site was acquired Aug. 22 from the city for about $17 million.

Named for its former use as the Pike Amusement Park, the site is situated between the new World Trade Center to the west and the Long Beach Convention Center to the east. The trade center, now under construction, will include a complex containing 2.2-million square feet of office, hotel and retail space.

At the Wiltern Center, the projected $40-million second phase will include a mix of retail, office and possibly a hotel to fulfill the “urban village” concept envisioned by the Jerde Partnership, executive architects for the 1984 Olympics. Jerde will collaborate with the architectural firm of HNTB in planning the 127,000-square-foot site.

Currently, the existing space at Wiltern Center is 86% leased.