Plan Unveiled for $1-Billion Long Beach Development

A team of developers presented a master plan Wednesday to build one of the nation’s largest coastal developments on the former site of the Pike amusement park in downtown Long Beach.

City officials hailed the proposed $1-billion commercial and residential development as another indicator that the city’s downtown is rebounding from years of neglect.

“This is going to be the premier development in the city of Long Beach, without a doubt,” said Mayor Ernie Kell, who saw the plans in a private briefing. “It will be one of the best projects on the West Coast when it is finished.”

The master plan calls for 11 buildings of varying heights on 13.8 acres of prime land south of Ocean Boulevard with views of the waterfront and Queen Mary. They would include 1,000 units of condominiums or apartments, a 500-room hotel, shops, restaurants, a 30-story office tower and five other office buildings. No public funds would be used, the developers promised.

Developer Wayne Ratkovich said ground breaking could occur as early as next summer on the first phase, which would involve construction of four buildings. Ratkovich is president of the Ratkovich Co. of Los Angeles, which renovated the Wiltern Theater among a number of projects in Los Angeles. His partner on Long Beach projects is Enterprise Development Co. of Newport Beach, founded by James W. Rouse, a respected builder known for his work in downtown redevelopment.

The entire project of 3 million square feet--the largest in the city--would take five to 15 years to build, Ratkovich said after making a presentation to the Long Beach Redevelopment Agency board.

Ratkovich said no tenants have yet committed to leasing space in the proposed complex. The eventual completion of the entire project, he said, will depend on whether the booming Long Beach market continues to expand.

Different architects would design each building to give the complex diversity, said Stanton Eckstut, the New York architect who produced the Long Beach plan. A central walkway would traverse the entire development and carry the name of the famous old midway in the Pike amusement park, “The Walk of One Thousand Lights.”

While no buildings have yet been designed, the overall flavor will seek to blend in with downtown Long Beach and not overpower it, said Eckstut, who drew the award-winning master plan for Battery Park City in Manhattan.

“What we’re doing is not a project, but an extending of the city fabric,” he said. “We wanted this very much to be an integral part of Long Beach.”

The Pike, with its roller coaster, Ferris wheel and other attractions, was once one of the top amusement draws in Southern California. In later years, it stopped drawing crowds and was virtually razed in 1979.

The developers said they are trying to create a place that would lure walkers and strollers downtown during the day and evening. “We can assist Long Beach in creating a new focal point,” said Paul W. Stern, executive vice president of the Ratkovich Co.

Stern said the developers hope to obtain approval of the Redevelopment Agency board, Planning Commission and City Council by the end of the year. The city would then have to go before the state Coastal Commission for permission to increase the allowable building density on the Pike site.

The developers purchased most of the Pike site nearly two years ago but the first year was spent mostly studying the needs of Long Beach, Stern said. Planners zeroed in on the specific project during the last 11 months.

While Redevelopment Agency members questioned developers about the impact of parking and traffic that would be caused by the complex, they were unabashedly supportive.

“I would think there would be no problems at all,” said member Thomas E. Stewart. “Everyone I’ve talked to is 100% behind it.”

While downtown is dotted with new office buildings and a four-towered World Trade Center is under construction, Redevelopment Agency board Chairman Donald L. Westerland said the Pike Property project would help revive downtown for local residents.

“This will create an urban environment with people who love to walk in cities,” Westerland said.

Officials said the project could revive night life downtown, now mostly a dreary affair except for a few trendy new clubs and restaurants that have sprouted on Pine Avenue.