Wait, seriously, they're putting out yet another iteration of the huge Ponte Vista development plan? The ninety-seventh, by our count? This thing, which perhaps one day will be built on a 61.5-acre site on South Western Avenue, has been coming around like a comet every year or so since 2005, and has been downsized and downsized (it started at 2,300 units). A year ago, developers iStar ditched the retail piece completely and cut it down to 1,135 housing units, then 830, for a more "suburban" feel (with nice big suburban setbacks). Still the neighbors complained and now iStar returns with this proposal: 676 units with an "additional 24 units allowable but not formally included," according to the Long Beach Press-Telegram. Nearly half of the site will be set aside for single-family houses (208). And there will be absolutely no rentals. That's pretty suburban! Does it get suburbanier? Yes: "There will be pedestrian access throughout the project but vehicle access will be gated."
This latest Ponte Vista has 70 percent fewer units than the 2005 version, but there is still, somehow, "a strong sentiment in favor of bringing the numbers down even further — in the mid-500 range." A rep for the developer points out that "We've now fallen below the numbers that the city recommended" for the project back in 2009. They're also fallen below the density in nearby development The Gardens, which the developers have often used for comparison.
The LA City Council is set to discuss these millionth Ponte Vista plans in November. If approvals can go through by early 2014, iStar thinks it can break ground in the first half of the year. Or we'll just meet you back here next fall for the announcement that Ponte Vista will have five single-family houses surrounded by a moat.
· Latest in long line of Ponte Vista development plans caps home number at 700 [LBPT]
· Ponte Vista Archives [Curbed LA]
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