Construction finally set to begin at Long Beach’s 2nd and PCH development site

Nearly six years after the Long Beach City Council rejected an ambitious mixed use project at the intersection of Second Street and the Pacific Coast Highway, a new development is finally set to rise on the site—though it will be a bit lower to the ground than the earlier plan proposed.

As the Long Beach Business Journal reports, an appeal of the project has been withdrawn, allowing demolition to begin next week on the defunct SeaPort Marina Hotel which now occupies the southeast Long Beach project site.

The new shopping and dining complex will bring 95,000 square feet of new retail to the neighborhood, along with 70,000 square feet of restaurant space, a fitness center, and a cavernous 55,000-square-foot Whole Foods.

Serving all those businesses would be a total of 1,150 parking spaces located in two garage structures.

Renderings of the project, designed by Architects Orange, show that it would be framed around a central courtyard area with a water feature and outdoor seating. The upper level of the complex would feature landscaped walkways and more space for outdoor dining.

All in all, the project stands in stark contrast to another development proposed for the site that Long Beach officials shot down in 2011. That project would have included 275 units of housing, a hotel, restaurant space, and 155,000 square feet of retail, and a science center.

Residents, however, complained the complex (which would have included a 12-story structure) was too tall and dense for the area. The city council agreed, rejecting the project largely due to traffic concerns.

Now clear to begin construction, the new project—simply called 2nd & PCH—could wrap up by summer of 2019, developer CenterCal Properties tells the Long Beach Business Journal.

• Long Beach Council Kills Huge Second+PCH Mixed-Use Project [Curbed LA]
• Long Beach Approves Slimmer Second+PCH Development [Curbed LA]
• Downtown Long Beach development: Mapping all the major projects on the way [Curbed LA]