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NewsBoeing Realty's "PacifiCenter" Plan: 2,513 Residential Units, 600 Hotel Rooms, Plus Industrial, Office, R&D & Retail Uses For 260 Acres N. of LB Airport, W. of Lakewood Blvd. & South of Carson St.
(May 27, 2001) -- A City Hall issued notice indicates Boeing Realty Corp. is seeking City Hall approval for an ambitious new master planned, mixed-use project that would include 2,513 residential units (townhouses, condominiums and apartments), 600 hotel rooms, industrial, office, research and development and retail uses for its property north of LB airport, west of Lakewood Blvd. and south of Carson St.
Information on Boeing's "PacifiCenter @ Long Beach" proposal was contained in a "Notice of Preparation of Draft Environmental Impact Report" sent to various government agencies by LB City Hall earlier this month and provided to LBReport.com by City Hall at our request.
The city's notice indicates:
As proposed, PacifiCenter would put 8.4 million square feet (gross floor area) of uses on roughly 260 acres of Boeing property, mostly in LB (238 acres) with a portion (22.4 acres) in Lakewood.
Three land use categories are proposed within "PacifiCenter @ Long Beach": MU (mixed use), Tech (technology related) and H (housing).
The Mixed Use category "is intended to provide a range of office, hotel, retail (including restaurants) and residential uses. The proposed master plan contemplates one or more hotels with 600 hotel rooms. In the MU planning areas, approximately 175 multi-family dwelling units could be included."
The Technology category "includes various types of structures that will be designed for use by the high tech and e-business community. Uses in this category will include research and development, flex-tech (larger footprint buildings that are capable of houing incubator technology uses, research functions, light manufacturing and assembly, and associated office uses) and industrial. It is anticipated that industrial spaces will primarily be used for light-industrial operations."
The project's Housing component "will provide approximately 2,513 residential units in a range of multi-family product types that includes townhomes, condominiums, and apartments. Parking, open space, community recreation and landscaping areas will be provided to serve each of the land use categories. Both passive and active recreation opportunities will be incorporated into the design, enhancing the mixed-use campus environment."
Technology uses are proposed along the southern boundary of the site adjacent to LB Airport. Mixed-uses are proposed along Lakewood Blvd. and in the center of the site. Housing is generally proposed along the north and northwest boundary adjacent to an existing golf course.
The city's notice indicates the applicant's stated objectives for PacifiCenter include:
"Economic Objective -- The Applicant seeks a basic economic objective to balance development initiatives with community needs and enviornmental constraints in such a manner as t optimize the value of its investment while creating significant employment, housing and recreational opportunities. It is the Applicant's view that the achievement of this basic objective is dependent on the character, intensity and diversity of development as proposed. In addition, a combination of critical mass of density and technology-related facilities and support amenities, including open space, recreational areas and proposed project amenities, is necessary for the PacifiCenter Project to attract the kind of technllogy-based businesses the cities of Long Beach and Lakewood are seeking.
Design Objective -- To enhance the public acceptance and long-term investment value of the PacifiCenter Project, the Applicantr seeks a basic design objective to develop a state-of-the-art, master planned, mixed-use, integrated community which will blend the kind of mutually supportive uses, such as employment, housing and life style amenities, that is absolutely necessary in today's new economy, make efficient use of land and infrastructure, and foster a strong sense of community. The Applicant's basic design objective includes the following specific goals:
To provide a state-of-the-art business community with a live, work and play environment which includes new infrastructure and amenities to attract quality tenants.
To include educational, health and recreationalelements that will serve the residents and tenants of the master planned community, as well as the public at large.
To offer state-of-the-art telecommunication systems and services for tenants and residents.
To offer efficient energy systems and programs, which will provide various sources of energy, with a back-up system, at consistent and competitive pricing.
To include creative, flexible and sustainable workspaces to allow for various tenant needs from warehousing and research and development to traditional office space.
To include a mix of secondary land uses, including restaurants, retail space and hotels, to support tenant needs and to reduce employee, resident and visitor trips and trip distance.
To create an attractive setting, including landscaping and open space, some of which will serve as recreational areas for employues and residents.
Development Flexibility Objective -- To optimize its ability to respond to market demands during the buildout of the PacifiCenter Project, the Applicant seeks a basic development flexibility objective that will allow its proposed mixed use project to be totally market-drive within an approved development program that specifies a maximum height and density for each parcel, the sum of which will exceed but be subject to a "cap" on total allowable development, and in which land uses can be exchanged for certain other permitted land uses as long as previously identified environmental impacts are not substantially increased or new significant enviornmental impacts created. The goal of the approved development program is to create a regulatory enviornment, including pre-approved design guidelines, that will facilitate a rapid delivery of space and/or move-in ready facilities so that PacifiCenter becomes the most viable and attractive location for technology-based businesses in Southern California.
LBReport.com has posted in .pdf form a land use diagram and tables (3 pages total) included in the city's notice. These can be viewed by clicking here
One table indicates dwelling unit sizes would range from 400 to 1,800 square feet each. It also indicates the floor to area ratio for Mixed Use elements of the project is based on a 6-story office plan (except in MU5, which is restricted by FAA height limits). A total of 600 hotel rooms are proposed; hotel(s) may be placed in any MU planning area. [See land use diagram, posted above].
Issuance of City Hall's notice doesn't mean approval is imminent, only that the formal planning and approval process has begun. The process will eventually include preparation of an Environmental Impact Report (EIR), public hearings and ultimately City Council action on any requested discretionary approvals.
During the process, aspects of the proposal could theoretically be adjusted or changed. City Hall's notice is required under state law to alert other government agencies that an EIR is forthcoming and to solicit their views on the scope and content of the environmental information it should contain.
City Hall ultimately issues the EIR for public comment and planning purposes, although Boeing Realty Co. (which owns the land) is the project applicant.
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