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City Mgm't Says Council Should Require Proponents Of Aerial Gondola Connecting DTLB With "Queen Mary Island" To Show Secured Funding For At Least 80% Of $500,000 Feasibility Study Cost
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City Mgm't Says Council Should Require Proponents Of Aerial Gondola Connecting DTLB With "Queen Mary Island" To Show Secured Funding For At Least 80% Of $500,000 Feasibility Study Cost
Advises using private funding but invites seeking Port or other grants, says Council may add City funding later
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(December 18, 2020, 7:10 p.m.) -- Long Beach city management has recommended that proponents/developers of a gondola aerial tram system ("The Wave") connecting downtown Long Beach with "Queen Mary Island" provide evidence of secured funding for at least 80% of $500,000 required for a feasibility study on their proposed project. A Dec. 14 memo to the Mayor and City Council by Economic Development Director John Keisler states that "due to the current economic situation precipitated by the COVID-19 pandemic," city staff recommend that initial project management and funding for the Study remain a private effort led by The Wave Team. The Wave Team is encouraged to find and solicit supportive funding from the Port, transportation agencies, public or private grant making organizations, and other public or private entities as available. Given that the Gondola System will be privately operated, City financial support should only represent a small portion of the funding secured by the private operator to study, develop, and implement the project."
The memo indicates The Wave development team is comprised of "multiple partner organizations, including Statewide Developers,
P2S, Inc., Chen Ryan Associates, and WSP USA, Inc. as the contractor of record."
City management recommends that the project proponents show any commitment from the Port of Long Beach supporting the Feasibility Study, and include a request for any supplemental financial assistance needed from the City. It adds that the City Council "will have an opportunity to authorize additional City funding or seek additional funding sources in the future."
Proponents of The Wave say the Feasibility Study would be used to secure additional federal, state, local, and/or Olympic funding. City management's memo indicates the Wave Team was confident they could secure private funding for a portion of the Study and would be able to apply for both local and federal planning grants.
City staff also recommends that if the City Council chooses to pursue the project, it should consider establishing a memorandum of understanding or an exclusive negotiating agreement "that can help to set expectations for all parties, establish a timeline for project milestones, and provide evidence to potential funding agencies that the project is supported by the City Council."
City management's recommendations stem from a March 12, 2019 City Council request -- agendized by then-Councilmembers Jeannine Pearce, Lena Gonzalez and current incumbent Suzie Price, subsequently joined by Councilman Rex Richardson -- that city staff work with Queen Mary lessee Urban Commons and "The Wave" development team along with other waterfront "stakeholders" to explore the interest, cost, sources of funding and project plan to conduct the feasibility plan. Councilman Richardson (who represents NLB) told LBREPORT.com at the time: "I signed on because I think a gondola would be an amazing addition to the waterfront; better connecting the Queen Mary to the downtown."
The March 2019 Council item asked city management to work with Urban Commons (holding a City-granted lease to develop land adjacent to the Queen Mary) and The Wave development team plus "other key stakeholders," to determine the cost of a Feasibility Study pertaining to development of a Gondola System connecting Downtown LB with "Queen Mary Island."
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Management's memo indicates that on February 27, 2020, Urban Commons and Queen Mary operator Evolution Hospitality hosted a stakeholder meeting aboard the Queen Mary. It included representatives of The Wave Team (Gondola System Developer), Downtown residents, Office of Senator Lena Gonzalez, Downtown Long Beach Alliance ((DLBA), Long Beach Convention and Visitors Bureau, Long Beach Area Chamber of Commerce, Carnival Cruise Lines, Catalina Express, Shoreline Village, Pike Outlets (SITE Centers), Aquarium of the Pacific, Urban Commons (Queen Mary Lessee), Evolution Hospitality (Queen Mary Operator), City-Port of Long Beach, City Public Works and Economic Development. (Long Beach Transit, the L.A. County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (LA Metro), and other stakeholders were invited, but unable to attend.)
Sponsor
Sponsor
Wave proponents said the Feasibility Study would be used to secure additional federal, state, local, and/or Olympic funding. City management's memo indicates the Wave Team was confident they could secure private funding for a portion of the Study and would be able to apply for both local and federal planning grants. The Wave Team also indicated it believes the Port of Long Beach may be able to provide financial support, and "small portion of Measure A transportation funding" from the City "was thought to be available" at the time of the facilitated discussion.
Since the initial stakeholder meeting, the memo indicates the Wave Team has identified several additional sources of potential private and public investment to assist with the Feasibility Study "These sources include the verbal commitments from (a) a local real estate investment firm matching up to 25 percent for the Study project costs, and (b) potential support up to $250,000 through its mitigation grant program contingent upon review and approval by the Board of Harbor Commissioners. Additionally, Long Beach Transit is a potential stakeholder and may also be interested in supporting the project with grant funds." City staff's memo indicates Wave proponents indicated a$4 million federal grant had been previously secured for a monorail project and additional federal grant funding is a potential funding source for their project.
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Amnesia File
The possibility of an aerial tram was discussed in conceptual terms during the term of the Queen Mary's now-former leaseholder "Save the Queen" but stalled with that firm's default/bankruptcy.
In early 2016, retired LB Harbor Commissioner Alex Bellehumeur (1990-1996), owner of State-wide Developers, Inc. and (now in his 80s') a perennially spry developer and inventor, delivered a presentation on the aerial tram concept titled "The Wave" to the advisory (now former) Queen Mary Land Development Task Force. In that presentation, Mr. Bellehumeur offered Power Point slides indicating the potential involvement of Doppelmayr (a leading manufacturer of cable cars, ropeways, ski lifts and the like) that described "The Wave" as an aerial tram connection from areas such as the Convention Center to the Queen Mary.
One of the 2016 PPT slides indicated that "although Project Feasibility does not depend on the new development of the Queen Mary site, it will provide the developer of the acreage a transportation system that will serve up to 4500 visitors per hour, with no bottlenecks, and assist in their raising capital privately, institutionally, and through State and Federal grants."
At a Sept. 14, 2018 breakfast meeting of the Long Beach Commercial Real Estate Council, Clay Sandidge, at that time President/CEO of Muni-Fed Energy, delivered a presentation on the concept of an aerial tramway -- "The Wave" -- to better connect downtown Long Beach with the city's waterfront.
LBREPORT.com covered the 2018 event with extended VIDEO below:
What's Next?
Although the Feb. 2020 initial stakeholder meeting didn't include a discussion about equity, "it is recommended that the Study include questions and strategies from the City of Long Beach Equity Toolkit as part of its review. Given the number of potential stakeholders impacted by the planning, development, construction, and operation of a Gondola System along the Long Beach waterfront, it is important that the consultant group utilize an equity lens to evaluate how a project of this magnitude could both burden and benefit disadvantaged communities, residents, visitors, workers, or environmental stakeholders impacted by the project. It is recommended that the City Council make the inclusion of an equity lens section a part of the Study scope of work as a condition of City support whether technical, in-kind, or financial."
Sponsor
City management's Dec. 14, 2020 memo says the Feasibility Study and resulting Gondola System project are likely to require a public-private partnership with a substantial commitment of resources from all interested parties
If the City Council supports the continued exploration of a public -private partnership to develop a Gondola System on the Long Beach waterfront, it will likely require substantial City staff to provide technical assistance to The Wave Team. Although this may not involve an initial commitment of City funds, the project will likely require substantial staff time to participate in the work group, provide input to the Study, and to coordinate communication among the various stakeholders in the Study area.
As a result of the highly technical nature of the proposed project and the need to access public right -of-way and private leaseholds on City-owned property, it is recommended that City Council consider the establishment of a memorandum of understanding or an exclusive negotiating agreement for the project area for a defined period of time. This type of agreement can help to set expectations for all parties, establish a timeline for project milestones, and provide evidence to potential funding agencies that the project is supported by the City Council.
If the City Council wishes to proceed with support of this proposed project, City staff would direct The Wave Team to present a draft scope of work for the Study, evidence of private or privately secured funding for a minimum of 80percent of the estimated $500,000
Study, any commitment from the Port of Long Beach supporting the Study, and a request for any supplemental financial
assistance needed from the City.
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