Project Data:

Completion Date:     10/24/2020

Square Footage:      218370

Building Use:           Retail

Design Architect:      AO

Project Description:

This contemporary 220,000 SF seaside shopping and dining destination creates an authentic, sophisticated gateway between Orange County and Long Beach. Set on an iconic and highly visible corner of Pacific Coast Highway, the retail experience serves one of the most desirable areas in Southern California.
The long-awaited retail complex replaces the storied but aging SeaPort Marina Hotel. The new destination center caters to discerning and cosmopolitan consumers and functions as a resort, with a series of outdoor living rooms, water features and greens that are casual yet refined. The two-level, open air social hub is anchored by a Whole Foods and offers spectacular sunset views of Alamitos Bay and Long Beach Marina along the project’s entire western frontage. Embracing its renewed identity as a gathering place for the entire community, locals and guests are invited to stroll, linger, enjoy and relax amongst carefully curated shops, connected streetscapes, a cutting-edge health club and chef-driven dining options. Hospitality focused, the project exudes upscale amenities such as fire pits, public wi-fi, family restrooms, valet parking, dedicated bicycle lanes and festival lighting.
The flexible and adaptable design was put to the test during the COVID pandemic. The main street within the open-air center was leveraged in order to create an open and safe space for the community to shop and dine. The main drive-thru corridor was converted into a socially-distanced activity zone featuring outdoor furniture and seating areas, along with event functions, creating a community-centric yet socially distanced and safe place for visitors to shop, dine and relax.
The coastal contemporary architecture echoes stylings of the neighboring beach/boardwalk communities of Naples and Belmont Shore, incorporating cool grays, deep white trellises, fiber cement siding, and exposed brick. A long terrace offers ocean views, and an iconic tower recalls a lighthouse lantern room.
With over 100,000 cars passing the site daily, mitigation measures were integrated to improve traffic circulation. The addition of a third southbound lane for PCH along its eastern property line was incorporated as well as the installation of a new traffic light to support one of the city’s most congested intersections. Creative auto bridges link the property with the rooftops of several adjacent buildings, increasing parking accessibility. Through careful planning, the project embraces the community and achieves an integrated, pedestrian-friendly, lifestyle destination through contextually sensitive and boldly visionary design.