A Wave of Development in Downtown Huntington Beach

Pacific City ($500 million) and the Strand ($81 million) are two of the largest projects taking root on infill property.

By Kathy Lee Scott

Available real estate in Huntington Beach has become about as rare as an empty spot of sand on a summer afternoon.

Commercial development and the surf are up in downtown Huntington Beach (photo by Lee Manning).

"With 99 percent of Huntington Beach built out, large undeveloped plots are scarce," said Herb Fauland, the city's principal planner. "We're seeing a lot of infills on remnant parcels, especially in the downtown area."

Surf City USA's downtown is made up of the streets radiating off State Route 1 (Pacific Coast Highway) near the city pier.

Fauland said one of the last vacant parcels will soon contain a 370,000-sq.-ft. hotel, 240,000 sq. ft. of retail uses and almost 1.1 million sq. ft. of residential structures. The retail and office structures are limited to three stories. The $500-million development is called Pacific City.

"There's been an urban void there for years," said John Waldron, a partner at McLarand Vasquez Emsiek & Partners of Irvine, the master plan architects for Pacific City.

Newport Beach-based Makar Properties is developing the 31.5 acres of vacant land that fronts Pacific Coast Highway between First and Huntington streets and is bordered on the north by Atlanta Avenue. The parcel has undergone such incarnations over the years as railroad tracks, a lumberyard and mill, oil supply warehouses, a campground and single-family homes.

Earthwork was scheduled to begin last month.

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The eight-story hotel will include a conference center; 400 guests rooms; a pool; spa; fitness and yoga center; and a restaurant, lounge and bar area.

City principal planner Mary Beth Broeren said Pacific City is one of the largest master-planned projects on the coastline.

Michael Gagnet, Makar's executive vice president, said he was not seeking any "big box" retailers, but wanted specialty shops and restaurants to lease spaces when they are completed in fall 2007. Rockwell Design of New York is designing the retail portion.

The Hyatt Regency Resort & Spa, completed earlier in the decade, has fueled additional commercial growth in downtown Huntington Beach (photo by Lee Manning).

The 516 condominiums, which will range from two to four stories, will be 999 sq. ft. to 2,055 sq. ft. and be clustered around recreational amenities. Gagnet said sales prices for the condos have not been determined, although 8,500 people have signed an interest list already. He said the going rate for prices in the city is around $600 per sq. ft.

About 1,360 parking spaces will be in underground garages and in at-grade locations. Five recreational areas will be positioned among the condominium buildings, with the largest one, the 2.5-acre Village Green, open to the public.

McLarand Vasquez is designing the residential portion. The site's neighbors include Pacific Mobile Home Park, a state beach and a Hilton hotel.

Gagnet said the entire project should be finished within three to five years.

Another downtown project is a hotel-retail complex at Fifth Street and Pacific Coast Highway.

The Strand, a venture by CIM Group Inc. of Hollywood, will be a 226,500-sq.-ft. mixed-use development served by a two-level, 405-space subterranean parking structure.

CIM Group recently selected the Los Angeles office of Bovis Lend Lease for preconstruction services for the $81-million project.

Snyder Langston of Irvine completed an initial phase that included testing the ground water, checking for soil contamination and re-routing utilities.

The second phase will include the excavation and insertion of the shoring for the underground parking garage that will cover the entire 3.5-acre site between Main and Sixth streets and fronting Pacific Coast Highway. Fifth Street will be reconstructed on a suspended parking deck.

Rendering of the Strand courtesy of Gensler

The final phase consists of erecting the retail structures, which should be completed by spring 2007, said John Given, CIM vice president.

About 170,000 sq. ft. of three four-story attached buildings will be on the west side of Fifth Street. Retail or restaurants will occupy the ground levels and a 149-room Marriott Residence Inn will take up the second through fourth stories.

A public, open-air, 15-ft.-wide terrace on the second floor, will offer patrons views of the pier, beach and ocean. The terrace faces Fifth Street along the hotel's frontage, and access is separate from the hotel lobby, said city planner Fauland.

The hotel rooms surround a 6,840-sq.-ft. courtyard also on the second level.

To the east side of Fifth Street, a three-story, 40,149-sq.-ft. structure will reserve two upper levels for offices, while two two-story buildings (8,520 sq. ft. and 7,798 sq. ft.) will have their top stories occupied by offices. All the ground-level stores will be retail.

A pedestrian plaza with broad sidewalks will link the project to other Main Street shops.

The Mediterranean-style project was designed by the Santa Monica office of Gensler. Irvine-based Borthwick Guy Bettenhausen Inc. is designing the fountains, landscape and architectural-colored concrete with artwork by local artists.

Most recent uses on the site were paved parking lots, a few retail shops that were demolished and, at the southwest corner, the multistory Helme-Worthy home. Listed in the National Registry for Historical Homes, the 11,500-sq.-ft. structure is one of the first homes built in Huntington Beach. It currently houses an antique store and a few apartments.

CIM Group will build an 8-ft. fence to separate the historical building from the new complex.