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Onni Group wants apartments in place of Long Beach strip mall
City’s specific plan now allows housing at Marina Shores on PCH
The Marina Shores strip mall in Long Beach has sold for just under $68 million to Onni Group and is headed for redevelopment.
The Vancouver-based investor wants to build multifamily housing on the 6.2-acre site at 6550 Pacific Coast Highway, according to the Long Beach Business Journal. The seller was Regency Centers.
Interest among developers in the property was strong because of its potential for multifamily redevelopment under a specific plan update by the city.
The Southeast Area Specific Plan, approved by the Long Beach City Council in 2017 and approved by the state’s Coastal Commission last year, rezoned a swath of the city from Marine Stadium to the border with Seal Beach and north to Seventh Street, according to the Long Beach Press-Telegram.
The specific plan update included residential rezoning and was designed to improve traffic and pedestrian flow.
Newmark’s Chris Benton, who represented both parties in the Marina Shores deal, said the property received 15 offers.
The property is currently home to Petco, Orangetheory Fitness, Five Guys and a handful of other retail chains and local businesses. Whole Foods moved out of the complex, leaving a large retail space vacant.
A redevelopment would be Onni Group’s second in Long Beach along with the firm’s 432-unit Broadway Block project underway in Downtown Long Beach.
The firm has several irons in the fire in the City of Los Angeles, north of Long Beach. Onni this spring secured L.A. City Council approval for its largest Southern California project — the 1.5-million-square-foot Times Mirror Square project for Downtown L.A.
Not long after, the developer cleared a key hurdle toward realize a 347-unit mixed-use complex in the Arts District. Last year, news surfaced that the developer is planning a 14-story office tower in Hollywood.
The firm last month bought the Burbank Town Center mall in Burbank for $136 million from Barings and Cypress Equities. The 1.2-million-square-foot property recently underwent a $70 million renovation. It is so far one of the priciest retail deals of the year.
[LBBJ] — Dennis Lynch