UPDATED AUG. 15 at 2:30 p.m.:
Burnham Development plans to turn a seven-story office building into housing for nearly 600 students at nearby Long Beach State University.
The local development firm has filed plans to convert the 119,500-square-foot Park Tower into 149 student apartments with 593 beds at 5150 East Pacific Coast Highway, Urbanize Los Angeles reported, citing an initial study by the city.
The Park Tower building, built in 1982 and revamped in 2011, was 92 percent leased in January.
Plans call to preserve the building’s walls of glass, but cut up its workplaces into one-to-six-person suites for CSULB students. The university is not involved in the project, according to a spokesman.
The conversion would include a 728-square-foot pavilion building along Clark Avenue and a half-acre of open space, including a pool and fitness turf on the west side of the triangular site. The bottom floor would include a lobby, kitchen, dining room, laundry area, gym and a men’s and women’s locker rooms.
The adaptive re-use project, designed by Studio One Eleven, would retain a three-level underground parking garage for 364 cars.
The conversion would require numerous approvals by the City of Long Beach, including a zoning code amendment, a conditional use permit and a general plan amendment.
Construction could take 15 months, starting early next year and ending in early 2026, according to the study.
Cal State Long Beach has created a new master plan for housing for up to 1,600 students on and around its campus. Last spring, the university broke ground off campus on a $126 million, 424-bed student apartment complex at 5851 Beach Drive.
Burnham Development, started by Derek Burnham in 2013, is a consultancy that helps developers obtain entitlements for projects. The study by the City of Long Beach names him as sponsor of the Park Tower conversion project.
CORRECTION: Previous story incorrectly stated Long Beach State University was behind the Park Tower project.
— Dana Bartholomew
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