Long Beach attains a global status during decade of significant change.

Long Beach attains a global status during decade of significant change

Long Beach successfully reversed a 20-year economic slide during the 1980s but faces numerous challenges sustaining its momentum.

Between 1960 and 1980, when the U.S. Navy moved out of Long Beach and the local aerospace industry went into a tailspin, the city lost ground to downtown Los Angeles and Orange County. The downtown area's economy nearly collapsed and middle- class residents moved to the suburbs in droves.

"Development just skipped downtown Long Beach for many years and it became seedy," said real estate broker Robert L. Alperin, vice president of the commercial real estate company Matlow-Kennedy Corp. in Long Beach. "Long Beach retained its nice neighborhoods," but lost out on commercial development, he said.

In the last nine years, the city has invested tax dollars into formulating a development goal and improving the city's infrastructure, including an expansion of the convention center and renovation of the downtown area.

Mayor Ernie Kell appointed a number of commissions and task forces staffed with representatives of many groups from the city's 415,000 residents to help with the city's revitalization. These groups helped formulate solutions to extricate the city from the economic doldrums.

Susan Shick, executive director of the city's redevelopment agency, said that the "key to successful development is a plan of action that is modified to meet the market realities." Long Beach leaders have apparently learned that lesson because the city has attracted several large commercial real estate projects in the 1980s that have revitalized the downtown area.

"Long Beach's newest buildings such as the World Trade Center and the Shoreline Square compete in quality with downtown Los Angeles office towers but have many advantages including cheaper parking for clerical workers," said Richard T. Martin, a vice president at Cushman Investment and Development Corp. that is building the 24-story Landmark Square.

Several others projects on the way include:

* An $80 million expansion of the convention center, tripling its exhibition space.

* A billion-dollar mini-city of offices, apartments and shops on 13 acres that once housed the Pike Amusement Park.

* The first phase of a $4 billion expansion of the ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles, jointly funded, to make up to 4.5 square miles of new space for container-cargo handling.

The city has also received a boost from the dynamic growth in trade along the Pacific Rim and the decline of several other of Southern California's top commercial real estate markets of the 70s and 80s, said Alperin. "Orange County is now as congested, polluted and expensive as downtown Los Angeles," he said. "Long Beach's government has encouraged growth and worked with developers to build in the downtown area."

Long Beach has also emerged as a strategic Southern California corporate base because its location halfway between Los Angeles and Orange Counties places it at "the epicenter of the most economically viable region in the nation," said Jerry Miller, manager of economic development for Long Beach Economic Development Bureau.

Living in Long Beach may also become more appealing with the completion of the Los Angeles Metro Blue Line light rail system that will connect Long Beach with Los Angeles. The rail system will give city businesses access to a larger labor pool commuting in from Los Angeles and will permit people to live in Long Beach and commute to work in downtown Los Angeles.

To enhance the city's future, City Manager James H. Hankla wants to promote more downtown residential apartments and condominiums to attract shopping, entertainment and recreation to the area. Professionals who live in downtown Long Beach will be able to commute by rail, he said.

Long Beach Councilman Ray Grabinski said the light rail will allow his city to "kick open the door to the 21st century because it will allow the city to move employees in an efficient manner." Grabinksi, who is also a Los Angeles County Transportation Commission member, said the light rail will also give his city "a major metropolitan center" status.

To keep up the growth in the 1990s, the city faces major challenges in fighting crime and waste management, said Hankla. "Landfill areas available for cities in Los Angeles County are diminishing and there will be serious efforts aimed at promoting water conservation and desalinization," he said.

Although Hankla said Long Beach's image has improved in the last 10 years, he said "the city suffers from the lack of a unified, coherent image and marketing plan." He said the city, the redevelopment agency, the chamber of commerce, the convention and visitor's council and area developers are joining forces to write a coordinated, clear marketing program.

Hankla also noted that widening the Long Beach Freeway from six to eight lanes and upgrading signs and lighting will "make it a safer and less congested freeway."

Retail, aerospace and entertainment sectors will continue to be growth industries in the 1990s, said Hankla. Although McDonnell Douglas Corp. has recently laid off several thousand Long Beach employees, Hankla said he is confident that the company will expand to "50,000 employees at its Long Beach plant alone by the year 2000" as world commercial airline sales increase.

Hankla said that several retail centers in Long Beach and surrounding neighborhoods will expand or be renovated in the 1990s including Pine Avenue and Long Beach Plaza downtown, Marina Pacifica and the Los Altos Shopping Center.

In addition, he added that a large "hard goods/home improvement retail center" is planned for property once planned for an auto mall.

The biggest question mark for Long Beach's immediate future is the Walt Disney Co.'s proposed hotel and theme park which may be built on a landfill across from the Queen Mary or in Anaheim. Hankla expects to hear from Disney by the end of July. The project would be in the $3 billion range and could bring 20,000 jobs to the area, he said.