What to do with naval shipyard?

LONG BEACH - Developer/builder Goldrich, Kest & Associates of Encino is proposing to develop a master-planned community, complete with a water-oriented amusement park, senior village and luxury marina homes with boat docks on the site of the Long Beach Naval Shipyard.

Altogether, the City of Long Beach received 17 proposals for reuse of the shipyard, at which the federal government has decided to end operations. Hearings are being held on the proposals before a special advisory committee. Eventually, the Long Beach City Council will decide on the winning reuse plan, using federal guidelines and criteria.

Goldrich's proposal is the most ambitious of the group. The developer plans a mixed-use development, including residential uses, commercial (office space) and recreational.

In addition to luxury homes in a marina setting, there would be townhomes, condominiums and apartments, some of which would be priced to be affordable to lower-income families and seniors.

The proposed senior village would offer a variety of living options - from independent apartments, to assisted living, to skilled nursing care, plus medical offices and a possible Alzheimer's unit.

The water-themed amusement park would be coordinated as a research institution associated with California colleges.

Some of the proposals are for use of the entire shipyard and some are limited to one or more buildings. Those submitting proposals include:

* Logistics Partners Inc., a Huntington Beach investor group, proposes forming a company called Truckports USA Inc., which would operate high-security parking facilities for trucking companies. The company would need 12 acres of shipyard property. In addition to parking, it would provide truckers with fuel, truck washing, laundry service, showers, a convenience store, phone and fax equipment, and a lounge with a big-screen TV.

* The California Department of Education wants to relocate its food distribution center from Pomona to warehouse space at the shipyard. The center distributes food donated by the U.S. Department of Agriculture to schools, child care agencies, summer camps and charities that serve the homeless. If the education department gets the building it wants, which also includes some office space, it estimates that other agencies would move in, bringing about 300 jobs.

* The Port of Long Beach wants to expand by taking 186 acres of shipyard property for container terminals, 36 acres for a scrap metal yard, 17 acres for a ship repair facility and 15 acres for liquid bulk terminals.

* The City of Long Beach Fire Department, Police Department, General Services Department and Public Works Department want to take over several buildings, parking areas and vacant property to collectively relocate.

* As reported in the Business Journal March 25, an organization called Build Up Long Beach Inc. has a proposal under which employees of the shipyard would own and run an industrial complex on the site that would manufacture and export industrial components and provide ship repair services. The plan would use 254 acres, leaving 80 to 90 acres for another use.

* Al Larson Boat Shop, now located in the Long Beach Harbor on land that may be condemned for redevelopment purposes, wants to set up a ship repair facility on shipyard property.

* New Image Emergency Shelter for the Homeless is requesting space for a shelter that could serve 150-plus people per night and would offer additional services to help the homeless get back on their feet, such as help with resume writing and job searching, legal aide and referrals to other agencies.

* An environmental group called Save The Park By Sharing The Facts proposes that the city build its new Sport Complex, now planned for the El Dorado Regional Park, at the shipyard property instead.

* Science, Technology & Applied Research Services institute - a partnership of Long Beach City College, California State University at Long Beach, Cal State Dominguez Hills, the Private Industry Council Aerospace Network and others - proposes a "teaching factory" and "technology venture center" that would provide employment for displaced shipyard workers and would allow people opportunities to apprentice in modern manufacturing jobs.

* ESA Engineering Corp. of Laguna Hills has a plan to set up an electrical generating plant and iron carbide production facility on the site.

* Castle Trading Inc. of Corona proposes a "shipbreaking" operation that would dismantle ships and sell the scrap metal to a company called Hugo Neu-Proler, which would export it. Castle Trading would form a joint venture with Northern Marine Inc. of New York City called Long Beach Shipbreaking Inc. This company would pay the city $360,000 per year to lease property for its three-dry-dock operation.

* Astoria Metal Corp. of San Francisco and Pacific Rim Metal Inc. propose a shipbreaking/scrapping facility of their own with a small-scale marine repair facility.

* Bestway Recycling Company Inc. of Los Angeles and China Iron & Steel Industry & Trade Group Corp. of Beijing want 20 acres to use for the loading of scrap metal for export to China.