What Was And What’s Coming at 2nd & PCH in Long Beach

The SeaPort Marina Hotel came crashing down at the end of 2017, making way for the widely anticipated 2nd & PCH commercial development.

To the surprise of some locals, the Los Angeles Times recently featured the project, which is scheduled for a grand opening in June 2019. The complex will add 95,000 square feet of retail, 70,000 square feet of restaurant space, and will be anchored by a 55,000-square-foot Whole Foods.

An aerial video posted on the project’s Facebook page in December showed demolition of the old hotel. With construction underway, we thought it would be prudent to take a look back at what was at 2nd & PCH and what’s coming to the site.

What Was There

SeaPort Marina Hotel opened in 1963, boasting it could host hundreds of international guests for that year’s World’s Fair, which never materialized. At the time it was considered one of Long Beach’s best hotels with four restaurants, two cocktail lounges, and a large ballroom. In its early years the hotel went by different names including the Edgewater Inn Marina Hotel and the Edgewater Hyatt House.

Over the decades it hosted celebrities like Ronald Reagan, Elvis Presley, and the teams that played the first Super Bowl, the Kansas City Chiefs and Green Bay Packers.

The Lin family purchased the 11-acre property in the 1990s with the intention of demolishing it for redevelopment. Environmental groups, residents, and business owners blocked progress for years. In 2016, SeaPort Marina’s ownership shifted to a partnership between the Lins and El Segundo-based retail developer CenterCal Properties.

What’s Coming

Those looking for a comprehensive look at 2nd & PCH’s design can watch a video showing a 3D-rendering of the project at centercal.com. A street-level view takes a lap around the block before entering a central gathering space with fountains, outdoor seating, an amphitheater lounge. Overall the project looks similar to the open-air design of Pacific City near downtown Huntington Beach.

Whole Foods is currently advertised as the only committed tenant but leasing agents have advertised it as a destination for retail and restaurants. Second-story terraces will reportedly offer dining with marina views.

Those concerned about where all those patrons will park might be relieved to know the project includes two structures containing 1,150 parking spaces.

Many residents complained that 2nd & PCH will generate even more traffic at one of Long Beach’s most congested intersections. That’s why the city required a host of mitigation measures to improve traffic circulation, including the addition of a third southbound lane for PCH along its eastern property line. The developer will also install a new traffic light and crosswalks on Pacific Coast Highway for a signal-controlled driveway and easier pedestrian access to and from the Market Place Long Beach on the other side of the six-lane highway.

Time will tell if these tweaks will offset the many car trips the complex will see on a daily basis.

We’ll keep you apprised of any new details that emerge regarding this landmark development.