Annual 'State of the District' highlights new events, programs and businesses this year in Bixby Knolls

Sean Belk
Staff Writer
For the past year, events and programs have built a synergy between the commercial corridor and the neighborhood in Bixby Knolls, attracting businesses and residents alike. And this year is no different.
Last week, Blair Cohn, executive director of the Bixby Knolls Business Improvement Association (BKBIA), showcased last year’s accomplishments while highlighting new plans in the works for 2015 during the annual State of the District.
From Trader Joe’s moving to a site formerly occupied by Ralphs to a new event planned for summer that will allow pedestrians and bicyclists to cruise the streets, many changes are in store this year for the business district that continues to grow with activity along Atlantic Avenue and Long Beach Boulevard in “uptown” north Long Beach.
During the yearly address, which took place at Long Beach Petroleum Club on Thursday, Feb. 26, Cohn recognized community leaders, volunteers and business owners with awards while acknowledging city officials and departments.
In coming weeks, the BKBIA is planning to distribute 13,000 copies of its new member directory, which hasn’t been updated in five years because of budget constraints, he said. Cohn said the association also worked with consultants to develop a new business-development guide, geared specifically to assist Bixby Knolls businesses.
“In Bixby Knolls, we have to work a little harder,” Cohn said to a crowd of about 100 people. “Belmont Shore has the foot traffic and the waterfront. Downtown has all that money and! City Hall pointing fingers at it, but this is where the soul is, and we call this the promise land, right here.”
He noted that BKBIA’s office has been relocated to the Expo Arts Center, located at 4321 Atlantic Ave. Despite being damaged by a flood in 2013, the building has been renovated with investments from the City, Cohn said, noting that a new field office for the 8th Council District is also being added.
Now located inside the Expo building, the BKBIA’s staff is able to have more hands-on involvement with managing the building’s space for fundraisers, community meetings and events of all kinds, he said.
“This is our chance to turn this building now into the iconic building in Bixby Knolls,” Cohn said. “This is our community arts center, where we have The Kids Theatre Company doing productions all year round. We have a comedy group that teaches classes and script writing. We do community meetings. You name it.”
However, he said there are some challenges ahead for the business district.
In particular, Cohn noted that the BKBIA board is looking at possibly raising its annual assessment that it charges on members since former redevelopment-agency funding, which the business district has relied on, is dwindling and insecure.
He said the BKBIA is now in its fourth year of a 10-year contract that provides $200,000 annually in former redevelopment funds. The funds, Cohn said, pay for façade improvements, staff salaries and security patrols.
If the State of California, which abolished redevelopment, were to suddenly take away those funds, however, Cohn and BKBIA Project Manager Krista Leaders would have to decide whether to stay on board with a reduction in pay that would only provide a part-time salary. He added that a position responsible for organizing the monthly First Fridays event would have to be eliminated. Cohn said the BKBIA hasn’t raised its assessment fees in 20 years.
“We’re going to have to raise the fees here so that when the contract is over we will continue with the same level of revenue,” he said. “At some point there may just be an answering machine at the BKBIA office. Nobody wants that. We don’t want it. We want to continue… We want to keep moving the association forward and stay with the neighborhood.”
Another hurdle, Cohn said, is activating the mostly vacant Bixby Knolls Shopping Center, where a building once occupied by Orchard Supply Hardware (OSH) remains empty after the business closed its doors in a company restructuring in 2013.
He said a developer plans to revitalize a portion of the property where a United States post office and a CVS are located. However, activating the shopping center, located off of Atlantic Avenue just north of San Antonio Drive, is a major issue yet to be addressed, said Cohn, who added that he didn’t want to go “too deep” into the subject.
“We really think this is the last big issue in Bixby Knolls, and we have to get movement there,” he said, adding that Bixby Knolls is not alone in seeing the demise of several big-box retailers.
On a positive note, Cohn said that, since the Trader Joe’s located at 4121 Atlantic Ave. is moving to a site at San Antonio Drive and Long Beach Boulevard formerly occupied by Ralphs, the move leaves a prime space that businesses have already been considering.
“There isn’t a commitment yet, but, I tell you, there are people already eyeing that spot,” he said, referring to the existing Trader Joe’s location that will soon be vacant. “It’s not going to stay empty long. You have both the Council office and us trying to get the mix right there, because, obviously, you want it to be great for the neighborhood. It’s exciting that there’s so much interest, and we’re very happy about that.”
Additionally, he noted that Deep Blue Scuba and Swim Center, currently located off of Ocean Boulevard in Belmont Shore, is planning to relocate to Bixby Knolls in a building at 3640 Atlantic Ave. where the business is constructing a pool.
Another new business opening soon in Bixby Knolls is Long Beach Creamery, a specialty ice-cream store that Cohn said will help “activate” the business corridor along Carson Street and Long Beach Boulevard that already has new food and retail options.
“This really helps to activate that whole area,” he said. “It’s making it a hot spot, both for the food and the retail as well. So, we’re very excited about the investment.”
Cohn noted that Wieland Brewery, which has moved from its original downtown Los Angeles location, plans to open its doors this week.
Cohn, who has been appointed a member of the newly formed Long Beach Economic Development Commission, also said that the BKBIA has joined with other business-improvement districts (BIDs) in Long Beach as part of the Council of Business Associations (COBA) to address business-related issues.
One of the issues, he said, is working to “smooth” business licensing in Long Beach to make it easier for new businesses to receive permit approvals from the City’s inspection and building departments.
Cohn added that the City has agreed to look into new “open counter software” that would provide business owners with online resources to figure out how much it would cost and how long it would take to open a business or receive permits.
“We need to talk about the inspection and the building department,” he said. “What city wouldn’t want to be business-friendly? But, what we’re trying to push is business-easy. That’s what we want to get to.”
In terms of events, the newest draw in Bixby Knolls this year is “Uptown Beach Streets,” Long Beach’s version of CicLAvia, in which streets are blocked off to cars to let bicyclists and pedestrians roam freely for a day.
Cohn said the event, which is being funded through a $260,000 grant obtained by the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA), is planned for June 6 and is expected to draw 100,000 people.
“It will be like First Fridays on steroids,” said Cohn, who added that people will be able to walk, skate, bicycle or even set up farmers markets along Atlantic Avenue from Wardlow Road to Houghton Park, where a jazz festival is scheduled to take place.
Cohn noted that the BKBIA has worked on improvements in the district, including adding a “pocket park” at Georgie’s Place, turning alleys into art spaces with murals while working with property owners to install new lighting to increase safety.
He added that keeping the business district clean and safe, whether through volunteer efforts or with the help of Bixby Knolls businesses such as CSI Patrol that provides security services, is a primary goal.

“We want to make sure that the alleys and the side streets and the corridors and the parking structures and everything are safe,” said Cohn, who added that, according to police reports, nighttime criminal activity has “decreased greatly,” because the security presence. ß