By Nick Diamantides
Special to the Signal Tribune
The Bixby Point Shopping Center is on the fast track toward development and will likely be open for business in early 2008. “We have been waiting a long time to bring back some energy and opportunity for residents in that area,” said Long Beach 8th District Councilmember Rae Gabelich. “This new development is going to provide that for the community.”
The planned 12,000-square-foot commercial/retail center currently has three committed tenants: FedEx Kinko’s, Wachovia Bank and La Vineria Italiana–an upscale Italian wine bar and restaurant.
“We have room for about 20 other tenants in the project, but we’re holding off leasing many of the facilities because we’re still trying to get the tenants that the community has been pushing for,” said Mark Bolour, vice president of Los Angeles-based Bolour & Associates, the developer of the center. “This project is more difficult than others because we’re trying to balance the needs of the community with our obligations to our investors.”
Last April, the company held a community workshop at Hughes Middle School to allow local residents to express their wishes for the center that will be built on the southeast corner of Atlantic Avenue and Carson Street.
A couple weeks later the company published a series of surveys in the Signal Tribune. The survey contained a tenant list compiled at the workshop and gave residents the opportunity to vote on the businesses they would most like to see in the center.
From the 523 responses to the survey, Bolour and Associates put together a list of potential tenants that included Noah’s Bagels, Wahoo’s Fish Tacos, Catch 21 Grill, Fish Grill, Champagne Bakery Restaurant, House of Bread, Adoba Mexican Grill, Chipotle and six other restaurants and stores.
“We’re having a hard time convincing some of the restaurants that this is the right place for them,” Bolour said. “People who live in the community have higher-than-average incomes, but the area’s daytime employment numbers are low, and lunchtime business is usually a significant portion of a restaurant’s sales.”
Gabelich praised the company for its ongoing efforts to get the businesses desired by local residents. “This developer has gone above and beyond the call to provide what the community wants,” she said.
In spite of that, Bolour said his company cannot remain in a holding pattern much longer. “We have about six more weeks to get commitments from some of those tenants,” he said. “After that, because of our obligations to our investors, we may have to sign other tenants.”
Still, the company vice president praised city officials for their help in moving the project forward. “The mayor’s office, Councilwoman Gabelich, and Patrick West, the director of the city’s community development department, have been very helpful throughout the process,” he said. “The synergy between local government, the community and our financial obligations has been very exciting.”
“This is the way government, communities and developers are supposed to work together,” Gabelich added. “I wish Bixby Point was opening tomorrow.”
