The Long Beach City Council, California (USA), has voted unanimously (9-0) to move forward with its civic center redevelopment P3 project, which will see the Plenary-Edgemoor Civic Partners (PECP) team develop, design, build, finance, operate and maintain a new civic center in downtown Long Beach for a period of 40 years.

Having received approval to proceed, the PECP consortium will now move toward Financial Close, set for January 2016. Construction is slated to begin in the middle of 2016, following the demolition of the existing Courthouse and cleanup of the site.

The project includes more than US$500 million in public and civic infrastructure, as well as supporting residential and mixed-use private developments.

The  PECP proposal involves the development of 200-room hotel, 594 to 612 residential units, up to 47,838 square feet of retail space, 11-story City Hall, and 93,500 square feet of library space. The proposal placed separate-but-connected city and port administrative buildings. The new buildings will be located at the corner of Ocean Boulevard and Magnolia Avenue in the city of Long Beach.

The Board of Harbor Commissioners also voted unanimously (4-0) to approve the port’s participation in the redevelopment project, which will see the Port of Long Beach relocate its headquarters to downtown Long Beach. 

Plenary Concessions Executive Chairman Dale Bonner stated:

“This transformative project will write a new chapter in the story of Long Beach. We would like to thank the City and the Port for the opportunity to deliver on the city’s vision and we look forward to moving to the next stage in the process.”

PECP was named the city’s exclusive negotiation partner in December of 2014. Since that time, the team has held or participated in over 100 community meetings, hosted countless discussions with various city departments and the port, and sought ways to improve upon the original proposal.

Plenary Group Senior Vice President Stuart Marks commented:

“Our team spent considerable time with many stakeholders throughout Long Beach, and the final design is proof of this effort. We especially thank our partners at the City, the Port, and in the various Council Districts and community groups throughout Long Beach that provided valuable input.”

On 12 February 2013 the Long Beach City Council initiated the process when it released a Request for Qualifications (RFQ). Of seven teams that responded to the RFQ, the City shortlisted three to respond to a more detailed Request for Proposals (RFP) issued on 28 February 2014.