Long Beach : Seaside Towers Unfeasible

Plans for a major 380-unit condominium project on a prime oceanfront site next to the convention center have collapsed, the Redevelopment Agency was told Wednesday.

Heltzer Enterprises Inc. of Los Angeles told the agency’s Board of Directors that it would not be able to build the three-tower project east of the convention center on Ocean Boulevard.

“They submitted data indicating that the project was not feasible and requested 120 days to come up with something different. It’s a matter of what will work on the site. It’s a very costly site,” said Roger Anderman, executive director of the Redevelopment Agency. The board granted the extension.

Anderman said that “there continues to be strong interest in residential construction downtown” despite the Heltzer announcement. He said an adjacent 175-unit apartment project remains on track. Many hundreds of apartments have been built in less costly parts of the downtown area in the past two years.

Two years ago, Heltzer was given permission to change its proposal to halve the costs of its condos, bringing them down to the $200,000-to-$400,000 range. But the condominium market has continued to soften since then.