Long Beach : Ideas for Sears Site Sought

Using a novel tack, the Long Beach Redevelopment Agency has begun to solicit proposals for construction on the old Sears site without saying what it wants on those two square blocks of prime downtown real estate.

The agency usually spells out precisely what type of development it wants on land being redeveloped, but this time, says Executive Director Roger Anderman, “we’re looking for the nontraditional, the creative.”

In the first stage of a two-stage process, developers will submit proposals and their qualifications to build them on the 7.5 acres east of the Plaza Mall, Anderman said.

“It’s a way of sounding out the development community to see what they have in mind,” Anderman said. “We don’t want a cookie cutter solution on this site. It’s a unique opportunity.”

A proposal that would have brought several retail stores, including at least one major off-price market, to the site was abandoned in 1984.