Manhattan Beach : City Accepts Streetscape Bid

The City Council has awarded a $4.7-million contract for a downtown revitalization plan known as Streetscape.

Streetscape has been planned for about three years. The City Council postponed the project in March after receiving only one bid for $6.3 million. It awarded the contract to Moulder Bros., based in Glendale.

The plan calls for landscaping and improvements along streets and sidewalks.

Mayor Bob Holmes said that without the project, the city would spend $2.5 million to $3 million during the next two years on repaving streets, replacing sewers and other maintenance. He said Streetscape “tied it all in together and put a big ribbon on it.”

Downtown business owners have generally expressed support for the project at public meetings, but voiced concerns about the impact of construction on sales and customers.

Work on Manhattan and Highland avenues and Manhattan Beach Boulevard is to begin Jan. 2 and be completed in about six months.

The remaining portion of the project--loosely bordered by Morningside Drive, The Strand and 8th and 15th streets, which includes some residential areas--will probably not begin for five or six years and is expected to cost an additional $1.5 million to $2 million, said interim Public Works Director Walter Graham.