Huntington Beach Plans to Scale Down Pierside Village Plan

Plans for Pierside Village, a $27-million waterfront redevelopment project next to the Huntington Beach Pier, is about to be scaled back drastically, City Administrator Paul Cook said Thursday.

The original proposal--which would have included restaurants, fast-food outlets and more than 50 retail shops--was hailed as the catalyst for a revitalized downtown when it was conceived about 3 years ago.

But the scaling-down of other redevelopment projects--in particular the abandonment of plans to build a 300-room hotel across Pacific Coast Highway from the pier--and the economic woes of seaside commercial developments in other cities made the ambitious Pierside Village plan a risky proposition, Cook said.

Facing $5-Million Loss

The city, which had planned to build a parking garage costing $10 million to $12 million beneath Pierside Village, stood to lose $5 million, based on new financial projections provided by the city’s consultants, Cook said.

Instead, Cook is recommending to the City Council that the retail part of the development be scratched, leaving just the two restaurants and a smaller, less expensive parking garage.

“If you look at Peter’s Landing in Huntington Beach or . . . Lido (Marina) Village in Newport Beach, the restaurants do fine but the retail is turning over constantly,” Cook said.

“We’re not saying that this was doomed to failure . . . but the restaurants are a sure thing. This is a wise business decision.”

Wes Bannister, the council’s newly elected mayor, said he is “tickled pink” that the often-controversial project seems to be scaling down.

“I have never supported Pierside,” Bannister said. “It may have made some sense with the hotel, but without the hotels, it doesn’t make any sense.”

Bannister said he agrees with Cook’s idea to go ahead and build a “pad” for two restaurants, along with a 400-space parking garage. “I think that would be great,” he said.

Geri Ortega, a planning commissioner and president the slow-growth group Huntington Beach Tomorrow, also applauded Cook’s proposal to reduce the project.

“The project has been deficient from the first time out of the gate,” said Ortega, who opposed the project at both the City Council and Coastal Commission levels. She said the development would have created traffic and parking problems while blighting a nearly unbroken 10-mile stretch of undeveloped coastline from one end of the city to the other.

“This is a wonderful victory,” Ortega said. “We’re changing wine and beer at our Christmas party . . . to all champagne.”