SEAL BEACH : Complex Is Planned on Rum Runners Site

Construction is expected to begin early next year on a 10,500-square-foot office and retail complex on land that for decades was home to the Rum Runners restaurant and nightclub.

The development, approved last week by the City Council, will line Pacific Coast Highway for more than a block and is one of the largest developments the Old Town district has seen in several years.

Despite its size, the proposal has produced little opposition. Some residents have hailed the project, saying they are eager for something to be developed on the vacant lot.

Other residents said they support the project because it will bring small shops and professional offices rather than a new bar or restaurant to the area. Before it was closed and demolished about two years ago, Rum Runners was the subject of periodic complaints from residents about parking and late-night noise and traffic.

The Mitchell Land & Development Co. plans to build three two-story structures as well as a 43-space parking lot facing Pacific Coast Highway. Palm trees and other landscaping also will be planted. The project is expected to cost just over $1 million.

“It’s a Spanish and Monterey style. We tried to make the architecture blend in with the residential neighborhood,” said David Bartlett, a consultant for the project. “We wanted it to have the look and feel of a residential area, but be able to function as retail and offices.”

The developers hope that the complex will attract such tenants as real estate agents, doctors, lawyers and accountants. Bartlett said the parking lot was designed to face Pacific Coast Highway so that cars would not exit onto residential side streets.

A second phase of the project calls for the construction of two homes behind the office complex. The Planning Commission will look at those plans tonight. The California Coastal Commission will review the entire project later this year, said Lee Whittenberg, the city’s planning director.

At last week’s council meeting, one resident said the project might cause cars to park on Pacific Coast Highway, obscuring the view of drivers trying to turn onto the highway from 17th Street.

City officials said that a fire hydrant will be installed at that intersection, preventing cars from parking in areas where they could block the view of the road.