Long Beach Pike Finally Underway

Long Beach officials were pinching themselves on Tuesday to make sure it had finally started: construction of a $130-million waterfront entertainment center called the Pike at Rainbow Harbor.

Nearly 14 years of planning, intense public scrutiny, financial setbacks and legal delays are “finally behind us,” said Long Beach Mayor Beverly O’Neill during a ceremonial groundbreaking attended by about 300 people.

“This is a significant day in the revitalization of Long Beach,” she said. “This area is going to be teeming with people enjoying themselves.”

The 380,000-square-foot development will feature a mix of restaurants and entertainment venues, including a 14-screen Crown Theater and a 40,000-square-foot Gameworks.

It is scheduled to open in September 2003--two years behind schedule--on 18 acres of city-owned land south of Ocean Boulevard, between the Long Beach Convention Center and the Aquarium of the Pacific.

The project was originally known as Queensway Bay, but the new name, and the site itself, carry historical significance in Long Beach.

The Pike was a sprawling seaside amusement zone and billed itself as the “Place Where Fun Was Invented.” In 1954, the Pike was ranked among the top five amusement centers in the nation. But in time it declined and in 1979 it closed for good.

The Pike at Rainbow Harbor is the centerpiece of a coastline revival envisioned in 1992 as part of a plan to lure visitors back to downtown Long Beach, which at that time was struggling to cope with the closure of the Naval Shipyard and the loss of about 50,000 jobs.

Many other elements of that plan have been in place for years, including the Long Beach Convention & Entertainment Center, Shoreline Village, the Queen Mary and the Long Beach Aquarium of the Pacific.

The $120-million aquarium, which has suffered a steady decline in attendance and revenue since it opened in 1998, is counting on the Pike’s 50 tenants to attract more paying customers.

The developer, Diversified Realty Corp., has already invested $15 million in the project and signed agreements with restaurants and watering holes, including California Pizza Kitchen, Harry’s Bar, National Sports Grill, Gladstone’s, Subway, Daphne’s Greek Cafe and Quizno’s.

City officials say the new center will generate hundreds of construction jobs, up to $100 million a year in sales, and about $1 million a year in tax revenue for the city.

Long Beach’s commitment to the Pike includes construction of a 2,200-car parking structure near the foot of downtown’s Pike Street.

The development will be about 70,000 square feet smaller than originally envisioned. A huge Ferris wheel promised in the original development package was dropped. Some critics were disappointed over what they viewed as a lackluster list of tenants.

But city officials dismissed all that on Tuesday as inconsequential in the long term.

“The waterfront is the ‘wow factor’ in this development,” said Deputy City Manager Reginald Harrison. “While it may not be unusual to have a Gameworks, where else will you be able to step outside and stroll the coastline?”

“Once it’s up and running,” he added, “there will be plenty of opportunities to fine-tune.”