By KEITH GRANT
Hotel, condos in builder's plans
While still years from completion, the long hoped-for fate of the Superblock stood in the form of a scale model on a desk in City Manager Bruce Nyman's office Tuesday, when city officials met with Philip Pilevsky, the man tapped to develop the vacant six-acre site.
Pilevsky's Philips International real estate company was selected unanimously by council members last Thursday night, Feb. 15, to develop the estimated $100 million hotel/condominium project along the Boardwalk. However, Philips is merely considered the "preferred" developer at this stage. For that honor, he is to hand the city a non-refundable $300,000 check for the opportunity to negotiate a final plan and secure the massive project's necessary financing.
Nonetheless, city officials were thrilled to reach this stage of the sometimes painstakingly slow process.
"I can't wait to go to an affair on this side of the bridge," said council member Barbara Mosca, referring to plans for restaurants and a catering hall within the hotel.
Pilevsky, a 20-year local resident, agreed that there is a great need for such facilities in Long Beach, particularly the hotel, itself.
"There's not a real nice place to stay," he said. "We've always put people up in Garden City. With this, they'll be right on the beach."
Pilevsky plans to revive the name of the site's original structure of a century ago, dubbing the hotel simply the Long Beach Hotel.
The preliminary plan calls for 10-story condominium towers to be built on either side of the hotel, with the three structures running perpendicular to the beach. Such allowances for open air passages from the ocean have been requested by residents, as well as city officials.
While talks begin between the city's attorneys and Philips on a time frame and final plan, the city will also begin one of the most important steps before anything can be built: attempting to acquire the land. The city plans to condemn the property and take ownership under its eminent domain powers. Currently, the vacant block is divided into 13 parcels among five different owners. The largest parcel is owned by the Haberman Group, which made a failed bid for the development rights. That company is expected to file suit against the city once the condemnation proceedings begin, though Haberman officials were not available for comment.
Before the selection at last Thursday's meeting, Nyman walked residents through a history of the site and the city's recent efforts to develop it.
"Understand that the selection of the developer is not the end of this story, the end of the process," he said. "It is very much the beginning."
Nyman has compared the current stage to the second inning of a baseball game.
After issuing a recommendation of Philips, citing its experience in developing $100 million projects including the recently completed Bryant Park hotel in Manhattan, Nyman turned the floor over to council members, who one by one reiterated the city manager's emphasis on the company's recent track record with hotel developments.
"In the end, I thought Philips International was the best," council member Denis Kelly noted. "The focus of the project clearly was the hotel. At Bryant, you can see they spared no expense in building a great hotel."
Council president Joel Crystal commented at the close of the meeting that while a lot of work was left to be done, he hoped the residents in attendance had "just witnessed history."
Speaking Tuesday at City Hall, Mosca said she was very encouraged by Philips' plan.
"They have the financial backing, the hotel experience and the development history to make the city's dream become a reality," she said. "There's still a lot of work to be done, but we're that much closer now to realizing it."
Council member Scott Nigro praised the attention to aesthetics that went into Philips' proposal, and also noted the prospect that a good deal of Philips' cash to see it through will come from within the company. Three years ago, a deal with another developer, the Parkoff Organization, fell through when the firm failed to come up with the necessary financing.
"We've got a good shot at something that's quality, here," Nigro said.
According to Pilevsky, the project will take about 18 months to complete from the time a concrete deal is reached with the city, making the target date sometime in 2003, he said.
Many officials commented that the Bryant Park hotel had been declared last week one of New York's "hottest hotels" by New York Magazine, though it won't be opening for another couple of weeks. Rooms there are slated to run from $575 to $975, with suites starting at $6,000.
Philips also has several Manhattan office buildings, including an $80 million, 500,000 square-foot building at 40 Rector St. They also own about 30 neighborhood and community shopping centers in the New York metropolitan area and South Florida.
Philips also currently has approval to renovate and expand the Park Ave. movie theater. Though it has received variances for a seven-screen theater, it has been in negotiations with residents and the city to possibly scale the project down.
Pilevsky has served as Philips chairman and CEO since its 1982 inception, and overall has 27 years in real estate. A C.W. Post graduate, he is a known author on international relations and frequent commentator for Fox 5 and CNBC.
Philips International hotel openings
Bryant Park $75 million,
40 W. 40th St., N.Y.C. opening in March
The Shore Club $145 million,
South Beach, Fl. opening in April
The Andrew, $7 million
Great Neck, N.Y. open Feb. 20
The Residences at Ritz Carlton,
Baltimore, Md.
$135 million hotel/condominium combination
construction to begin in April.
