By DENIS DEVINE
The Long Beach City Council will host a special public hearing to mull over three proposals for development of the Superblock site on Thursday, August 24, at 8:15 P.M. in City Hall. The city is touting the hearing as an example of government at its most inclusive, but some local activists were surprised by the lack of written material the city says it has concerning the three proposals.
The Superblock is part of the large tract of undeveloped land left along the boardwalk in the center of town. It is bordered by Long Beach Blvd. to the east, Riverside Blvd. to the west, East Broadway to the north and the boardwalk is its southern border. The remaining parcel between Riverside and Edwards Blvd. along the boardwalk, with the large concrete foundation still visible, is fittingly called the Foundation Block. That too is in the news, but will not be part of Thursday's discussions.
The city has received proposals from three developers: Philips International of 417 5th Ave., Manhattan; the Kurtz Organization, 2681 E. 14th St., Brooklyn; and the Haberman Group, 315 Central Park West, Suite 1200, Manhattan. The Philips International company currently has the right to build a seven-plex movie theater on the site of the current Park Avenue Movie Theater, while the Haberman Group has the distinction of owning much of the property that makes up the "Superblock."
The city intends to claim the land through its powers of eminent domain, with the chosen developer then purchasing the condemned and combined property from the city.
According to the city, Philips International would build a 100-room hotel, including a small conference center, as well as two condominium towers with a total of 272 units. Next to the hotel, Philips proposes two upscale restaurants and a private movie screening room.
The Kurtz Organization's proposal would construct a 110-room hotel, a small conference center of 20,000 square feet, related commercial shops with two restaurants and two condominium towers totaling 310 units, according to the city.
The Haberman Group also proposes to build a small conference center, two restaurants and related condominium development with 300 units. Unique to their proposal, The Haberman Group proposes a 240-unit "residential hotel," with 100 rooms reserved for daily use and 30 during the off-season.
"If there's a greater demand, we'll keep more than 100 rooms available in the summer," said Jacob Haberman, principal of the company which has built Seapointe Towers and several garden apartments in Long Beach, among other projects. "Right now, to be honest... we don't know how strong the demand is. Whether in the months in mid-September to mid June, what can be occupied remains to be seen."
Each developer will get one half hour to present their proposal, after which the public will be invited to comment upon and question them on their proposals. Following the proposals, residents in attendance will be asked to fill out a questionnaire about the three plans.
But City Manager Bruce Nyman warned against expecting too much in the way of detailed plans.
"This first hearing is not like a Zoning Board hearing, where that night we're going to say its A, B or C," Mr. Nyman said. "They're not going to know the dimensions of the floor plans; we're really just talking about footprints."
Though the City Council had promised residents that it would provide them with written copies of the three proposals at its August 15 meeting, it did not provide such documentation to the residents or The Long Beach Herald, despite numerous attempts by the Herald to obtain them. According to Mr. Nyman, they were not available because they did not exist.
"We have nothing in writing," Mr. Nyman said. "None of the applicants expended the money to give us the plans that would be customary... We're playing it by ear, see how it goes at the hearing."
According to Mr. Nyman, the city's Request for Proposals closed two months ago, but he hopes the press and interest generated by Thursday's hearing generates additional proposals.
"We're still open," Mr. Nyman said. "I hope somebody comes to the hearing and says, 'I can do better than that and here's my plan.'"
The Foundation Block, on the other hand, was the subject of conversation at Tuesday night's City Council meeting. The City Council authorized Mr. Nyman to seek a $1,000,000 grant from the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation Grants Program, in time for an August 31 deadline. Though the city does not own the land -- it is currently owned by a private family -- it was apparent from the Aug. 15 discussion that the city is negotiating with the owners.
"We've been talking to that person for a while, feeling that person out and feeling that there may be a possibility that the city might have some rights to that property in terms of recreational use," Mr. Nyman said, after questioning from residents. "It would make it much easier if someone told us, here's a million dollars, do what you want."
Residents Mona Goodman and Sarah Nicholas pressed Mr. Nyman and the Council for details on the city's negotiations and plans for the land; the City Manager indicated that he believed the city might obtain use of the land without purchasing it (leasing was one possibility raised), for recreational purposes like soccer fields or art festivals.
"This is a good thing the council is doing," Mr. Nyman said defensively, after residents continued to question the city's plans. "For years people have been coming to the council and saying, 'There's not enough space for recreation.' They've been coming to me, [Director of Operations Eugene] Cammarato, the city council. So we decided to take a look at this."
