Arup announced that the City of Long Beach and Port of Long Beach have reached financial close for the $520 million Long Beach Civic Center Project.
The project includes a new city hall, port HQ, main library, public park, and street improvements. All the features are designed to be occupied within a week of a major earthquake and meet REDi Gold earthquake performance, an operational resilience rating system developed by Arup.
A public-private partnership (P3) was used to fund the project, which combines public infrastructure and private mixed-use real estate development into one design-build-finance-operate-maintain arrangement.
Arup, the global interdisciplinary consulting and design services firm, served as lead advisor to the city and Port of Long Beach. The firm led financial, commercial, real estate, design, engineering, and cost consulting advisory services.
Long Beach, Calif. Photo: Zen Skillicorn/Creative Commons.
The Arup team included HOK for architecture consulting, BAE for real estate economics, and MBI Media for outreach. Sheppard Mullin provided legal advice to the owners.
Plenary Group is the lead P3 developer, sole equity provider, and financial arranger for the consortium, which includes Clark Construction, Edgemoor, Johnson Controls, and SOM.
Allianz, in a private placement, is providing $237 million in long-term financing. Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp. is providing a $213 million loan. Long Beach would contribute $11.8 million in cash and land valued at nearly $30 million. Plenary is contributing $21 million in equity.
Arup managed the entire process from the RFP to the end of negotiations and helped the project become a reality quicker than expected.
"A significant value added for the city is how the P3 model accelerated what would more conventionally have been a three- to five-year project development process using traditional project delivery methods to a two-year process," Orion Fulton, Arup's project team leader, said.
Arup has served as an advisor for numerous projects, including Presidio Parkway in San Francisco, the Los Angeles Convention Center, and the New Champlain Bridge in Quebec.
Construction has begun, and the next phase of the project is being launched.
Related Stories
| Sep 3, 2014
Ranked: Top local government sector AEC firms [2014 Giants 300 Report]
STV, HOK, and Turner top BD+C's rankings of the nation's largest local government design and construction firms, as reported in the 2014 Giants 300 Report.
| Sep 3, 2014
New designation launched to streamline LEED review process
The LEED Proven Provider designation is designed to minimize the need for additional work during the project review process.
| Sep 2, 2014
Ranked: Top green building sector AEC firms [2014 Giants 300 Report]
AECOM, Gensler, and Turner top BD+C's rankings of the nation's largest green design and construction firms.
| Sep 1, 2014
Ranked: Top federal government sector AEC firms [2014 Giants 300 Report]
Clark Group, Fluor, and HOK top BD+C's rankings of the nation's largest federal government design and construction firms, as reported in the 2014 Giants 300 Report.
| Aug 25, 2014
Restoration of quake-ravaged Atascadero City Hall affirms city’s strength [2014 Reconstruction Awards]
The landmark city hall was severely damaged by the San Simeon earthquake in 2003. Reconstruction renewed the building’s stability, restored its exterior, and improved the functionality of the interior.
| Aug 21, 2014
Ranked: Top convention center AEC firms [2014 Giants 300 Report]
Gensler, AECOM, and Hunt Construction top BD+C's rankings of the nation's largest convention center design and construction firms.
| Aug 20, 2014
Seattle's King Street Station thoughtfully restored [2014 Reconstruction Awards]
After years of neglect and botched renovations, King Street Station sparkles once again.
| Aug 14, 2014
How workplace design can empower employees, businesses
Focusing on recent work at Follett and Zurich, CannonDesign’ Meg Osman reveals the power of research, strategy, change management, and measurement to transform businesses for the better.
| Aug 12, 2014
Design firms invited to submit qualifications for St. Petersburg, Fla., waterfront project
The city of St. Petersburg, Fla., invites firms to submit their ideas for a new and improved pier for Florida's fifth largest city.
| Aug 11, 2014
Air Terminal Sector Giants: Morphing TSA procedures shape terminal design [2014 Giants 300 Report]
The recent evolution of airport terminals has been prompted largely by different patterns of passenger behavior in a post-9/11 world, according to BD+C's 2014 Giants 300 Report.
