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
| Aug 20, 2013
Code amendment in Dallas would limit building exterior reflectivity
The Dallas City Council is expected to vote soon on a proposed code amendment that would limit a building’s exterior reflectivity of “visible light” to 15%.
| Aug 14, 2013
Green Building Report [2013 Giants 300 Report]
Building Design+Construction's rankings of the nation's largest green design and construction firms.
| Aug 14, 2013
Military Construction Report [2013 Giants 300 Report]
Building Design+Construction's rankings of the nation's largest military sector design and construction firms, as reported in the 2013 Giants 300 Report.
| Aug 12, 2013
Decade-long renovation of Kansas Capitol Building expected to be complete by year end
A $300 million-plus, decade-long renovation of the Kansas Capitol Building in Topeka is expected to be complete by the end of the year. The exterior refurbishing of copper over the four imposing wings and around the dome should be complete by late November.
| Aug 6, 2013
Sarabjit Singh named President of ITSI Gilbane and Gilbane Global
Gilbane Building Company announced today the appointment of Sarabjit Singh, P.E. as the new president of ITSI Gilbane (soon to be Gilbane Federal) and Gilbane Global, subsidiaries of Gilbane Building Company.
| Aug 6, 2013
CoreNet: Office space per worker shrinks to 150 sf
The average amount of space per office worker globally has dropped to 150 square feet or less, from 225 square feet in 2010, according to a recent global survey conducted by CoreNet Global.
| Jul 30, 2013
In support of workplace chatter
As the designers of collaborative work environments, architects and engineers understand how open, transparent spaces can cultivate the casual interaction and knowledge sharing that sparks innovation. Now a new study reveals another potential benefit of open workplaces: social interaction that supports happier employees.
| Jul 29, 2013
2013 Giants 300 Report
The editors of Building Design+Construction magazine present the findings of the annual Giants 300 Report, which ranks the leading firms in the AEC industry.
| Jul 26, 2013
How biomimicry inspired the design of the San Francisco Museum at the Mint
When the city was founded in the 19th century, the San Francisco Bay’s edge and marshland area were just a few hundred feet from where the historic Old Mint building sits today. HOK's design team suggested a design idea that incorporates lessons from the local biome while creating new ways to collect and store water.
| Jul 22, 2013
Top Office Sector Construction Firms [2013 Giants 300 Report]
Turner, Structure Tone, PCL top Building Design+Construction's 2013 ranking of the largest office sector contractors and construction management firms in the U.S.