A report to the Long Beach Planning Commission offers a look at a proposed adaptive reuse project which would transform a 1980s office building a half-mile west of the Cal State Long Beach campus into student housing.

The project from Fountain Residential Partners, slated to convert the Park Tower building at 5150 Pacific Coast Highway, would retain the glass exterior of the seven-story structure while transforming its interior into 149 residential suites with capacity for up to 593 beds. Existing parking accommodations would be retained to provide space for up to 364 vehicles.

Street-level view looking southwestStudio One Eleven

Studio One Eleven is designing the project, which would provide open spaces for residents including a plaza, lounge areas, a splash pool. Plans call for razing an existing surface parking lot to create room for amenities, as well as the new construction of a small pavilion building.

Required approvals include a zoning code amendment, a conditional use permit, and a general plan amendment.

Street-level view looking northwestStudio One Eleven

Conversion of the Park Tower building into housing is expected to take approximately 15 months to be completed, upon the start of construction.

The project addresses a lack of available student housing for students at Cal State Long Beach, as well as those attending nearby institutions such as Long Beach City College. A Planning Commission staff report notes that there are just three dormitories serving Cal State Long Beach, although the university broke ground last year on a $115-million project which will expand its student housing capacity by 424 beds, and plans for up to 1,600 in total through its campus master plan.

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