Pro North Beach Vision Coalition

Playa del Norte is planned to be built on two City-owned properties in North Beach.  It is an urban infill project with more than 10,000 residents located within a one mile radius.  Playa del Norte will leverage adjacent pedestrian, rail and public transportation infrastructure.

In 1928 Ole Hanson subdivided North Beach and zoned it for commercial and entertainment use.  In the 1970s the City acquired a triangular dirt lot from private owners that was being informally used for parking and paved it for public parking.  Another vacant lot facing El Camino Real was acquired in the late 1980s to rebuild and enlarge the flood control channel after a restaurant on that site was washed away in a flash flood.

In 2005 - 2006 the City Council acted on the recommendation of the newly adopted Downtown Vision Plan and issued a Request for Proposal to create a retail/entertainment center on City-owned properties in North Beach.  The Little American Business (LAB Holding) was selected after an open, competitive process.

After four years of public input, environmental analysis and an advisory election, Playa del Norte has evolved from LAB Holding’s initial proposal to the currently proposed project.  During that time the project has decreased in size by more than 50%.

As adopted by the City Council in 2010, the Environmental Impact Report (EIR) demonstrates that Playa del Norte satisfies the following concerns: traffic, noise, air quality, parking, historic resources, and public views.

Playa del Norte has following planned uses: restaurants, small culinary shops, office, and the Beach Trail Café.  The LAB focuses on locally-owned businesses, not chains.

Playa del Norte is designed in the Spanish Colonial Revival Architectural style to blend in with surrounding historical structures.  The master architect is Henry Lenny of Santa Barbara, CA.

Playa del Norte and surrounding improvements will encourage a pedestrian-oriented environment in North Beach. This includes the addition of walkways, sidewalks, streetscapes, and safety improvements with the adjacent residential neighborhoods.  There will also be a direct connection to the Beach Trail.

The Triangle portion of the project will be re-contoured to the approximate grade level of the Ole Hanson Beach Club.  The raised elevation will result in a pedestrian walk in front of the Beach Club and 11,170 square feet of ocean view plazas looking over the beachfront parking on Avenida Estacion.

Sustainable and environmental elements to be introduced include: Urban runoff filtration systems, drought tolerant landscaping, passive heating and cooling, green building materials, energy efficient equipment, low VOC paints and finish materials, maximize locally sourced materials, and operational activities (recycling, tenants not using plastic and styrofoam, green living education festivals).

The tallest portion of Playa del Norte is an accent and elevator tower in the middle of the Calle Deshecha facing the side of the project; it is 39.73 feet above the existing grade. The average height of all buildings is 29.74 feet above existing grade.

The City will construct parking, set parking rates and receive parking revenue from all future beach users, trail users, Metrolink commuters, the Casino, the potential revitalization of the Miramar, and Playa del Norte.

340 public parking spaces currently exist in North Beach, all west of EI Camino Real. With Playa del Norte and other public improvements, 559 public parking spaces will be available in North Beach (306 spaces west of EI Camino Real).

Beachfront parking on Avenida Estacion will be made available to the priority user groups, which are the beach and Beach Trail users. To better serve the beach and Beach Trail users, the $1 a day Metrolink parking will be shifted to the new parking facilities east of EI Camino Real.