It is called Jefferson Long Beach.
Mosaic—the massive retail-meets-soon-to-come-residential complex in Downtown Long Beach between 3rd and 6th Streets and Long Beach Boulevard and Pine Avenue—has sold one of its two parcels slated for residential development to JPI, the Dallas-SoCal focused developer with over 380 community developments under their belt. The developer will take the entitled, 272-unit residential project and hopefully begin breaking ground later this year.
What is the Jefferson Long Beach development and how does it affect Mosaic?
JPI has dubbed their portion of the Mosaic project as Jefferson Long Beach and it will be constructed on the land parcel bound by Long Beach Boulevard to the east, 4th Street to the south, The Promenade North to the west, and 5th Street to the north. JPI recently closed escrow with Mosaic for the 1.58-acre parcel and will move forward with already-entitled plans that will construct 272 units of Class A for-rent apartments, including 16 affordable units, and 19,000 square feet of ground floor commercial space.
“We are excited to embark on this journey with the Long Beach community,” said Omar Rawi, Senior Vice President, Western Development at JPI. “Jefferson Long Beach represents our commitment to delivering high-quality apartment homes that meet the evolving needs of residents while enhancing the fabric of the neighborhoods in which we build.”
The 14-acre Mosaic complex is made up of three land parcels, two of which are entitled for 900 units of housing, including 54 affordable units. The retail portion will not be touched, but has seen a lot of leasing and upgrades. The retail portion consists of the northern edge of 3rd Street, where Ammatoli and the upcoming Broken Spirits Distillery and soon-to-be-branded space that formerly housed Lupe’s sit, and the retail along 4th Street and on Pine Avenue. The other two portions are the mixed-use development parcels —the former Big 5 space and the former Walmart space—are to be demolished to make way for the Jefferson.
“The parcel between 4th Street and 5th Street where the former Big 5 Sporting Goods and that is what we sold to JPI—which is great because they have such a reputable brand on their own and they really want to get into Long Beach and moving quickly on getting permits and getting on with construction,” said Michael Gazzano, Managing Director of West Coast Investments for Turnbridge Equities, which is part of a triad of firms that operate and own Mosaic. “‘Parcel C,’ which is the former Walmart, is a property we will be keeping as well as the retail portion of Mosaic.”
Joining Turbridge as the operators and owners of Mosaic are Waterford Property Company and Monument Square Investment Group, all of which have decided to retain Parcel C to develop some 628 units, 38 of which will be affordable, along with 150,000 square feet of retail space.
Why Jefferson Long Beach is an essential cog for Mosaic’s retail spaces
Mosaic is amid a big change as its core tenants—highlighted by the exemplary Ammatolí and Milana’s—will soon be joined by two other essential spaces: The nearing-opening Broken Spirits Distillery and the under-construction space at the former Lupe’s led by Padre owner Jay Krymis.
“With the completion of this parcel sale, our team’s immediate focus remains on elevating the mix of retail and restaurant options creating a true food destination for the city,” said Sean Rawson, co-founder Waterford. “And the fact that more residents will be in the area is only beneficial to our existing tenants.”
Add onto this the nearby Inkwell development—which welcomed tenants this week—and the now-complete Aster and Onni East Village developments, and Downtown Long Beach will likely see activation it hasn’t witnessed since pre-pandemic times. This includes not just the new tenants moving into Mosaic but a likely growing list of events: From art-centric events and Downtown bar crawls to night markets and design festivals, this particular area of DTLB is ripe with cultural potential.
As a resident of this area (Chestnut), I am thrilled that you are keeping us abreast of new developments. Hoping that these new eateries will keep in mind that there is a large senior citizen population within walking distance of their new locations. Affordable options or special welcome seniors events would be lovely. Most of us have smaller appetites, and some prefer traditional american foods. Some of us are more adventurous. Thank you, Brian Addison, for covering this already vibrant community!
As someone who has also been in that area for about 10 years now – I have noticed a trend that most non-affordable food options usually go out of business after about a year. Hopefully we don’t just end up with even more empty retail space. Most of the ground spaces in all these new projects are all empty and some have been for years.
I am actually in full favor of fines for empty storefronts that sit for too long. The asking cost for the space where Octopus used to sit at the northeast corner of Pine Avenue and Broadway—over 7,000SF mind you, which is impossible for any normal small business—was exorbitant. Plus spaces that size (like the former Noypitz/Wokano space a little further down on Broadway at The Promenade) are just hard sells right for restaurants.
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[…] Beach, includes 16 affordable units and 19,000 square feet of ground-floor restaurants and shops. Longbeachize reports that JPI is expected to break ground this […]
[…] Beach, includes 16 affordable units and 19,000 square feet of ground-floor restaurants and shops. Longbeachize reports that JPI is expected to break ground this […]