The first residents of Long Beach’s newest apartment high-rise, The Current, have started moving in. The 223-unit, 17-story luxury high-rise by co-developers Anderson Pacific, LLC, Ledcor Properties and Qualico is designed to appeal to young professionals and retirees, and during a tour of the building executives from both companies told the Business Journal that’s exactly who the building is attracting.

 

The tour began not on the ground floor, but at the 17th floor indoor/outdoor community living space – dubbed Altitude 155 for its height above sea level – a reflection of the vibe of the building itself and the type of living it promotes. Residents enter through a hallway into an indoor lounge area with a bar, eating areas, and a living space complete with a large flat screen TV. Glass doors open all the way, allowing the space to flow seamlessly onto a deck with a pool that has the iconic Villa Riviera as a backdrop, barbecues with views of the convention center and Queen Mary, and a terrace overlooking the downtown skyline.

Jason Silver, development project manager for Ledcor Properties, left, and Ryan Altoon, executive vice president of Anderson Pacific, LLC, recently gave the Business Journal a tour of their firms’ new apartment building in Downtown Long Beach, The Current. This rooftop deck includes a pool overlooking the Villa Riviera, views of the ocean, a barbecue area overlooking Ocean Boulevard and the Queen Mary in the distance, and a wine terrace with a view of downtown’s skyline. (Photograph by the Business Journal’s Larry Duncan)

 

“There are two markets we’re going after: young professionals and empty nesters. We are seeing both of those markets attracted to the space,” Ryan Altoon, executive vice president of Anderson Pacific, said.

 

“People love that hotel feel with a residential twist,” Jason Silver, development project manager for Ledcor Properties, chimed in. “We’ve gotten huge positive feedback on that.”

 

“It’s more of a holistic approach to urban living,” Altoon said as the tour continued on to the fourth floor Fire Sky Lounge, another outdoor communal area. “I think it helps distinguish the property too. Most places it’s more about going inside [the building], and you go to your room and that’s it. This is more about a communal atmosphere.” The fourth floor lounge includes a fire pit, a bar area, and plentiful lounge space with views of the ocean and surrounding downtown area. Both the Fire Sky Lounge and Altitude 155 are available to rent for private events on occasion, Altoon noted.

 

The building’s design capitalizes on Long Beach’s weather with these indoor/outdoor lifestyle amenities, as well as balconies, terraces and patios for its apartments. Units on the 4th, 16th and 17th floor all feature patios that are slightly larger than their indoor living room, measuring 30 feet by 10 feet – “an extension of your living space outside,” as Altoon put it.

This parking lot outside The Current, Downtown Long Beach’s newest apartment high rise, will soon become the site of a second luxury apartment building, 35 stories in height. An executive with the development team said his goal is to break ground within a year. (Photograph by the Business Journal’s Larry Duncan)

 

The Current is also designed to appeal to pet owners. “Long Beach is a really pet-friendly city. We’re trying to embrace that,” Altoon said. The building includes an automated pet washing system on its second floor parking deck that includes multiple options for washing and drying dogs. “A large percentage of people who live in a high rise have pets: up to 70 percent sometimes. So we’re really trying to accommodate for that,” he explained.

 

The building’s units, which range in size from studios to two-bedrooms and penthouses on the top floor, feature vinyl plank flooring, quartz countertops, Spanish tile in the kitchens and bathrooms, and all stainless-steel General Electric appliances. Some units have a particularly urban feel, with concrete cylindrical columns running floor to ceiling through the living space.

Billed as “luxury” living, the rental rates live up to that verbiage: prices start at about $2,200 for a studio to around $6,000 for a penthouse, according to Silver.

 

Residents and the community alike are meant to benefit from the project, which includes activated ground floor space in the form of retail, and amenities such as a communal kitchen and fitness room.

The Current’s luxury apartment units are designed to appeal to young professionals and empty nesters, according to the building’s developers. Each unit features quartz counter tops, stainless steel appliances and vinyl wood panel style floors. This one-bedroom unit is located on the 7th floor on the southeast side of the building. Some units feature lighter cabinetry. (Photograph by the Business Journal’s Larry Duncan)

 

“We’re not looking for just anybody to go into our retail spaces. We’re looking for really good synergy to serve the tenants of the building, but also of the neighborhood. That’s very important,” Silver said. The developers have secured one tenant so far, which cannot yet be announced. However, the two gave a hint. It’s “the morning blend type,” Altoon said, to which Silver added, “And also an evening blend.”

 

The developers plan to break ground on a 35-story apartment high-rise adjacent to The Current within a year. Altoon said that building, which will feature 221 units, will have a more slender, modern design. “It’s less concrete, more glass. . . . The unit sizes are a little bit larger than this, so it’s catering to a slightly different market. Imagine this but at an elevated level,” he explained.

 

The two buildings are to be connected at the ground floor with a plaza. “We took careful consideration to ensure that the edges of the property were always activated,” Altoon said. “So you always have a perpetual level of activation and eyes on the street and people who are there to activate the plaza, to make it a safe and inviting environment and to act as a counterpart to the next tower.”

The 17th floor of The Current in Downtown Long Beach features an indoor/outdoor entertainment and lounging space dubbed “Altitude 155,” which denotes its height above sea level. The space includes an indoor area with a TV, seating and eating areas, which opens onto a rooftop deck complete with a barbecue area, a terrace and a pool. (Photograph by the Business Journal’s Larry Duncan)

 

The entire two-building project, dubbed Shoreline Gateway, is planned to the U.S. Green Building Council’s LEED Neighborhood Design parameters. Altoon and Silver expected a LEED Silver designation to be given to The Current shortly. “I think it’s the first LEED residential tower in the entire city of Long Beach,” Altoon said.

 

About 80 percent of the construction waste materials from The Current were recycled, Silver said. The building also features thick insulation to reduce the need for heating and cooling. Each apartment’s cooling system brings in air from outside and circulates it indoors, Silver added. “It pulls air in, so you’re getting fresh air from outside,” he said. One electric vehicle charger is provided for guests and retail patrons, while residents have access to eight charging stations.

 

“It’s the last unobstructed view of the ocean in all of Downtown Long Beach. It is the gateway to downtown,” Altoon said of what made the site of Shoreline Gateway at 707 E. Ocean Blvd. so attractive for development. “It’s the most heavily trafficked intersection in the city with over 70,000 cars passing the site twice a day.”