By Eric Gray | 2012 has been a very positive year for revitalization and growth for Downtown Long Beach. Changes large and small have thoughtfully been put in place this year to continue that goal to make Downtown Long Beach a first-rate city. Many community groups have actively been participating in this renaissance to bring the quality of life up for all people, that either live, work, or play in Downtown Long Beach. Here is a list of just some of the enhancements that have been done this year in 2012, and buckle up for 2013, because we are going to see even more!

1. First and foremost, the Downtown Plan was passed early on in 2012. This creates a more streamlined process for developers to create beautiful modern architecture for our Downtown. It will also create all types of jobs in Downtown Long Beach that is bound to have positive economic impacts to the local community.
2. The Promenade North block is almost complete with new concrete, trees, plants, bike racks and an ambiance of a true city.
3. The first-ever Harvey Milk Park is almost complete and I am proud to see a true civil rights hero being recognized and honored.
4. The Stave wine bar opened up in the fall of this year to an ecstatic community. This wine bar exemplifies true class and is the perfect addition to Downtown Long Beach.
5. Michael’s Pizzeria, voted #1 Pizzeria in Los Angeles, is set to open up early 2013 on the Promenade and we expect this to draw in big crowds from all parts of not only Long Beach, but from Los Angeles and Orange County as well.
6. Downtown Restaurants including Asha, Beachwood BBQ, District Wine, Berlin, Doly’s Delectables, Creme de la Crepe, Alegria, and the future Michael’s Pizzeria have all picked up Culinary Long Beach 2012 Foodie Awards which were voted on by the people in all parts of the City of Long Beach. Long Beach is quickly being known as a foodie city and I am glad that Downtown restaurants are making a strong impact to this growing reputation.
7. All of the aging, decrepit, faded out and rusted parking meters were repainted on entire city streets such as Long Beach Blvd, Pine Avenue, Pacific Avenue, large swaths of Linden Avenue, Elm, Broadway, 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th, 8th this year and any parking meters that have not been repainted yet on these streets will be in 2013.
8. The historic Jergens Trust Pillars have been restored and are now placed right by the Willmore Heritage Garden where they will serve as the future gateway to a large west side park being developed by the City of Long Beach.
9. Parker’s Lighthouse unveiled a renovation to their third floor and we now have the remarkable Queensview Steakhouse.
10. The Millworks revitalization of the old Press-Telegram building on Pine and 6th is moving along quite nicely with exposed brick coming back to life. Not only will this revitalized structure house hundreds of new professionals but the Meeker Baker building has also been approved for reconstruction. We expect this important development to have many positive economic impacts to Pine Avenue in the near future.
11. Great events like Zombie Walk, the Downtown’s Amazing Chase, Twilight Walk, the Grand Prix, 2nd Saturday Art Walk and the Funk Fest among others were successful this year once again in Downtown Long Beach and, we can all look forward to many more future events here.
12. Many new businesses have opened up this year including WE Labs (Work Evolution Laboratories), Ignify, Street Surfing Worldwide, Agaves, Rocco’s Deli, Make Collectives, Eclectique, and many more. These businesses are adding to the vibrancy and economic power of our Downtown.
13. We’ve seen a number of roads being repaved this year in or around Downtown on 8th, 9th, Locust, Long Beach Boulevard and 7th Street. I particularly was happy to see that brick pavers were added to the 7th Street reconstruction entering Downtown. Those details do matter when designing a first rate city.
14. The music scene is growing in Long Beach and places like MADhaus, Harvelle’s and Fingerprints are all helping to create a better music environment for Long Beach music scene aficionados.
15. We saw a parklet at Berlin installed earlier this year which has created quality outside dining that coastal city dwellers cannot get enough of. Kudos to the City of Long Beach for thinking outside of the box and getting this done. So far to date, all has been safe and let’s keep it that way.
16. We saw the first-ever Pop-Up Plaza grace Long Beach and it is right on 4th street in the Upper East Village. A parking lot was essentially turned into a place where people could congregate and enjoy city life. In the process, additional parking spaces were added. A complete win-win for the community.
17. The East Village Alleyway beautification project saw phase two completed this year, with two local artists making a powerful impact to this project and the community. Doug Kurtz, a local artist and 4th generation Long Beachian designed the fantastic East Village Alleyway Mural with local architecture in mind and brilliant colors to enhance the entire streetscape. Jeremy West, local artist, designed extremely creative metal flowers that grace the alleyway. This is a testament to show that we do have first in class artists in Long Beach that rival any other city in the world.
18. We saw many planting beautification projects happening this year across Downtown from the Willmore Heritage Garden, to greening up the parking lot on Broadway from Long Beach Blvd to Elm, to revitalizing two parkways on 4th Street next to Berlin and Fingerprints with drought tolerant low-water succulents, to the Promenade landscaping. These types of projects help to foster civic pride and help with air quality.
19. The American Hotel has started construction and is set to include an ad agency, a possible restaurant, and more.
20. Last but not least, this list wouldn’t be complete without mentioning how 2012 has seen the growth of Downtown community relationships. These relationships continue to keep forming, growing, and in many cases, lasting. Relationships between do-gooders and other do-gooders equals powerful impact. It is true what they say about Long Beach, California, we are the big city with a small town feel.

You might be wondering what is coming up for 2013? Although I am only privy to some information, this is what I know for sure… I do know that the Pine Avenue refresh is most certain to happen, discussions to further enhance the Terrace Theatre Plaza are underway, the relocation of select historic Pike memorabilia to the new Pike will start to happen early next year, exciting new restaurants will be opening, additional species of top quality trees will be added to streetscapes along Long Beach Boulevard, 7th Street and the East Village and, the new bike share program will be introduced.

They say people who volunteer in their community live happier lives. Whether you live Downtown, On Broadway, Belmont Shore, 4th Street, Bixby Knolls, Cambodia Town, 7th Street or anywhere else in Long Beach, think about volunteering as a pastime to make your community better. You’d be surprised about what you could get accomplished and I think we all know the potential Long Beach has.

Let’s all make change together and come and visit soon in one of our fantastic restaurants, stores, cafés, alleyways, plazas, parkets, or just to walk around and think of the possibilities. Our home is your home.