Boardmembers of the Long Beach Redevelopment Agency today directed City staff to consult three architectural firms for proposals on developing a North Long Beach development on Atlantic Avenue that currently contains the 67-year old Atlantic Theater, a well-known and highly regarded theater that may be demolished to make way for the planned North Village Center.
A decision on the fate of the theater was expected today, but the board modified the recommendation before them (to approve moving forward with demolishing the theatre).
Instead, the board opted instead to seek an RFP (Request For Proposal) from three architectural firms with proposals on how to move forward with the development. The board asked that firms submit ideas for the North Village Center that include a brand new building (meaning the demolition of the theater), an adaptive reuse building (meaning parts of the theater left intact) and a third design that would be a hybrid of the first two concepts.
Director of the Long Beach Redevelopment Agency Craig Beck said that staff will seek responses from three architectural firms and return to the board sometime in January with their findings.