Shaheen Sadeghi of Costa Mesa-based LAB Holding LLC got the green light from Long Beach City Council to turn city-owned property in the north part of town into a “small-business friendly” retail center.
The developer will pay a discounted price of $2.6 million for 30 “surplus” properties totaling 176,613 square feet near the intersection of South Street and Atlantic Avenue and another $4.4 million for 18 nearby parcels, a fair-market value, according to a city staff report.
He plans to turn the properties into a retail center tentatively called North Village Center that’s scheduled to open in the summer of 2019, according to city filings.
“Development will be a significant economic engine, a catalyst to additional investment and job generation,” Michael Conway, the city’s director of economic and property development, said during the city council meeting. He also cited LAB’s Anaheim Packing House, the LAB Antimall and The Camp in Costa Mesa as model projects.
—Mediha DiMartino
