CITY COUNCIL: Project Pulse narrowed to parking, mixed use, open space
by Mark McDermott The Manhattan Beach City Council last April authorized purchase of the former U.S. Bank site in the heart of downtown, in part to stave off dense residential development that state laws would have encouraged for the 16,570 square feet, three-parcel tract. In buying the property, for $13 million, the City of Manhattan Beach acquired a piece of a larger puzzle that also includes, one block away, its Lot 3 parking lot. The Lot 3 structure had to be demolished last August due to structural deterioration. It was replaced with a temporary lot while the city determined a way forward. On Tuesday night, the Council considered ways the two big puzzle pieces might fit together in what could be a significant revision of downtown Manhattan Beach. City staff have dubbed the undertaking “Project Pulse,” but just what that project might be has remained uncertain. Ideas from community input have ranged from open space to art center to parking lots and a hotel. City Manager Talyn Mirzakhanian told the council that staff needed the council’s direction on uses to explore for the two sites. “The more direct the council can be about what you are interested in seeing on each site, the…
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