Redondo Beach Legado project opens; mayor skeptical, hopeful

by Garth Meyer

It is open. The Eddy Redondo Residences, or Legado project, at the corner of Pacific Coast Highway and Palos Verdes Boulevard has tenants moving in. 

The four-acre site of a former Bristol Farms grocery store and before that The Strand music venue, is now a five-story residential complex with ground floor retail space.

“It’s 99 percent done,” said Iryna Ellis, Eddy community manager. “Only touch-ups left. The pool is ready, the jacuzzi, the gas is on.”

The first move-ins began in early May to the 115-unit building, its one, two and three-bedroom apartments renting at $3,999 per month to $9,500. The three-bedroom penthouse is $20,000.

Residents are now living in three apartments, with seven more to be moved-into this weekend, Ellis said. A total of 22 leases have been signed. 

The building’s first-floor retail space of 22.000 feet remains empty, though Legado Companies’  CEO Edward Czuker told Easy Reader that South Bay establishments Martha’s (Hermosa Beach cafe), The Bottle Inn (Hermosa Beach Italian restaurant) and The Studio MDR Pilates (Manhattan Beach) will be “opening their doors soon.”

“We’re talking to other businesses that could join us,” Ellis said.

Redondo Beach Mayor Jim Light is one of the local voices skeptical of the project.

“I don’t like this kind of development; the commercial doesn’t provide the revenue for the city,” he said. “The zoning was optimized for residential over commercial (which is) not as attractive to someone who doesn’t live in the building. A hundred residents can’t patronize a business enough… I’m hopeful it’s different with this one.”

The mayor noted previous Redondo Beach developments 1800 PCH and 2001 Artesia Boulevard, saying, “The commercial has underperformed on them.”

“I’d have expanded the commercial component,” he said, about the Eddy. “It shouldn’t be dominated by residential. It’s this giant wall of development. The renderings looked like you’d have deeper balconies, more articulation…”

Legado Companies is based in Beverly Hills.

“We understand there are a range of perspectives on development,” Legado CEO Czuker said. “That said, we believe The Eddy is already proving how thoughtful design and community-focused tenants can create lasting value for Redondo Beach.”

The original plan for Eddy Redondo, in 2014, was for a larger, 180-unit complex, which was then pared down to 146 units, then 115, in order to get approval from the Redondo Beach city council.

Next to it (and part of the project), the renovation and remaking of Palos Verdes Inn is ongoing – expected to open in six to nine months as a 110-key hotel with modern exterior and rooftop pool deck.

The Los Angeles Business Journal reported that, in 2019, Legado Companies signed a 12-year, $75 million loan to build the Eddy.

Strife

During the process to gain Redondo city approval, the Eddy was a source of consternation for nearby residents.

They spoke out about the proposed size – initially slated for 36,000 square feet of retail space – and a perception that Legado had done an incomplete job of local outreach. 

The city council first denied the project. A lawsuit followed, then a 2017 settlement agreement between Legado and the city.

It required, in part, that the city council take action on the project by June 30, 2018.

The city council ultimately approved, in a 5-0 vote, a 115-unit plan, a sound study, and closure of the hotel’s rooftop deck by 10 p.m. each night.

Palos Verdes Inn has been closed since a 2015 fire. Czuker told the city council that the hotel would be upgraded to a “three-plus or four-plus star” accommodations. 

Changes on the way include its facade, moving the restaurant and lobby, a full redesign of the guestrooms, and a new four-story entry component with a rooftop pool and bar above.

Features

At the Eddy Residences, the pool furniture came from Bali, four chairs in the recreation room were specifically made for the building by the designer of the spinning chairs on NBC’s “The Voice.”

The conference room off of the business room has been upgraded to be the “podcast room.”

As for the building’s coming commercial tenants, Czuker reported that, “Each one is already talking to the city, submitting tenant improvement plans (to get permits).”

At that point, they would get started?

“Immediately,” Czuker said, of what would account for roughly half of the Eddy’s retail space.

“We are in negotiations for the other half, some of which are also local names that the community will recognize,” Czuker said.

Mayor Light’s concerns remain.

“It should’ve had more commercial, the parking been more inviting, more open on the surface,” he said. “So when you go there, you go for more than one thing.”

“I’m hoping there’s enough pedestrian traffic coming from Riviera Village.”

 “It’s a cliff of a building. Almost an urban canyon, A big edifice. If we had zoned it correctly, each floor would have to be set back.”

Light was not mayor at the time the project was approved, nor on the city council. 

“I want the commercial component to succeed, I just haven’t seen it work in that kind of development in Redondo,” he said, indicating more enthusiasm for the hotel. “The city will definitely get T.O.T. (transit occupancy tax) and sales tax from the restaurant.” 

The hotel is set to be named “Eddy Redondo Hotel” but could change if a hospitality company takes ownership. 

A ribbon cutting for the Eddy has been scheduled for July 24.

“I think it is beautiful inside and out, and I would invite anyone to come see it for themselves and take a tour,” Czuker said. 

In the end, the long-gestating project has come to fruition. 

“After years of dedicated effort and collaboration with city staff, city council, and the broader community, The Eddy now delivers much-needed housing and a vibrant ground-floor home for beloved South Bay businesses,” Czuker said. “We welcome the community to visit and experience firsthand the positive energy and economic potential The Eddy brings.” ER