Skechers, the nation’s number two shoe brand, plans to build a 98,871 square foot design center and a 34,468 executive office on the west side of Pacific Coast Highway in Hermosa Beach. The two buildings, on either side of 30th Street, will be connected by a bridge and a tunnel, according to a planning application recently submitted to the Hermosa Community Development Department.
The project is expected to take approximately two years to complete.
The north end of the site was formerly occupied by Midas Muffler and the south end by Vasek Polak BMW. The project also includes a property on the south side of Longfellow Avenue, one lot west of Pacific Coast Highway. The design will compliment the Skechers building across the street and one block north, in Manhattan Beach. Its architect, David Hibbert, also designed the Manhattan Beach building.
The Manhattan Beach building serves as Skechers corporate headquarters and its product showroom. Twice a year, Skechers invites 500 to 1,500 buyers and employees to a three-day Global Sales Conference at the Redondo Beach Performing Arts Center. In the past, the attendees have also visited Skechers’ showrooms at its Manhattan Beach office.
The new Design Center will replace the showrooms at the Manhattan Beach office. The Design Center will include 35 to 40 1,000 square-foot showrooms, 35 to 40 500 square-foot product development rooms, a company cafeteria and a shoe library, according to the planning application.
The Design Center is expected to house 250 to 350 employees and the executive offices another 100 to 150. A three level, subterranean garage will provide over 500 parking spaces.
Editor’s note: Easy Reader previously, mistakenly identified a preschool on the north side of Longfellow Avenue as a part of the Skechers project. Skechers’Â Longfellow property is on the South Side of Longfellow Avenue. Easy Reader apologizes for the error.
