Creating Amenities for Residents and Community

Larsen: “Part of the uniqueness of this project is the trend of really being authentic to your location.”

HUNTINGTON BEACH, CA—One thing that makes the Residences at Pacific City so unique is its amenities building and use of open space, which serve to draw the community in and allow them to embrace the iconic property, MVE Architects ‘ principal Jeff Larsen and associate partner Pieter Berger tell GlobeSt.com. Now mid-way through construction on the project, MVE is unveiling the amenities building, which includes storage lockers inspired by the World Surfing League tour lockers for easy access to surfboards, paddleboards and other beach equipment; onsite meeting rooms and an Internet -enabled coffee shop; and a fitness center with yoga studio and sports simulators. We spoke exclusively with Larsen and Berger about the inspiration behind the Residences at Pacific City and how multifamily design is changing. GlobeSt.com: What inspired the uniqueness of the Residences at Pacific City? Larsen: It’s a high-level thing and not that apparent when you first look at the site. There’s a large amount of open space that’s provided on the site, which is unusual in today’s development environment. We did a few things to take bigger advantage of that. The City had a requirement for a 2-acre park , so we grabbed onto that park as part of our central space and put the whole amenity space adjacent to that. The housing wraps its arm around that amenity and central-park space, and it makes a really big impact. It was interesting to have been able to do that, to combine the center space with that park. There’s also an inside curve with a reflection to an outside curve to the community edge, which creates a landscape area to the outside with our existing neighbors creates. Some of the large courtyard spaces are larger than typically found in developments. and this really will be felt in the community. We were involved in the initial entitlement, and it was always for 516 units, but it was originally going to be condos for sale of a larger square footage—about 1,500 square feet on average. When we got down to an apartment size, it still had 516 units. We shaped this place to take advantage of the things given to us and put that to the benefits of the residents. It’s a different kind of place to live, with all the open space available, in an area with a lot of density.

Berger: “There’s floor-to-ceiling glass in this project, which is rare for multifamily development. It takes advantage of the natural light and ocean breezes. That’s where things are trending, and it’s beginning to affect multifamily design in very positive way.”

GlobeSt.com: How do you see modern multifamily design changing? Berger: Especially in Southern California, it’s all about indoor/outdoor quality of life. With modern architecture, we wanted to push away from a punched smaller-window look and create an element of glass. There’s floor-to-ceiling glass in this project, which is rare for multifamily development. It takes advantage of the natural light and ocean breezes. That’s where things are trending, and it’s beginning to affect multifamily design in very positive way. Larsen: Part of the uniqueness of this project is the trend of really being authentic to your location. That’s becoming so much more important. Pacific City’s retail is a more curated space aimed at bringing people from the local community into the development , to become part of community and an expansion of what’s going on. It was authentic for us to really relate to the beach culture, and we’ve done that in a really big way. There are a lot of notions about the beach culture, but you don’t have to be a surfer to be part of it.

An aerial view of Pacific City shows how the uses work together to reflect the beach and surf lifestyle.

Berger: In multifamily residential, it’s all about amenities . With this project’s proximity to the ocean, that’s the greatest amenity of all. The amenities building enhances beach experiences with surf lockers, showers, an internal boardwalk connecting to the main crossing points of PCH to get to the beach and amenities that lead to the community as well. Larsen: We’re seeing the square footage of each apartment unit driven down smaller, which drives the need for amenities and other spaces to be a part of an apartment community. It ties into interesting needs and also other ways to get out of your unit and part of the social element and create a community. In the past, people were happy to live in their unit and socialize in a different way; now, they’re trying to find something else that’s closer to where they live. GlobeSt.com: Which multifamily amenities do you see emerging in the future? Berger: Any amenity that promotes an active lifestyle. We have an urge in Southern California to be out and active and enjoy the great weather. Any amenity that allows them to live that active lifestyle and take advantage of what SoCal has to offer is part of the trend of where amenities are going in this project or any other.

The amenities building at Pacific City combines elements of living, working, playing and community.  

Larsen: It has to do with the way people work today and the opportunities for flexibility and the fact that many more people are able to work from home these days. The environment for the things we’re doing at Pacific City will help support that. There are a couple of pavilion spaces and courtyards that are quiet and allow you to work. People are interested in being able to work with other people in the space, to be alone together, a concept that started in college. We see the leasing office being something more than that, something that can transition even to being taken over by residents in the evening or even in the daytime. If that’s the place they want to hang out and work on their own, they can come and go in that space. We have a dedicated space for that type of work environment at Pacific City. Berger:  We also have a more formalized conference room that people can reserve, so they can can work in informal spaces, but they can also have a more formal type of meeting—both with all the connectivity you would have in a typical office building. So, you can live the lifestyle you want and still stay connected at the appropriate level. Larsen: Another trend is that Millennials are growing up and moving to more suburban areas. Are Boomers going to come in some of these spaces like Pacific City? I could see that happening when you get to the point where you want to simplify your life; you go to places like Pacific City and choose to rent. The Boomer clientele has a lock-it-and-leave-it attitude, and they want everything within walking distance and to able to enjoy a simplified life. The older group has a lot of friends, so there’s some opportunity to develop a lease-out formal dining room so they can have events in a large amenity space. The community will also offer nice rooftop terraces for premium units. Berger:  It will be very much like a custom home, with barbecues, etc. The residences will be high enough that all of those decks will be over the retail environment and have unobstructed water views. Larsen: Another nice feature is that a spiral staircase will take you to the roof. GlobeSt.com: What else should our readers know about the Residences at Pacific City? Berger: When we first approached the overall concept of the architecture, we looked strongly at the ocean and surfing culture. A lot of people will jump to a negative connotation about that and think of high school dropouts that want to surf all day. But this is a multi-billion-dollar industry, the surf culture. It’s not just a certain class of people who do this—they’re people who have jobs and careers and that’s how they choose to be active and the lifestyle they lead. Surfing is the new golf in Southern California. We’re paying respects to that culture and lifestyle in that specific way, and it came out in architecture. The amenities building actually takes on the shape of a wave breaking. There’s an emphasis on authenticity; it’s not hokey. The elements can’t be plopped into another town because they’re unique to Surf City. With developers leveraging development and redevelopment opportunities across all property types, how can you capitalize on this activity?  Join us  at RealShare Orange County on August 16^th for impactful information from the leaders in Orange County CRE. Learn  more . Steady gains in the US economy have resulted in net positives for the multifamily sector—will this wave continue for the foreseeable future? What’s driving development and capital flows? Join us at RealShare Apartments on October 19 & 20 for impactful information from the leaders in the National multifamily space. Learn more.