Huntington Beach's Pacific City complex aims to draw locals, tourists

The developers of a $135-million shopping center near the famed Huntington Beach Pier face an unusual challenge how to embrace the city's proud identity as Surf City without descending into surfing kitsch.

Sure, they hope to attract tourists in town to take in the beach scene, but the builders also want Orange County locals to feel comfortable at the Pacific City shopping and dining complex under construction on Pacific Coast Highway.

Signs made of surfboards, woodies parked by the valet stand and large surfing movie posters in the parking garage were considered and rejected, said Linda Berman, executive project director for developer DJM Capital Partners.

Figuring out how to communicate to visitors that they are in the "Surfing Capital of the World" without relying on cliched props has proved daunting.

"Surf culture is more attitudinal than it is aesthetic," she said. "You run out of imagery pretty quickly."

So the developers are trying to give Pacific City a laid-back beach house vibe by using natural materials such as wood and stone, accented with drought-resistant plants.

Locals will judge for themselves whether DJM hit the right notes when 11-acre Pacific City opens in summer 2015.

Work on the mall's two-level parking garage is well underway, and construction of the retail portion is scheduled to begin shortly.

The design aesthetic for Pacific City envisioned by architects Jerde Partnership and SMS Architects is a modern, craftsman-influenced beach bungalow. Restaurants there will have outdoor patio dining with ocean views.

Movies some of them surf related will be shown on an outdoor screen. The design will include what DJM calls "hang out" spaces intended to encourage people to stroll and congregate.

Continue reading here:
Huntington Beach's Pacific City complex aims to draw locals, tourists