Tolkin wins Metlox project

MB development deal goes to clear favorite

By Gilien Silsby
STAFF WRITER

BLN

MB development deal goes to clear favorite

he Tolkin Group, a clear favorite of residents, won an exclusive contract Tuesday to develop shops, offices and a small hotel on the coveted Metlox Pottery property in downtown Manhattan Beach.

The Pasadena development group received a unanimous vote from the City Council. A dozen or so Tolkin employees greeted the vote with congratulatory hugs and pats on the back.

I'm very happy, said President Francine Tolkin, who runs the firm with her son, Jonathan. I want to let the public know how much we appreciate them.

Tolkin beat out two other development companies, CIM Group of West Los Angeles and DDR OliverMcMillan of San Diego.

There is one firm who has demonstrated an outstanding ability to work with the community: The Tolkin Group, Councilwoman Linda Wilson said.

Added Councilwoman Joan Jones: It's a beautiful, small, perfectly tailored project to fit Manhattan Beach. The Tolkin Group was the most effective in meeting the needs of the community, and that's reflected in their project.

The council had planned to award the project in late October but postponed making a decision to look at the economic implications of the three proposals.

After an exhaustive monthlong study, Keyser Marston Associates concluded that each of the three developers was capable of completing the project. Development costs for the Tolkin Group's proposal are between $25 million and $30 million.

Located three blocks from the beach, the Metlox Pottery site was purchased by the city earlier this year for $5 million.

The Tolkin Group impressed city officials and residents in September when it launched a massive public-relations campaign before submitting its vision for the site to the City Council.

That was the deciding factor for Councilman Jack Cunningham, who said the personality of the development team is more important than what it has proposed.

METLOX/A18 Metlox knocked on doors and telephoned hundreds of residents, he said. We're picking a developer, because I have no doubt the project will not look like anything of three proposals.

Francine and Jonathan Tolkin talked to residents and merchants, sought advice from town historians and even held Saturday-morning coffee meetings to find out what people in Manhattan Beach wanted to see on the land.

It paid off. At an October public hearing before the City Council, residents urged the council to choose the Tolkin Group.

The Tolkin Group's plan calls for a series of individual one- and two-story buildings.

A town square would be a plaza surrounded by a mix of shops and restaurants with ocean-view dining. A clock or lookout tower may be built along with a 6,000-square-foot performing-arts space with 250 nonfixed seats that face the square. Adjacent to the tower is a 35-room bed-and-breakfast operated by Four Sisters Inns and a day spa potentially operated by Murad. About 30,000 square feet of office space is proposed along with 365 parking spaces.

It's not only about money and return on investment, Mayor Steve Napolitano said. It's also about quality of life. I see the development here as an extension of the downtown. I say to the others, don't go away, we're not done yet. If things don't work out, the first place I'm going to look is to the two of you.

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DAILY BREEZE
August 19, 1999

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