A $152 million construction loan has cleared the way for a 390-unit apartment project, with 390 new units set to rise along Pacific Coast Highway in place of an aging office complex and surface parking lot. The loan, closed by Truist for developer Carmel Partners, will fund Marina Shores, a six-story mixed-income community planned for 6615 E. Pacific Coast Highway.
Truist served as administrative agent and sole bookrunner on the financing, according to ConnectCRE. Jason Paxton oversaw the transaction, while Walt Reece, a director on Truist Securities' Real Estate Syndicated Finance team, led syndication efforts, per Commercial Observer. The outlet also reported that Truist declined to disclose the loan's interest rate or maturity date. Los Angeles-based Carmel Partners is developing the project, which broke ground in October.
A Mixed-Income Project With Ground-Floor Retail
Marina Shores is described as a mixed-income development, and city approval records show the project will include 390 apartments, with 17 priced for very low-income residents, according to the Long Beach Post. Reports differ slightly on the amount of ground-floor commercial space the project will carry: Commercial Observer put the figure at approximately 5,400 square feet, while the Long Beach Post's reporting on the development puts it at 5,351 square feet of commercial space, alongside parking for more than 500 cars and nearly 200 bicycles. Marina Shores is expected to be completed around May 2029, per Commercial Observer's reporting.
The site itself has a notable backstory. The Marina Shores retail center, on a separate neighboring property from Carmel Partners’ project, sold for $67.9 million to Vancouver-based developer Onni Group, the Long Beach Business Journal reported. The Business Journal also noted that Long Beach's Southeast Area Specific Plan had already flagged Marina Shores and nearby parcels as potential sites for residential or mixed-use development totaling as many as 2,500 units.
Part of a Bigger Pacific Coast Highway Build-Out
Marina Shores is not an isolated project. ConnectCRE frames it as part of a broader revitalization effort along Pacific Coast Highway that is bringing significant new housing to the corridor. Just down the road, Holland Partner Group is building a six-story, 590,000-square-foot mixed-use project at 6700 Pacific Coast Highway with 281 apartments, 3,100 square feet of ground-floor retail, and parking for 507 vehicles, according to Urbanize LA. Thirteen of those units will be set aside for very low-income households, the outlet reported.
Across the street at 6500 Pacific Coast Highway, Onni Group has cleared a former shopping center to make way for a planned 600-unit development, Urbanize LA noted — a project the Long Beach Planning Commission approved back in 2023, according to The Registry. Taken together, the Long Beach Post reported that the approved developments near the 2nd Street and PCH corridor would replace stores, restaurants, office buildings and parking lots with nearly 1,000 new housing units and more than 9,000 square feet of commercial space.
Thousands of Units in the Pipeline
Zoom out further, and the scale of change becomes even clearer. Across the three area projects combined, 1,271 apartments are planned, with 30 priced for lower-income families, according to the Long Beach Post's coverage of the city council's decision to uphold approval of the 390-unit project near PCH and Second Street. The city has separately said it would start the year with three affordable housing developments under construction, including a 51-unit project for people who have experienced homelessness at 101 E. Pacific Coast Highway, per a City of Long Beach announcement touting more than 5,000 newly approved homes citywide.
For now, Marina Shores is another planned project along that corridor, with Truist's $152 million loan giving Carmel Partners the funding to turn a tired office park and parking lot into hundreds of new homes along one of Long Beach's busiest stretches of Pacific Coast Highway.
