This probably won’t be the last any of us hears of plans to tear down the vacant Roberts department store on Atlantic Avenue and put up a Marshalls store, but at yesterday’s Redevelopment Agency board meeting, the board approved what the Press-Telegram’s Karen Robes calls “third-stage design plans” for the Marshalls.

At their last meeting April 21, the board had worried about the look of the new Marshalls–a blend of stucco, flagstone and tile you’ve seen a million times before–and that the entire shopping center might not get that same familiar look.

“All of the back property is what I would call a blighted property,” RDA board Vice Chairman William Baker said in an interview in the days after the April 21 meeting. “It needs to be revitalized and let people know these businesses are there.”

Cultural Heritage Commissioner E. Thor Carlson spoke at the April 21 meeting, reminding the board that the Roberts store–though vacant for years–is one of Bixby Knolls last intact pieces of midcentury modern commercial architecture.

Of course the store’s value depends on who you ask. At yesterday’s meeting, Robes reports that a representative for the developer, GGF LLC, “said the building - which has asbestos and seismic issues - holds no historic significance.” Naturally! Thanks, GGF, for setting us all straight on that.

Eighth District Councilwoman Rae Gabelich seemed pleased at the board’s favorable vote.

“This has been a long, long road revitalizing the Bixby Knolls Shopping Center, and people challenged me and said it couldn’t be done, and here we are in the final loop to crawl through,” Gabelich told the Press-Telegram.

“I know that you can’t make everybody happy,” Gabelich said in the P-T. “I just know that [the Marshalls] is going to be wonderful for the 8th District and the surrounding areas.”

And that’s the story so far.

Tags: bixby knolls, Long Beach, Marshalls, redevelopment