Onni Group, the real estate investment firm behind many recent high-rise developments in Downtown Los Angeles, has started construction on its first project Long Beach.

According to Longbeachize, the Vancouver-based firm has broken ground on the Broadway Block development, a $215-million mixed-use complex located along the east side of Long Beach Boulevard between Broadway and 3rd Street.  Plans call for approximately 400 residential unit, 23,000 square feet of ancillary uses - including offices, art galleries, restaurants, and a performing arts venue for Cal State Long Beach - and parking for 582 vehicles.

Renderings of the Broadway Block complex depict two buildings - a 21-story tower fronting 3rd Street and a squat seven-story edifice along Broadway.  Additionally, an open-air courtyard will be located at the center of the property.

The project is being designed by San Diego- and Palo Alto-based architecture firm RWQA.

In addition to ground-up construction, the project will also include the reuse of the former Acres of Books building, though Longbeachize reports that Onni Group has not announced what its function will be.

Onni Group acquired the project site in late 2018 from Ratkovich Properties, Urbana, LLC, and the Owl Companies, which secured entitlements for the project.

The Broadway Block will abut another recent development called the Huxton, consisting of 40 townhomes at the intersection of Broadway and Elm Street. 

Additionally, a boutique hotel broke ground roughly one year ago on a property across Long Beach Boulevard.

The Broadway Block is one of a handful of high-rise projects in the works for Downtown Long Beach, including a 35-story tower now rising on Ocean Boulevard which is slated to become the City's tallest building.