The arcade building at Shoreline Village has already been torn down. For years it stood between the boardwalk and some of the best views in Long Beach, the Queen Mary on one side and the downtown skyline on the other. According to Longbeachize's October 6 report on the project, clearing it was partly the point. The demolition helps reopen views that the buildings and their add-ons had slowly blocked since the village opened in 1982.
That sums up the whole project. This is the village's first real overhaul in more than four decades, and most of the visible change so far is subtraction. The new things on the plans are mostly open space that nobody leases. The village that comes back will have the same shops and restaurants, with a lot more room between them.
What came down, and what was taken off the plans
Pacific Ocean Management runs the property, and its redevelopment page says work started in January 2026. The page also says shops and restaurants would stay open during construction, with signage guiding visitors around work zones. By October, Longbeachize was reporting several decisions that pointed the same way:
- The arcade building is gone. The arcade business itself is staying. Fun Factory's Pelican Pier is building a new location next to the bike shop, and no opening date has been announced.
- The parking garage is off the table. In 2023, the Long Beach Post reported that the Planning Commission had approved a version of the revamp that included a two-story parking structure. The current plan keeps surface parking instead, adds about 80 spaces, and changes the entrances and exits.
- The arcade carousel isn't coming back. Debra Fixen, director of property management, told Longbeachize it was never the historic carousel from the original Pike, despite what gets passed around online. It also got little use. A smaller carousel could be considered later, but it isn't confirmed.
Fixen also said older Studio One Eleven drawings are a big source of confusion. Those renderings show an earlier proposal, not the project being built now. If a rendering you've seen online has a parking structure in it, it's out of date.
The total amount of tenant space stays about the same. Some businesses will move within the property, but the overall footprint for shops and restaurants isn't shrinking or growing. So the new value goes into the spaces between the buildings.
Where the new space goes
According to property management, the project keeps 90% of the existing buildings. Here's what is being added around them:
| Addition | What's planned | What it's for |
|---|---|---|
| Public outdoor space | More than 5,000 square feet | Walking and gathering, no purchase needed |
| Boardwalk | More than 100 linear feet added, plus new decking, railings and lighting | Opening up harbor views |
| "Yin and yang" buildings | Two semicircular structures with stepped seating, where the arcade used to be | One looks at the Queen Mary, the other at the marina and downtown |
| Boardwalk projection | Ocean-themed imagery projected onto the walking surface at scheduled times | Making the walk itself something to see |
| Off Broadway stage | Opened up, with a large screen | Live music, plus an outdoor movie area |
| Public art | Original murals by regional artists and a kinetic artwork | More reasons to stop |
Nearly everything in that table is free to use. Movie programming for the new screening area will come from Kris Gragson, who runs Moonlight Movies on the Beach. Longbeachize lists everything from Olympic watch parties to new film nights among the plans. Fixen said the upgrades support "Shoreline Village's longstanding commitment to free and affordable community entertainment."
She described the projection show in the same terms. Speaking to Longbeachize, she called it "an appealing possibility for a waterfront often experienced as a collection of destinations," adding that "the walk between those destinations becomes an experience in itself."
The two semicircular buildings make the most direct case for what the arcade site was really worth. Instead of a building that hid the Queen Mary, the corner gets a building with stepped seating and a view of the ship, and Fixen described the area around them as a place for art and smaller performances. She told Longbeachize the final design came out of years of planning, with input from the community and council members. One request kept coming up: keep the village's nostalgic, whimsical character.
The one deadline that's yours
The railings with the love locks will be replaced as construction reaches them. Management is asking anyone who wants to keep an existing lock to take it off by the end of 2026, and to do it soon. No exact removal date has been set, because it depends on when construction materials arrive. So the railings could come down before December 31.
A new dedicated spot for love locks is part of the plan, but its final design is still being worked out. Longbeachize reports that visitors shouldn't assume locks on the current railings will be moved to it. "We know what these locks mean to people. Proposals, anniversaries, first dates," Fixen told the outlet. "That's exactly why we're building a new home for them as part of this project, not just taking them away."
If one of those locks is yours and the key is long gone, the Shoreline Village management office is the place to ask how to get it back.
October 17 is a test run for the new layout
The village is still hosting events during construction. The first big one shows how the space works with fences up. Shoreline Village's annual Long Beach Zombie Walk and Halloween Party is Saturday, October 17. It's free and no tickets are required. Highlights from the posted schedule:
- 6 to 8 p.m. Kids craft booth near Rocky Mountain Chocolates
- 7 p.m. Costume contest for the best zombie, all ages, at the off Boardwalk stage near the Funnel House
- 7 to 9 p.m. Candy thrown from the balcony for aerial trick-or-treating, plus roaming scarers
- 7:30 p.m. Pie-eating contest at the same stage
- 8 p.m. The Zombie Walk, starting near the Arcade area
- 8:30 to 10 p.m. The Clowns, an alt/punk band, on the main stage
The walk's listed starting point is next to the site where the arcade building just came down, so expect some crowding around the work zones. Organizers say paid parking will be limited and will sell out, and they suggest carpooling, rideshare or other transportation. They also say the night will be genuinely scary, and they ask people not to bring infants or dogs that spook easily.
October 17 is also a busy day downtown. The Downtown Long Beach calendar lists DTLB Live! Halloween Edition on the Promenade from 4 to 8 p.m. that day. The same calendar lists the Long Beach Open Studio Tour on October 17 and 18, with more than 120 artists across more than 80 studios. If you skip the car, you can do the Promenade in the late afternoon and walk to the harbor in time for the costume contest. Across the water, Visit Long Beach lists the Queen Mary's Dark Harbor running through November 1.
The names on the boardwalk this fall
The village's own Halloween page, posted in September, is the newest list of names. Its event schedule and local-business promotions name Tugboat Pete's, Tequila Jack's, Shenanigan's, Louisiana Charlie's, Funnel House, Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory, Cayden's Candy, Queen Mary Couture, Pirates Cove, Rain Dance, Long Beach Exotic Jerky, Twisters & Coffee and Gilan Pizza. Being on the page doesn't confirm a business's current hours, though.
The village's dining directory also lists Parkers' Lighthouse and Queensview Steakhouse for sit-down dinners and Yard House among its casual spots. Its attractions page lists Spirit Cruises, the AKA Glass Bottom Boat, Long Beach Parasail and Wheel Fun Rentals. Those directory pages were posted years ago, and some businesses are moving within the property during construction. Calling ahead before planning a dinner around one of them saves a wasted trip.
What still has no date
Some key details are still undecided. Neither the redevelopment page nor the October reporting gives a completion date or a phasing schedule. Pelican Pier's new location has no opening date. The love-lock railings have no removal date. The design of the new love-lock spot isn't final, a smaller carousel is only a possibility, and the art program is still adding ideas.
Things on the property's own calendar have been easier to pin down. The Zombie Walk is on October 17, and existing love locks need to come off by the end of the year. The boardwalk, stage and seating will open whenever construction finishes. For now, the shops and restaurants are open with fences around them.
Shoreline Village is a useful example of a repositioning project: an aging waterfront property that keeps almost all of its buildings and tenant space and puts its money into the open space around them. At The FJO Group, we look at retail and hospitality properties the same way, through access, frontage, how people move through a site and what keeps them there. If you own or lease space in Long Beach and want to talk through how changes along the waterfront could affect your plans, get in touch.
