Manhattan Beach's City Council on Tuesday, Sept. 15, got its first look at schematic designs for a city-owned downtown property at 400 Manhattan Beach Blvd.

The review was part of Project Pulse, the city's plan to reimagine two adjacent downtown parcels: the former U.S. Bank building at 400 Manhattan Beach Blvd. and the site of the demolished Parking Lot 3 at 1155 Morningside Drive. Easy Reader described the effort as the most significant downtown makeover since the Metlox. Community Development Director Masa Alkire presented the item, which the council agenda estimated would take 90 minutes.

The council's direction from the meeting has not yet been made public. Meeting minutes have not been posted.

The city bought the 16,500-square-foot former bank property on April 15, 2025, for $13 million. Parking Lot 3, a 15,500-square-foot site where a three-level, 145-space garage stood since the 1970s, was demolished in November 2024 after a seismic evaluation found the structure needed major retrofits or full replacement. An interim 69-space surface lot opened in June 2025.

Both sites are zoned Downtown Commercial and sit within the Coastal Zone.

The Sept. 15 agenda packet included a schematic design package for 400 Manhattan Beach Blvd., a feasibility report on an underground parking connection to the Metlox, pedestrian plaza survey results from August 2026, preliminary traffic data and a Planning Commission staff report dated Aug. 12. The council was asked to discuss the materials and provide direction.

The city hired architecture firm Gensler for Project Pulse's design and public engagement work under a contract listed on the March 17 council agenda at up to $160,000. Public outreach included a FlashVote survey in April 2026, a design charrette workshop and a community open house in July.

"The turnover in downtown Manhattan Beach is unprecedented right now and we are all talking about it," Kelly Stroman, executive director of the Downtown Manhattan Beach Business and Professionals Association, told MB News in July, as shops and restaurants churned through the district where the two Project Pulse sites sit.

An original timeline presented at an August 2025 study session called for conceptual design approval by August 2026, followed by nine months of design development and environmental review, construction documents through December 2027 and financing plans through June 2028. The Sept. 15 review came about a month past that initial target.

The next City Council meetings are scheduled for Oct. 6 and Oct. 20, both at 6 p.m.