What’s always set Malibu apart is the way of life that lies under the surface — the people who remain, or return, once summer ends, the favorite restaurant, the easygoing businesses, the hidden beach, the place so close to and yet so far from Los Angeles.
That’s the spirit incorporated in the recently updated Carbon Beach Center, home to a group of neighborhood-serving stores and amenities away from the crowds.
“With all the changes at Cross Creek, we felt there was an opportunity to take an existing retail center on the south side of Malibu and to reimagine it as a convenient and comfortable center for residents,” said owner Patrick Tooley who acquired the building in 2012. His company, Tooley Interests, specializes in human-scale, mixed-use buildings that deliver shops and businesses individually tailored to communities.
“It’s an easy-access space that you can swing by on your way home for groceries, or a slice of pizza,” Development Vice President James Tooley added.
Meeting friends, family or a business partner for a meal?
“The rooftop deck, with a stunning view of the ocean and horizon, has been redesigned for restaurant diners,” he noted.
Though the center, located on the PCH across from Carbon Beach, celebrated a reopening in July, Malibu businesses remain at its core.
One such example is the natural foods gourmet grocery store PC Greens, which has a full-service fish, poultry and meat department as well as organic produce and delivery options.
The center has always been “cherished by locals for its discreet simplicity. It combines excellent food establishments, fashion designers, digital media artists, health and financial services,” said Walter Adrian of Plate Restaurant Malibu, a center tenant.
What has changed is the design, with award-winning architect David Montalba engaged to update the building. Montalba’s international practice has brought the understated elegance of modernism to retail projects and restaurants such as Carbon Beach Center neighbor Nobu, across the street.
Included in the updates are enhancements to the lobby and outdoor seating spaces for guests of Pilates Plus Malibu, Primary Caring of Malibu, D’Amores Pizza, Townsend Group Investments, Vivid Candi and Mark & Estel.
“Modernizing the Carbon Beach Center is the best thing that has happened to our building in a long time. It will give our beautiful ocean view location a more sophisticated high end aesthetic, which will likely help every business within it and contribute to the modernization of Carbon Beach Real Estate,” said Chris Wizner, CEO of Vivid Candi, Inc., a full service digital agency.
The Carbon Beach Center is located at 22601 Pacific Coast Hwy.