In a first-of-a-kind effort to draw maritime companies to downtown Long Beach, the city seaport has purchased the 13-story Oceangate office tower for $36 million to establish a permanent operational center that will lease space to its trade partners.
The deal is the marquee move of Anchor LB, a development strategy pitched by Mayor Rex Richardson during his State of the City in January to encourage companies that conduct business in the seaport — logistics firms, supply chain tech startups and customs brokers — to move their headquarters into prime office space downtown.
“The companies that power Long Beach should have a presence in the heart of Long Beach,” Richardson said in a news release.
Once open, the 226,748-square-foot tower at 100 Oceangate will house trade facilities, administrative space, and Port U, the Port’s internal training initiative, while offering leased office space to companies linked to global supply chains.
It’s currently about 70% occupied, with some already in the maritime business, as well as a City National Bank, urgent care center and Crunch Fitness. Escrow on the property is expected to close at the end of August, Port CEO Noel Hacegaba said.
Hacegaba on Wednesday emphasized the building’s location — across the street from the Port headquarters and a short drive from the harbor. It’s also a great time to buy, he said.
The purchase comes as downtown Long Beach struggles with a record commercial vacancy rate of 35.3% — higher than Irvine, El Segundo and downtown Los Angeles — that has steadily worsened since 2024. Experts tie it to shifts toward remote work, rising interest rates, and frustrations with the local unhoused population that has hit ground-floor retail and small businesses.
“We’ve never had a vacancy that high before,” said Sheva Hosseinzadeh, a downtown real estate agent with Coldwell Banker, who said her firm struggles to rent out its downtown stock, some of which has remained vacant for six months to a year.
It’s a problem that wasn’t nearly as severe even three to four years ago, she added.
One of her downtown clients, she said, was able to rent out his space after dropping its monthly price to $1.75 per square foot, well below the average downtown rate of $2.72 per square foot and the regional rate of $3.50 per square foot.
The Oceangate tower, built in 1972 and sold in 2016 for $46.5 million, is a reflection of the market’s downturn: valued at $54.3 million last year, the Los Angeles County assessor reduced its assessed value to $24.9 million this year.
Hosseinzadeh said the Port’s strategy of leasing to its existing business network makes practical sense, but one building cannot single-handedly solve the area’s broader commercial challenges.
“For somebody that is looking for space, why would you not go to an office so you’re going to be with other individuals that you’re probably already communicating with or working with in the business? Hosseinzadeh said. “But that’s just one building.”
Port officials have made it clear they intend to stick with the building for the long term.
“We’re not looking to flip this,” Hacegaba said, adding the Port is currently putting together an incentives package to offer tenants. “Our priority is to lease out the vacant office space as quickly as possible. So we will use every tool at our disposal to make that happen.”
Their target will be customers of the seaport near and far, including firms in Asia and Europe that might be interested in relocating their North American headquarters. It all plays into the Port’s goal of doubling its output by 2050, announced by Hacegaba in January during the annual state of the Port.
“If their cargo crosses our docks, we want to make sure they know that they have the opportunity to call Long Beach their home as well,” he said.