boeingbuilding

boeingbuilding

One of the largest and most Port-proximate industrial vacancies in the region became filled Monday when it was announced Mercedes-Benz USA will soon occupy more than a million square feet of a former Boeing plant in East Long Beach.

According to CBRE, a commercial real estate company who represented landlord Sares-Regis Group and an institutional partner in the deal, the 53-acre site at 4501 E. Conant St. is significant not only in that it is Long Beach Airport adjacent, but also for the massive mixed-use development Pacific Pointe at Douglas Park, which is expected to occupy land across the street. 

“This is the largest infill industrial lease in the Los Angeles area in more than 25 years–to be able to replicate this kind of opportunity would be virtually impossible. There simply is no way to aggregate a +/-50-acre site within the infill area of Los Angeles, let alone in such close proximity to the port of Long Beach,” said CBRE’s John Schumacher. “It’s unlikely that we’ll see another opportunity for a contiguous parcel with these kinds of improvements within a 20-mile radius of the ports in the foreseeable future.”

{loadposition latestbusiness}Though the luxury automaker has not yet announced what it plans to do with the site, the long-term lease from the globally recognized brand marks an end to the City’s seven-year struggle to draw businesses into the space. A one-time Boeing 717 manufacturing facility, the building was emptied in 2006 and over the last few years has been eyed for several projects including a movie studio and the home of Tesla’s regional electric-car production. 

In 2010, Tesla signed a deal at a former NASA facility in Downey and the iconic Long Beach building with a “Fly DC Jets” sign still propped up on the roof remained unused. 

Sares-Regis Group and an institutional partner acquired the building as part of the final phase of airport-bordering land purchases, which were completed in late 2012. Future plans for development of the 260-acre space include a high-end industrial complex called Pacific Pointe, a 26-acre retail project and a 50-acre office development. A Courtyard Marriott opened on Lakewood Blvd. nearby earlier this year.

“More details will be released later by Mercedes-Benz USA on their plans for the facility, but needless to say we are excited about this opportunity to put that facility to such a good use,” said City Manager Pat West.

More information as it becomes available.

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