Tuesday, October 9, 2012

Boeing sells 717 site in final Douglas Park land deal

LONG BEACH — Boeing Realty Corp. has sold the last parcel of the Douglas Park development by the Long Beach Airport that was once a center of aircraft manufacturing.

Irvine-based real estate company Sares Regis Group on Monday announced the acquisition of 160 acres, which with 33.6 acres the company already owned, gives it the lion's share of the 261-acre Douglas Park.

According to a press release, the group plans to develop the property with the potential for about 3.2 million square feet of premier office, industrial and retail facilities.

The purchase includes a 52-acre parcel on the site of the former Boeing 717 hangar at Lakewood Boulevard and Conant Street across from the airport.

Known for its iconic neon "Fly DC Jets" sign that is still on its rooftop, the building was shuttered in 2006 after the company ceased its commercial aircraft manufacturing there. The site consists of a 575,000-square-foot building and a 434,200-square-foot building.

"This is one of the largest and most exciting real estate purchases by Sares Regis Group," said Peter Rooney, president of Sares Regis Group's Commercial Investment Division, said in a news release. "Boeing has created a world-class master plan that has transformed the area into one of the most desirable new business locations in Southern California."

Terms of the acquisition, including the price, weren't immediately available.

Rooney couldn't be reached for further comment, and representatives with Boeing declined to comment Monday.

After plans for residential development at Douglas Park were cancelled years ago, recent commercial projects now planned include major industrial developments, a new hotel and a retail center.

Sares Regis has also moved forward with construction of a $95 million corporate headquarters development on the property it already owned, including seven industrial buildings on two separate parcels, to be called Pacific Pointe.

Nearby, developer Nexus Companies recently closed escrow on the purchase of 4.5 acres for a new Courtyard by Marriott hotel and 10,000 square feet of retail space.

Sares Regis' new 160 acres is made up of two 80-acre parcels and includes two former aviation production facilities.

The aircraft production hangars were built at the outset of World War II by Douglas Aircraft Co., whose workers turned out some 15,000 airplanes, including the legendary DC-3 transport and B-17 heavy bomber at the site.

"We have a long and gratifying relationship with Boeing and have enjoyed a very good working relationship with the City of Long Beach," Rooney said in the news release.

One of the 80-acre parcels includes two large aircraft hangars known as the 717 Facility. One of the hangars is topped by an iconic neon sign that reads "Fly DC Jets."

In 1997 McDonnell Douglas merged with The Boeing Co. Aircraft production at the facilities was ceased in 2006.

CBRE brokers Bob Smith, Brian DeRevere and John Schumacher represented both parties in the transaction.

(Kelsey Duckett - Press Telegram)

No comments: