LONG BEACH - Seven years after Boeing Co. shuttered its 717 plant, a luxury automaker will take over the former commercial aircraft manufacturing facility in East Long Beach.
Mercedes-Benz USA has leased nearly 1.1 million square feet at the former Boeing 717 plant at 4501 East Conant St. in a long-term contract with landlord SARES-REGIS Group and Institutional Partner, according to CBRE, a commercial real estate firm.
CBRE's John Schumacher and Brian DeRevere represented the landlord in the transaction and announced the news Monday.
"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," Schumacher said in a statement.
"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. 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."
Closed in 2006 after commercial aircraft manufacturing ceased there, the 717 site attracted various businesses, including a movie studio that never materialized and Tesla Motors, who considered it a home for manufacturing its Model S sedans in 2010.
No word yet on what will be done with the iconic neon "Fly DC Jets" sign still on its rooftop.
SARES-REGIS Group and an Institutional Partner acquired in several phases the building across the street from the 260-acre mixed-use development known as Pacific Pointe at Douglas Park, including a 52-acre 717 site at Lakewood Boulevard and Conant Street across from the airport.
The development includes plans for a future 26-acre retail project, a 50-acre office development and +/- 750,000 square feet of high-end industrial development, according to CBRE.
(Press Telegram - Karen Robes Meeks)
