Boeing in discussions with potential buyers of 30 acres of Huntington Beach site
Boeing Co. is moving closer to selling part of its Huntington Beach campus as the aerospace company works to scale down some of its facilities by 2020.
Kellee Fritzal, Huntington Beach’s deputy director of business development, said Wednesday evening that Boeing is in discussions with firms interested in buying about 30 acres of the company’s more than 120-acre site.
Fritzal declined to identify the firms but said Boeing plans to close the deal by the summer.
The city initially said in a city manager’s report Tuesday that the “highly coveted” Boeing site had been sold to a yet-to-be-disclosed buyer, but Boeing spokeswoman Tiffany Pitts said the company is working with interested parties and identifying “suitable buyers.”
The campus, at 5301 Bolsa Ave., recently vacated two buildings on the southwest side that encompass about 30 acres being prepared for sale, Pitts said.
Boeing plans to scale down many of its facilities, including the one in Huntington Beach, by a total of 4.5 million square feet.
Leanne Caret, president and chief executive of the company’s defense, space and security unit, said in 2016 that “in order to push ourselves further and win more business, we need to make the most of our resources and talent. These steps will help us be a stronger partner for our customers worldwide.”
More than 2,000 jobs from the Huntington Beach facility are moving to other plants, including in Seal Beach, El Segundo and Long Beach. Some employees are being shifted to other buildings in Huntington Beach, Pitts said.
Fritzal said Boeing has been “very open to the city” since the 2016 announcement about downsizing by hosting ongoing meetings between city officials and aerospace representatives.
The area being sold will remain zoned as industrial, she added.
“It’s been the city’s desire and it’s been clear since Day 1,” she said. “That’s also Boeing’s desire, so we’re just ecstatic. They aren’t going to bring someone on that is counter to what they believe in.”
The property will be a prime location for new industrial development, according to city officials.
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