Commercial Scene : First Phase of Long Beach Trade Center to Open

The first phase of the $550-million Greater Los Angeles World Trade Center in Long Beach--a project that on completion will be the second largest of its kind in the nation--opens Tuesday.

Consisting of a 27-story office tower with 553,026 square feet of office and retail space, the initial phase is 60% signed and committed, according to Michael J. Choppin, president and chairman of IDM Corp. The trade center is sponsored by the Port of Long Beach and is a joint venture of IDM and Kajima International Inc.

“The United States Customs Service will be moving its Pacific Region Headquarters from 300 N. Los Angeles St. in downtown Los Angeles to the World Trade Center this fall,” Choppin said, adding that the unit of the Treasury Department will occupy three floors or about 54,000 square feet in the project near Ocean Boulevard and the Long Beach (710) Freeway.

Designed by Daniel, Mann, Johnson & Mendenhall, Los Angeles, the completed trade center will consist of four office towers, ranging from 27 to 35 stories; a 400-room Hilton hotel and a two-level shopping, dining and retail plaza. Construction is expected to begin later this year on the hotel.

Choppin said the 2.5-million-square-foot project on 12.7 acres will be the nation’s second largest world trade center, after New York City’s twin-tower project in Lower Manhattan. By way of comparison, the 15-year-old Los Angeles World Trade Center at 350 S. Figueroa St. has about 345,000 square feet of leasable space in 11 stories.

Kajima International Inc., the U.S. unit of Kajima Corp., one of the “Big 6” Japanese general contracting firms, is also the general contractor of the project. Financing for the first phase was provided by a consortium of 14 Japanese banks.

“Since the combined Ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles handle about two-thirds of the West Coast’s cargo and 70% of California’s international trade, there is no doubt that this trade center will have an international impact,” Choppin said.

“At the very heart of the World Trade Center concept is the bringing together of government agencies and private-sector businesses involved in international commerce.”

In addition to the Customs Service office, first-phase tenants include Peat Marwick Main & Co., Deloitte Haskins & Sells, Ernst & Whinney, Lillick & Charles, California State World Trade Commission, Pacific Liner Agency Inc., U. S. Postal Service, Long Beach Area Chamber of Commerce and Long Beach Area Convention & Visitors Council.