Boeing to Transform Aerospace Manufacturing Center Into Tech Park

A downsizing in the aerospace industry has indirectly fueled Southern California’s other high-tech industries for years. Now Boeing Co. is planning to make that connection more direct.

The Seattle-based aerospace giant--which is Southern California’s largest private employer--announced plans last week to demolish hundreds of manufacturing buildings in Long Beach and transform them into a 5-million-square-foot high-tech business park. The new PacifiCenter @ Long Beach could create more than 10,000 jobs for the area, according to estimates from Boeing officials.

The first new buildings won’t be ready for several years. Boeing Realty Corp. will start signing up new tenants in a year or two, and the company expects to attract Internet start-ups, telecommunications businesses, research and development firms and manufacturing companies, the company said.

The development won’t affect the more than 14,000 Boeing employees who currently work at the Long Beach site, building 717 commercial aircraft or the C-17 military transport plane, said Boeing spokeswoman Rebecca Hall.