LBREPORT.com has VIDEO coverage below (click icon).

The neary 1.1 million sq. foot facility will house three business units: a Vehicle Preparation Center, a Western Region Office and a Lerning and Performance Center (details in company release text below.) In response to reporters' questions, MBZ officials said the Vehicle Preparation Center will receive and process vehicles (most coming from Germany) arriving on ships at the Port of Long Beach. The vehicles will then be hauled by truck from the Port of Long Beach to the ELB MBZ facility.

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Asked by LBREPORT.com and LBRegister reporter Pat Maio roughly how many trucks would be involved, Ted Boudalis (MBZ USA Stratetic VPC Operations Manager) said the number of trucks would vary depending on ship arrivals. Pressed by reporter Maio, Mr. Boudalis estimated it could involve roughly 30-40 vehicle-transporting trucks per day traveling from the Port to the ELB facility [see video exchange.] and then trucks would the cars from the facility to dealers. There is no rail access on the site and none is planned, Mr. Boudalis said.

MBZ's new facility will involve roughly 200 jobs (some of which will come from closing a nearby facility.) At its height, the Douglas/Boeing complex (which occupied the east and west sides of Lakewood Blvd.) had thousands of employees, driving thousands of cars. MBZ-USA has a 15-year lease with OC based property manager/developer Sares-Regis Group for the site, a deal called the largest L.A. area industrial lease in the past quarter century when it was signed.

The west side of Lakewood Blvd. (which was also part of the original Douglas complex) is now being developed and built out as "Douglas Park," a major business park with multiple uses.

Asked by LBREPORT.com how much revenue the new facility is expected to bring the City of Long Beach (City Hall), City Manager Pat West said additional property tax revenue will be received because the property will be re-assessed with its new uses but declined to guestimate a figure. Property and Business Development Director Mike Conway also noted that the facility will provide jobs for workers who can spend sums in Long Beach, producing sales tax revenue.

Among city officials attending was Mayor Bob Foster (who spoke at event) with several LB officials present including Long Beach Harbor Commission President Doug Drummond, 7th dist. Councilman-elect Roberto Uranga, City Manager Pat West and Director of Property & Business Development Michael Conway, Deputy City Mgr. Reggie Harrison (temporarily handling Airport duties during search for new LGB Director) and LBCC rep Mark Taylor.

7th dist. Councilman Elect Roberto Uranga (blue shirt and tie); LBCC's Mark Taylor at photo left

City Manager Pat West (photo center)

Long Beach Harbor Comm'n President Doug Drummond (red tie)

Deputy City Mgr./interim Airport chief Reggie Harrison (photo left)

[MBZ release text] The new location serves as the future home of MBUSA’s Vehicle Preparation Center, Western Region and Learning & Performance Offices, which are all currently located in Southern California. The new facility will consist of two buildings, totaling 1,091,754 sq. ft. on a 52.2 acre lot.

The historic location opened in 1941 as home to the Douglas Aircraft Company and later served as the Boeing 717 aircraft manufacturing facility until closing in 2006. Located across the street from the Long Beach Airport in a mixed-use development known as Pacific Pointe at Douglas Park, the facility is expected to be ready to begin business operations in the first quarter of 2015.

"Southern California is the car culture capital of the world and it remains one of the largest markets for the Mercedes-Benz brand. Hollywood, great weather, a passion for the automobile and continued growth of the luxury market have all contributed to this singular position," said Dietmar Exler, vice president of sales for MBUSA. "Thirty years ago Mercedes-Benz planted roots in Southern California and expanding sales volume necessitates that we have the most efficient and effective structure to support our dealers in providing a world-class customer experience."

"I am thrilled Mercedes-Benz selected Long Beach as its new West Coast home," said Bob Foster, Mayor of Long Beach. "This is an iconic brand moving into an iconic building with a plan to re-imagine the former 717 site into a state-of-the-art facility that will activate this property for many years to come."

The new facility will include the following business operations:

• VEHICLE PREPARATION CENTER -- The Vehicle Preparation Center is responsible for ensuring Mercedes-Benz vehicles are ready to deliver once they arrive in the United States. Distribution tasks include receiving vehicles from vessels, inventory management for the U.S. market, port of entry services, shipping and wholesaling of vehicles. Quality tasks include vehicle inspection and factory quality checks. MBUSA operates three Vehicle Preparation Centers located in Baltimore, MD, Brunswick, GA and Carson, CA.

• WESTERN REGION OFFICE -- The MBUSA Western Region supports 82 dealerships with sales and fixed operations across 12 states including Alaska, Arizona, California, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Washington, Texas and Utah. MBUSA has three other regional offices in the U.S.: Parsippany, NJ, Rosemont, IL and Jacksonville, FL.

• LEARNING & PERFORMANCE CENTER - The Learning & Performance Center provides training to dealership and MBUSA employees. MBUSA Learning & Performance conducts instructor-led training, eLearning, virtual classrooms, peer-to-peer training, and mobile learning to ensure that customer-facing personnel have the information and ability to deliver to the highest professional service. MBUSA operates Learning & Performance Centers in Houston, TX, Itasca, IL, Jacksonville, FL and Montvale, NJ.

About Mercedes-Benz USA Mercedes-Benz USA (MBUSA), headquartered in Montvale, New Jersey, is responsible for the distribution, marketing and customer service for all Mercedes-Benz products in the United States...

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And what about the "Fly DC Jets" sign on the roof? It's a local icon...and it will remain, we're told.