LOCKHEED TO SELL LAST BURBANK SITE; ZELMAN PICKED TO DEVELOP 31-ACRE PROPERTY.Byline: Lee Condon Staff Writer Zelman Development Co. has been selected to develop the last remaining piece of Lockheed Martin For the former company, see . Lockheed Martin (NYSE: LMT) is a leading multinational aerospace manufacturer and advanced technology company formed in 1995 by the merger of Lockheed Corporation with Martin Marietta. Corp. land up for sale in Burbank, officials with both companies confirmed Wednesday. Zelman President Ben Reiling said the company plans to develop the 31-acre site, building about 690,000 square feet of space for light manufacturing tenants. Reiling said the development could generate as many as 950 new jobs. ``We are going to develop it as a high-end industrial property,'' Reiling said. The company has built about 9 million square feet of other industrial developments including facilities for Uniroyal in Vernon and Panasonic in Cypress Cypress, city, United States Cypress (sī`prəs), city (1990 pop. 42,655), Orange co., S Calif. near Long Beach; inc. 1956. Forest Lawn–Cypress, a branch of the famous cemetery in Glendale, Calif. . Zelman has not yet secured tenants for this project. Lockheed Martin officials confirmed Wednesday that they chose Zelman over 22 other contenders. The companies have started negotiations on a contract for Zelman to buy the property. The sale will likely not be finalized See finalization. until late next year after Lockheed Martin has demolished de·mol·ish tr.v. de·mol·ished, de·mol·ish·ing, de·mol·ish·es 1. To tear down completely; raze. 2. To do away with completely; put an end to. 3. structures and completed environmental remediation Generally, remediation means providing a remedy, so environmental remediation deals with the removal of pollution or contaminants from environmental media such as soil, groundwater, sediment, or surface water for the general protection of human health and the environment or from a of the property, said Gail Rymer, a spokeswoman for Lockheed Martin. Zelman is expected to pay more than $20 million for the site, sources close to the deal said. Located just southeast of Burbank-Glendale-Pasadena Airport, the site is the last of the 300 acres that Lockheed used in Burbank to manufacture military aircraft. Known as ``A-1 North,'' the site includes the old Lockheed headquarters building and manufacturing plants where massive presses created wings for the company's fighter jets. The company moved out of Burbank in the early 1990s. Burbank Airport is in the process of finalizing its purchase of 130 acres of Lockheed land for its proposed expansion. This is the second major deal between Lockheed Martin and Zelman. Earlier this year, Lockheed Martin selected Zelman as the buyer of 103 acres of land just southeast of Empire Avenue and Buena Vista Street. Zelman is asking the city to approve a 750,000-square-foot retail and office development project at that site. Sources said Zelman will pay more than $70 million for the property. Zelman and Lockheed Martin are expected to finalize fi·nal·ize tr.v. fi·nal·ized, fi·nal·iz·ing, fi·nal·iz·es To put into final form; complete or conclude: "They have jointly agreed ... that sale next summer, Reiling said. ``It's the end of an era,'' said Burbank City Manager Robert ``Bud'' Ovrom, adding that the city's top priority in recent years has been finding a way to recycle re·cy·cle tr.v. re·cy·cled, re·cy·cling, re·cy·cles 1. To put or pass through a cycle again, as for further treatment. 2. To start a different cycle in. 3. a. the Lockheed property. Ovrom said he is pleased the property will be developed for industrial use. ``We have so many eggs in the basket of entertainment companies. It's important for us to diversify diversify To acquire a variety of assets that do not tend to change in value at the same time. To diversify a securities portfolio is to purchase different types of securities in different companies in unrelated industries. our economic base,'' Ovrom said. Burbank was once the ultimate company town, with Lockheed providing as many as 20,000 jobs to the region before pulling out in the early 1990s. The years of manufacturing caused an environmental nightmare for Burbank. Lockheed Martin has spent much of the last decade cleaning up toxics left behind in the ground. In 1996, the company reached a secret $60 million deal with more than 1,300 local residents, paying them large settlements for health and property damages. Since then thousands more have sued on similar grounds and those lawsuits are still pending. Ovrom said the biggest challenge the city has faced in recent years has been recycling recycling, the process of recovering and reusing waste products—from household use, manufacturing, agriculture, and business—and thereby reducing their burden on the environment. the Lockheed land. ``They were all pre-World War II buildings that had become economically obsolete,'' Ovrom said. ``The end result will be that we will have more jobs, more tax revenues and a cleaner environment.'' Jack Kyser, chief economist The Chief Economist is a single position job class having primary responsibility for the development, coordination, and production of economic and financial analysis. It is distinguished from the other economist positions by the broader scope of responsibility encompassing the for the Los Angeles Los Angeles (lôs ăn`jələs, lŏs, ăn`jəlēz'), city (1990 pop. 3,485,398), seat of Los Angeles co., S Calif.; inc. 1850. Economic Development Corporation, said the industrial jobs will be higher paying than the retail jobs that will come in with the other Zelman project. ``These are higher quality jobs than retail,'' Kyser said. Noting that there is high demand for industrial space in the city, Kyser said he doubts Zelman will have trouble finding tenants. ``There's a 4 percent vacancy rate for industrial space right now and this is very strategically located,'' Kyser said. CAPTION(S): map Map: Burbank |
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