Long Beach Commercial Real Estate: A Complete Market Guide for Tenants, Buyers, and Investors

Long Beach is the most underestimated commercial real estate market in Southern California.

It has the second-busiest container port in the United States anchoring its southern end. It has a downtown corridor that has seen sustained investment, densification, and business growth over the past decade. It has one of the most diverse economies in the region — spanning logistics and port services, aerospace and defense manufacturing, healthcare, creative industries, and professional services. And it sits at the geographic convergence of Los Angeles County and Orange County, with freeway access (405, 710, 91, 22) that puts it within striking distance of both major metro job centers.

For tenants looking for space, investors evaluating acquisitions, and businesses evaluating their location strategy, Long Beach commercial real estate consistently delivers value, infrastructure, and stability that many higher-profile Los Angeles markets can't match at comparable pricing.

This guide covers the Long Beach commercial market across its major property types — industrial, office, and retail — with current pricing context, submarket breakdowns, what's driving demand, and how DNG Commercial approaches transactions in this market.

Why Long Beach Is a Strong Commercial Real Estate Market

The Port of Long Beach — Industrial Demand Driver

The Port of Long Beach, together with the adjacent Port of Los Angeles, forms the largest cargo port complex in the Western Hemisphere. The Port of Long Beach alone handles hundreds of billions of dollars in annual trade — generating enormous, persistent demand for the industrial, warehousing, logistics, and distribution space that surrounds it.

For industrial tenants and investors, port proximity is a premium that doesn't disappear with economic cycles. As long as goods move through Long Beach, there will be sustained demand for industrial space within truck-accessible range of the port terminals. This demand has kept Long Beach industrial vacancy extremely tight and supported consistent rent growth across port-adjacent corridors.

According to CoStar's Southern California industrial market data, the Long Beach and San Pedro industrial corridor consistently ranks among the lowest-availability industrial markets in the country — a direct reflection of port-driven demand that has no geographic substitute.

Airport and Regional Connectivity

Long Beach Airport (LGB) — one of the most convenient small commercial airports in Southern California — anchors additional business demand from aviation services and from companies that prioritize proximity to a low-friction airport for executive travel. The airport corridor along Lakewood Boulevard and the adjacent business parks serve a mix of aerospace, manufacturing, and professional services tenants who value both airport access and freeway connectivity.

A Genuine Downtown Business District

Long Beach's downtown has undergone sustained investment and transformation over the past decade. The Pine Avenue and 3rd Street corridor, the East Village Arts District, and the waterfront area around the Convention Center and Aquarium have attracted restaurants, retailers, creative offices, and professional services in a density that genuine LA submarkets like Torrance and El Segundo don't replicate. For businesses that want an authentic urban environment — walkable, amenity-rich, transit-connected — downtown Long Beach offers it at rents significantly below Downtown Los Angeles.

Long Beach Commercial Real Estate by Property Type

Industrial Space in Long Beach

Long Beach industrial is divided into two broad zones: the port-adjacent industrial corridor in the southern part of the city (near the 710 Freeway terminus) and the mid-city industrial and flex parks further north along the 405 and 91 corridors.

Port-adjacent industrial is characterized by large-format distribution facilities, container staging yards, cross-docking operations, and cold storage — primarily serving import/export logistics, freight forwarding, and third-party logistics (3PL) operators. This product type attracts institutional demand and commands the highest industrial rents in the Long Beach market.

Mid-city industrial ranges from smaller flex-industrial suites to medium-format light industrial and manufacturing buildings serving local and regional tenants in aerospace supply chain, construction trades, food production, and consumer goods. These spaces typically offer more accessible price points and smaller minimum footprints than port-adjacent product.

Asking rents across the Long Beach industrial market currently range from approximately $1.50–$2.50/SF/month NNN, with port-adjacent premium product at the higher end and secondary location flex space at the lower end. Availability remains tight relative to demand across most size ranges.

For tenants evaluating industrial space in the broader South Bay and Greater LA context, our post on industrial space for lease in Los Angeles — what to know before you sign covers the full evaluation framework — clear height, loading configuration, power supply, zoning verification — that applies directly to Long Beach industrial decisions.

Office Space in Long Beach

The Long Beach office market spans three distinct zones: downtown, the airport corridor, and the medical/healthcare district.

Downtown Long Beach office has experienced elevated vacancy post-2020 as hybrid work patterns reshaped tenant demand across all urban office markets. For tenants, this represents an unusual opportunity: well-located, Class B and B+ office space in a genuine urban environment with walkable amenities at rents that would not be achievable in more constrained markets. Asking rents for downtown Class B office currently range from $2.00–$3.25/SF/month full service or modified gross, with motivated landlords willing to provide significant concession packages for longer-term commitments.

Airport corridor office (Lakewood Boulevard, Douglas Park, and adjacent business parks) serves the aerospace, defense, and professional services employer base anchored by major companies in the area. This product tends toward Class A suburban campus-style buildings with good parking ratios, typically ranging from $2.50–$3.75/SF/month depending on quality and specific location.

Medical office in Long Beach — particularly around Long Beach Memorial and St. Mary Medical Center — follows healthcare system consolidation patterns and tends toward longer-term, lower-turnover tenancy. Medical office space commands a premium over general office reflecting the specialized infrastructure and tenant stability it provides. Our post on leasing office space in Los Angeles — what to know before you sign covers the full office evaluation and leasing process in detail.

Retail Space in Long Beach

Long Beach retail operates at multiple tiers that reflect the city's economic and demographic diversity.

Downtown and Belmont Shore retail (2nd Street in Naples/Belmont Shore, Pine Avenue downtown, East Village) represents the highest-profile retail environment in Long Beach — high foot traffic, strong restaurant and entertainment demand, consistent weekend pedestrian activity. Rents in these corridors typically range from $3.00–$5.50/SF/month NNN, with premium corner and high-visibility locations above this range.

Neighborhood retail along major corridors (Lakewood Boulevard, Pacific Coast Highway, Long Beach Boulevard, Atlantic Boulevard) serves the city's residential base with grocery-anchored centers, service retail, and food and beverage — with rents typically ranging from $2.00–$3.50/SF/month NNN depending on location and anchor quality.

Secondary corridors — inland commercial streets with older retail stock and higher vacancy — offer accessible price points for tenants with limited budgets, but require careful traffic and demographic analysis before committing to avoid locations with structural demand weaknesses. Our post on retail space for lease in Los Angeles — how to find the right location covers the full retail evaluation framework, including foot traffic analysis, co-tenancy, and zoning verification.

Key Long Beach Commercial Real Estate Submarkets

Downtown Long Beach

The downtown core — centered on Pine Avenue, 3rd Street, 4th Street, and the waterfront — is Long Beach's most urban commercial environment. The mix of office, creative space, restaurant, and retail creates a self-reinforcing activity base that distinguishes it from suburban commercial corridors in the broader South Bay. For tenants looking for an authentic urban address with walkable amenities at LA-adjacent rents, downtown Long Beach is consistently worth serious consideration.

The Convention Center and Long Beach Arena anchor event-driven demand that benefits adjacent hotels, restaurants, and entertainment venues. The Aquarium of the Pacific and the waterfront Promenade drive weekend retail and dining traffic. And the East Village Arts District — bounded by Broadway, 7th Street, Long Beach Boulevard, and the 710 — provides the creative office and boutique retail environment that attracts design, media, and technology-adjacent tenants.

The 710 Freeway Industrial Corridor

The 710 Freeway connects the ports directly northward through Long Beach and into the Alameda Corridor toward Downtown LA. The industrial properties that line this corridor represent the most port-proximate, highest-demand industrial real estate in the Long Beach market. Logistics, distribution, freight, and port services tenants compete for limited availability in this corridor, making it one of the most competitive industrial leasing environments in Southern California.

Douglas Park / Airport Corridor

Douglas Park, located adjacent to Long Beach Airport on the site of a former Boeing manufacturing facility, is one of the most distinctive office and light industrial developments in the South Bay and Long Beach market. The campus-style mixed-use development houses aerospace companies, defense contractors, professional services firms, and technology companies in a master-planned environment with exceptional amenities, parking, and connectivity. Available space in Douglas Park is limited and sought-after — tenant representation with active relationships in this specific submarket is valuable for businesses targeting this location.

H2: Long Beach Commercial Real Estate Investment Opportunities

H3: Industrial Investment in the Port Corridor

For investors with a medium-to-long-term hold strategy, port-adjacent industrial in Long Beach has one of the strongest fundamental cases in the Southern California market: persistent demand, virtually no new supply, and a structural demand driver (the port) that is essentially irreplaceable. Cap rates for well-leased Long Beach port-adjacent industrial have compressed significantly over the past decade, reflecting investor recognition of these fundamentals.

Downtown Long Beach Value-Add Office

For investors comfortable with the office sector's current challenges, downtown Long Beach presents value-add opportunities that many other markets don't: properties trading at pricing that reflects elevated vacancy, with the potential to benefit from improving downtown occupancy as hybrid work patterns stabilize and urban office demand recovers. These opportunities require careful underwriting and a realistic assessment of re-leasing timelines, but can represent compelling risk-adjusted returns for investors with the right time horizon.

Neighborhood Retail and Mixed-Use

Grocery-anchored neighborhood retail in Long Beach has maintained occupancy and rent growth consistent with broader Los Angeles trends, driven by the essential-service retail categories (pharmacy, personal services, urgent care, food and beverage) that survived the e-commerce transition intact. For investors seeking stable income from retail, well-anchored neighborhood centers in Long Beach residential trade areas represent reliable cash flow assets.

Our post on commercial investment properties in Southern California covers the full investment evaluation framework — cap rates, NOI analysis, due diligence, and the 1031 exchange process — that applies to Long Beach acquisitions.

Trends Shaping the Long Beach Commercial Market in 2026

H3: Port Modernization and Logistics Evolution

Both the Port of Long Beach and the Port of Los Angeles have ongoing capital investment programs expanding terminal capacity, improving rail connectivity, and modernizing cargo handling infrastructure. These investments support the long-term demand trajectory for industrial space along the 710 corridor and into the surrounding industrial parks. For industrial investors and tenants, the port modernization program provides a decade-plus tailwind for demand fundamentals.

Downtown Residential Growth and Retail Recovery

The ongoing development of residential units in downtown Long Beach — apartments, condominiums, and mixed-use buildings — is gradually building the rooftop density that supports retail and restaurant recovery in the urban core. As downtown Long Beach's residential population grows, the retail and food and beverage environment continues to improve, creating a reinforcing cycle that benefits all commercial property types in the downtown market. For more context on the broader commercial real estate trends affecting this dynamic, our post on key trends shaping the future of commercial real estate covers the macro forces at play across the Southern California market.

The 2028 Olympics Infrastructure Effect

Long Beach is slated to host Olympic sailing events for the 2028 Los Angeles Games at Rainbow Harbor. Infrastructure investment associated with the Games — waterfront improvements, transportation connectivity upgrades, and hospitality expansion — is already influencing commercial real estate decisions in the broader Long Beach area. Investors with a medium-term hold horizon should factor this into their underwriting for waterfront-proximate commercial assets.

How DNG Commercial Serves Long Beach Tenants, Buyers, and Investors

Deborah and Gulshen at DNG Commercial bring more than 20 years of combined industry experience representing tenants, buyers, and investors across Long Beach, Torrance, El Segundo, Redondo Beach, Manhattan Beach, and the broader South Bay and Greater Los Angeles market. Long Beach is an active part of our transaction practice — across industrial, office, retail, and investment property categories.

Our commercial real estate agent service covers tenant representation and buyer representation across all Long Beach commercial corridors. Our property management service provides ongoing operational support for Long Beach property owners. And our investment properties service covers acquisition advisory for buyers evaluating industrial, retail, and office assets in the Long Beach market.

For businesses and investors who want to understand how Long Beach fits within the broader South Bay commercial context, our South Bay commercial real estate market guide covers the full submarket landscape across all property types and price tiers.

Frequently Asked Questions About Long Beach Commercial Real Estate

1. Is Long Beach a good market for commercial real estate investment? Yes — and it is often undervalued relative to its fundamentals. Port-driven industrial demand, a growing downtown, and pricing below comparable Los Angeles submarket levels create a compelling risk-adjusted return profile across multiple property types. Industrial, grocery-anchored retail, and well-located downtown office all present investable opportunities with strong long-term demand backing.

2. What is the difference between the Long Beach and Los Angeles commercial real estate markets? Long Beach operates as a distinct submarket with its own demand drivers (primarily the port and airport), its own pricing dynamics (generally below Westside and Downtown LA), and its own tenant base (logistics, aerospace, healthcare, urban creative industries). Understanding Long Beach as its own market — rather than simply as "outer LA" — is essential for making informed decisions in this geography.

3. How does Long Beach industrial compare to other South Bay industrial markets? Long Beach port-adjacent industrial is among the highest-demand and tightest-availability industrial submarkets in the South Bay — driven by direct port proximity that El Segundo, Torrance, and Carson industrial parks can't replicate. Rents are competitive with or above South Bay comparables for premium port-proximate product, with more accessible options available in mid-city locations.

4. Is downtown Long Beach retail recovering from the impacts of recent years? Downtown Long Beach retail — particularly the restaurant and entertainment corridor on Pine Avenue and the East Village — has seen improvement driven by growing downtown residential density and recovery in event-related foot traffic. Vacancy remains elevated in secondary retail corridors, but high-profile destination retail and dining in the core has shown resilience. Careful location selection within the downtown market is critical.

5. What size commercial spaces are most commonly available in Long Beach? Industrial availabilities in Long Beach range from small flex suites of 1,000–3,000 SF to large-format distribution facilities of 100,000+ SF. Office availabilities are most common in the 1,000–10,000 SF range in downtown and airport corridor buildings. Retail availability varies by corridor from small neighborhood storefronts to larger anchor-adjacent suites in community shopping centers.

6. How do I start a commercial real estate search in Long Beach? The first step is engaging a tenant's broker with active transaction experience in Long Beach's specific submarkets. A broker who works Long Beach regularly has access to both listed and off-market opportunities, knows which landlords are motivated to make deals, and can conduct the infrastructure and operational compatibility analysis that prevents costly mismatches between space and business needs.

Ready to Find Commercial Space or an Investment Property in Long Beach?

Deborah and Gulshen at DNG Commercial represent tenants and investors across Long Beach and the broader South Bay with more than 20 years of combined industry experience.

Visit dngcommercial.com or call 310.999.1203 | 562.225.9260 to discuss your Long Beach commercial real estate goals. You can also reach us at deborah@rpmres.com or gulshen@rpmres.com.