Long Beach : Oil Firm Signs First Major Lease for Landmark Square

Landmark Square, a 24-story Ocean Boulevard office tower considered pivotal to the renaissance of downtown Long Beach, has signed its first major lease with a petroleum company prepared to move in when the high-rise opens for business next year.

The $7.5-million lease with Ultramar Inc.--the largest independent California refiner and marketer of petroleum products--will run 10 years, according to Cushman Investment & Development Corp., the leasing agent.

Critics of the downtown renewal plan have complained that there is a glut of office space that will never be filled. But city officials contend that the downtown will thrive again over the next decade with a balance of residential, business and shopping space.

Landmark Square, which takes up a full block of Ocean Boulevard between Pine and Pacific avenues, will be one of the first in Long Beach to contain a major public arts program. Details of the $2-million program, which will incorporate environmental and landscape art within the building, will be announced soon, officials said.