9:30am | The Long Beach City Council last night unanimously approved a motion (8-0, O’Donnell absent) to grant a $600,000 key tenant loan to the Cal Worthington Ford car dealership that has operated in the city since 1971 and is one of Long Beach’s highest tax revenue generators.

Months ago, Worthington Ford received an offer from their corporate headquarters to relocate in another city. The recent closing of several southland Ford dealerships opened new opportunities in underserved regions, but Worthington will stay in Long Beach with the help of the loan.

Worthington Ford generates an average $500,000 per year in sales tax revenue for the city.

The loan amounts to $600,000 over five years, with 5% interest per annum. City management originally recommended a $250,000 loan several weeks ago, then rescinded the motion and emerged with the increased $600,000 loan for this week’s meeting.

Councilmembers said that they hope Worthington will use the loan to keep employees from losing their jobs, and also noted that many local businesses are having difficult times, and there should be some criteria for helping smaller businesses in addition to the well-known ones.

More to come…