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Long Beach Business Journal
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Carson’s Location And Business-Friendly Approach Continues To Drive Investors To The City As the city’s development, employment and revenues continue to improve from recessionary lows, Acosta comments that the 45th anniversary is “a great milestone for the city.”
■ By SAMANTHA MEHLINGER Staff Writer s Carson celebrates its 45th anniversary as an incorporated city, it is teeming with new projects by private investors, from retail to residential and industrial. Several major developments are in progress or have been completed: construction of the new Porsche Experience is underway; Kaiser Permanente’s new medical office has opened; Cinemark is planning to build a long-awaited movie theater; and development of an outlet mall at the Boulevards of South Bay has begun. Carson Mayor Jim Dear says a variety of factors are bringing investors to the city. Namely, the old real estate adage of “location, location, location” is a big draw. Carson is nestled among the 405, 710, 91 and 110 freeways, with easy access to the San Pedro Bay ports. Also critical, Dear says, is that “Carson is a business friendly city.” Dear says the city prioritizes “working with corporate citizens to enhance their profitability, and therefore their job creation.” Jackie Acosta, Carson’s interim city manager, expresses a similar sentiment. “We do our best to work with developers to make the process go smoothly so that building and bringing projects to the City of Carson is a good experience for them.”
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City Of Carson Population Population ............................................91,714 Ethnicity Asian ....................................................25.6% White ....................................................23.8% Black ...................................................23.8% Pacific Islander ......................................2.6% American Indian ....................................0.6% Other ...................................................18.7% Two or More Races ................................4.8% Hispanic or Latino of any Race ..............38.6% Age Breakdown: Under Age 18 .....................................24.0% 18-24 .................................................10.9% 25-44 .................................................25.2% 45-64 .................................................26.2% 65 and older .......................................13.8% Median Age...............................................37.6 Source: 2010 Census
Businesses Continue Steady Growth In Carson he City of Carson is getting a shot in the arm from companies investing their resources in the city. Barry Waite, business development manager for the City of Carson, says the “volume and seriousness of calls from existing businesses” as well as new businesses interested in Carson “have shot way up from a couple years ago.” Waite believes the business climate in Carson is showing clear improvement from the recession, citing several indicators of good business growth within the city. “If you look at the sales tax numbers, the vacancy rates, and the development that is going on, you can clearly see times have changed,” he says. Mayor Jim Dear agrees, saying “Month by month it is getting better and better.” Interim City Manager Jackie Acosta notes, “Overall, the trend is very good for sales tax.” Dear, Acosta and Waite all emphasize Carson’s business-friendly efforts as a factor in bringing in new business and helping existing ones succeed. This includes having low business license fees compared to neighboring cities.
T Mayor Jim Dear is pictured inside Carson City Hall with Jackie Acosta, the city’s director of administrative services who is currently serving as interim city manager.
Carson’s unemployment rates are improving over last year, dropping from about 12 percent this time last year to 9.3 percent in May, according to the California Employment Development Department. Barry Waite, business development manager for the City of Carson, says the unemployment number “is clearly improving, but we have a ways to go.” Dear agrees that “it’s still much too high.” To continue improving employment numbers, Dear says the city is putting more weight behind its career center’s job placement functions. At the center, he says, “We work with local businesses to prescreen applicants for employment.” The mayor also notes that the city is working toward developing an official local hiring ordinance so that development projects within the city will create local hiring. One challenge Carson is facing is a structural deficit to its general fund. Last year, Dear says the deficit was around $3 million. Now, the deficit is “down to $600,000,” he explains. “That’s a good thing,” he says, but adds that there is still work to be done to fix the deficit. Acosta points out that, while the sizeable decrease is good, it is not necessarily a sign of things to come. She says that for fiscal year 2012-2013 Carson is “in the black;” however, this is only because “a number of one-time revenues helped us quite a bit.” Such revenues include housing and suc-
Inside 2013 Focus On Carson Thank you to the following companies whose advertisements made this section possible: Coldwell Banker Commercial BLAIR WESTMAC; The Carson Center; The Carson Companies; California State University, Dominguez Hills; California State University, Dominguez Hills College of Extended & International Education; DoubleTree by Hilton Carson; Freeway Tires; Kaiser Permanente Carson Medical Offices; OSHA Training Institute at California State University, Dominguez Hills; SouthBay Pavilion; StubHub Center; Watson Land Company. Photographs All photographs by Long Beach Business Journal Photojournalist Thomas McConville 2013 Focus On Carson Published July 16, 2013, by the Long Beach Business Journal, a publication of South Coast Publishing, incorporated in California in 1985. 2599 E. 28th Street, Suite 212, Signal Hill, CA 90755 Phone: 562/988-1222 • Website: lbbusinessjournal.com
Cover: Juanita Millender-McDonald Community Center, Carson
cessor agency funds from the dissolution of redevelopment, a settlement with the City of La Mirada over sales taxes unpaid to Carson from the transfer of a major business, and a settlement with Los Angeles County over the miscalculation of property taxes borrowed by the state. These one-time revenues amount to about $6 million. Carson’s main sources of ongoing revenue are sales tax, property tax, franchise fees and utility user tax. Acosta explains that the city is continuing to project a deficit because costs are going up more quickly than revenues. Dear provides insight into how the major revenue sources are faring. “Franchise fees are pretty high performance in Carson. Unfortunately, because of the economy, those took a big hit a few years back and never recovered completely,” Dear says. Sales tax revenues are “performing really well,” according to Dear. Property taxes are also improving now that assessments are increasing again.
Carson Labor Force Number In Labor Force.........................46,300 Employed .............................................42,000 Unemployment Rate ................................9.3% Source: State Employment Development Department, May 2013
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