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City Of Carson
Pictured: Carson Mayor Jim Dear, left, and Carson City Manager Nelson Hernandez.
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As Carson Welcomes New Businesses, Mayor Dear Says ‘The Best Is Yet To Come’ ■ By BRANDON FERGUSON Staff Writer
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he private sector in the City of Carson is humming with activity as large-scale projects, such as the Porsche Driving Experience and a new 13-screen Cinemark theater, inch closer to completion. In addition, recent retail and restaurant openings have created jobs and increased consumer choice as Carson continues to grow its business sector. “I’m leading the charge to transform Carson from a bedroom/industrial community into a destination community,” Mayor Jim Dear told the Business Journal. “We are on track with increasing the number of job-producing projects.” With a city that is currently made up of 54 percent industrial businesses, many of which rely on consistent power, Dear also said that he plans to work closely with Southern California Edison (SCE) to try to attract more high-tech businesses to Carson by designating a section of the city to offer reliable, uninterrupted power. He explained that power outages, even short ones, can be disastrous for companies producing items like circuit boards. “You know, if Edison cuts your power off for less than 30 seconds, that’s not a power outage in its view,” Dear noted. “But if you’re a manufacturer of high-tech circuit boards and the power shuts down and the circuit board is destroyed, then that’s a power outage. Circuit boards can run $50,000.” Working with SCE to offer consistent power can help Carson attract business, Dear explained. “Then we can advertise, ‘You put your business in Carson, and you’ll have reliable energy,’” Dear said. When asked about Carson’s overall business climate, Dear was optimistic. “We have lots and lots of ribbon cuttings happening, and there are more to come. You could say the best is yet to come,” he said, adding that many businesses are doing well thanks to foreign investment. “We really have a lot of opportunity in Carson with direct foreign investment coming into the city, primarily from China, but also from Japan, Korea and Vietnam,” Dear explained.
Jim Dear, left, was elected to the Carson City Council in 2001, and in 2004 won a special election to serve as mayor of the five-member city council. He was elected to a full four-year term as mayor a year later, reelected in 2009 and again in 2013. Nelson Hernandez, center, was hired by the city council in May to serve as city manager. Mayor Pro Tempore Elito M. Santarina was elected to the city council in 2003, reelected in 2007 and again in 2011. The remaining city councilmembers are Lula Davis-Holmes, who has served since 2007; Mike A. Gipson, first elected in 2009; and Albert Robles, elected last year. (Photograph by the Business Journal’s Thomas McConville)
He said that local businesses use the federal program known as EB5, which provides permanent residence opportunities to foreign investors who invest at least $1 million into commercial enterprises. Dear specifically mentioned American Logistics International, which makes use of EB5 money. “They keep expanding their business with all this influx of funds and creating jobs,” Dear noted. While new investment continues to support the private sector, the public sector is benefitting from new leadership. On May 7, Carson welcomed Nelson Hernandez as its city manager. Hernandez has served the public for 30 years at the federal and state levels, with stints at the U.S. Department of Urban Housing and Development (HUD) and at the City of Los Angeles. In a meeting at his office, Hernandez told the Business Journal that Carson is currently sitting on a $36 million budget reserve in addition to $72 million in its general fund. “The city has done a very good job of being fiscally prudent for
Inside 2014 Focus On Carson Thank you to the following companies whose advertisements made this section possible: California Water Service Co.; Carson Chamber of Commerce; California State University, Dominguez Hills; California State University, Dominguez Hills, University Advancement; The Carson Center; The Carson Companies; Gardena-Carson Family YMCA; Kaiser Permanente Carson Medical Offices; NuVision Federal Credit Union; SouthBay Pavilion; Tesoro; and Watson Land Company. Photographs All photographs by Long Beach Business Journal Photojournalist Thomas McConville 2014 Focus On Carson Published July 22, 2014, 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
years,” he said. “We have a healthy reserve, but there’s always pressure on the general fund because expenses go up and we’re just coming out of the economic crisis.” Both Dear and Hernandez explained that Carson benefits from a prime location. “Carson has a lot going for it,” Hernandez said. “It’s got a great labor force, and it’s got great transportation networks with freeways and rail ports, not just sea ports, but airports on either side of us. It’s well located.” The city is served by four freeways: the 405, 91, 10 and 710. Describing the changes that the city has
undergone in the last 10 years, Mayor Dear said that Carson didn’t even have a Starbucks when he first took office in 2004. After a chance encounter at a social event with Magic Johnson, who at the time held interests in Starbucks, Dear said he suggested the coffee vendor come to Carson. As a result, “[Johnson] opened two [Starbucks stores] in Carson – both very successful. So naturally the corporate people said, ‘Ok, we’re going to put more Starbucks in Carson,’” Dear said. He also remembered that when the (Please Continue To Next Page)
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restaurant Chili’s came to Carson several years ago, it was the first name-brand restaurant to open in the city in 17 years. Today, the Carson location continues to be a top performer for the chain. “That showed the restaurant industry that Carson is the location,” Dear said. Currently, new eateries continue to open in the SouthBay Pavilion and Dear indicated more are coming. “You will see a series of new restaurants opening in Carson in the next few years, one after the other,” he said. “Carson is a great location if you’re thinking of opening a business. The future is really bright for our city. Carson is going to be at the forefront as an example that is going to be a success story.” ■
Carson Business Community Continues To Improve Post-Recession ■ By BRANDON FERGUSON Staff Writer ccording to Carson Chamber of A Commerce President John Wogan, things have improved for the business community since the recession ended. “Things have gotten better. We have freight forwarders that we deal with and during the recession you never saw them. Now [they’re] much busier, sending out goods and so forth,” Wogan said. In addition to new restaurants and attractions coming on line, Alcoa Fastening systems is growing its Carson operation. “Alcoa Fastening Systems has expanded its manufacturing operations in Carson, with the addition of an 85,000-square-foot
Long Beach Business Journal
City Manager Nelson Hernandez And His Five ‘P’s’ Of Public Administration ■ By BRANDON FERGUSON Staff Writer According to his bio, Carson City Manager Nelson Hernandez has spent 30 years in public service. He’s held positions in the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), the Federal Housing and Finance Agency (FHFA) the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), and the U.S. Department of Justice. He’s also worked at four cities, including Los Angeles and San Diego. He told the Business Journal that his career thus far has prepared him well for the role of city manager, which he began with Carson in May. “I’ve worked at four cities and four federal agencies, and I think that is a good combination because I have seen really good management and I have seen some management that needs to be improved,” Hernandez said. Each job in his background, Hernandez explained, has given him insights into different areas of public administration. “I’ve learned about city planning, I’ve learned about grants, I’ve learned about finance and public works,” Describing his vision for the future of Carson, Hernandez said he wants to focus on the five P’s of administration. The first P, he said, is policy and helping the council with their policy goals. The second is planning. “Not just city planning, but work plans and operation plans so the directors and all the employees understand what they are supposed to do,” he said. The third is personnel and “making sure we have the best people, that they are well trained and they have the best equipment possible.” The fourth is procedures. “You could have great policy, the right plans and the right people, but unless you have the right procedures, you can have a miscue,” Hernandez said. Finally, Hernandez said he wants to focus on performance measures. “Measuring our success, measuring our achievements and knowing when we have achieved and when we haven’t.” ■ building adjacent to its current location,” according to an e-mail from company spokeswoman Anne Brown. “The facility expects to create approximately 100 new jobs over the next three years.” Wogan cites Carson’s key location as
the main factor attracting businesses to the city. “You’ve got everything around us. Two airports, LAX, Long Beach,” he said, adding that he sees a golden opportunity in the Boulevards at South Bay mixed use development.
The SouthBay Pavilion is home to 90 retail stores including the recently opened restaurants Pieology and Buffalo Wild Wings. Cinemark is currently constructing (shown here) a 13-screen movie theater complex at the Pavilion. The theaters should be completed by next spring, according to Roger Burghdorf, executive vice president of leasing for Vintage Real Estate, LLC, which owns the shopping center. (Construction photograph provided by Vintage Real Estate)
“We’ve got this opportunity to make this Boulevard more than big box,” he said, explaining that he’d like to see some of the area developed into a convention center. The business community is concerned, however, with the city’s 2 percent utility tax, which was enacted during the height of the recession, Wogan said. Though the tax is set to expire in 2016, the city is considering a ballot measure to extend it. Wogan said that with the city’s $36 million surplus, the tax should be allowed to sunset. “The business community helped the city during a tough time, the recession. But the 2 percent utility user’s tax should not be on the ballot again. We want to attract business. We don’t want to scare business away,” Wogan said.
Retail And Restaurants At the SouthBay Pavilion, Carson’s shopping mall, business is doing well, according to Roger Burghdorf, executive vice president of the Vintage Capital Group which owns the property. “Sales are up significantly throughout the center, mostly due to the food and the new tenants we brought in,” Burghdorf said. The Pavilion, which is home to 90 stores, sits adjacent to the 405 freeway and is anchored by four large retailers: Sears, JC Penney, Target and IKEA. Recent construction on the mall’s exterior along Del Amo Boulevard preceded the addition of a Buffalo Wild Wings, which opened in January. The center also welcomed a new Olive Garden, Pieology and Yogurtland. “[Yogurtland is] doing extraordinarily well,” Burghdorf said. “It’s one of the better stores in their chain.” According to Burghdorf, the SouthBay Pavilion expects to welcome a new hardware store, which is set to occupy a 16,000square-foot space inside the mall. Though Burghdorf declined to specify the name of the company, he added that it is a “mechanic’s dream.” In addition, a nationally recognized jewelry retailer has plans to open at the mall, and Rue 21, a men’s and women’s clothing store, is scheduled to open in early August. While the Pavilion awaits the arrival of new stores, IKEA Carson, which has operated its three-story store since 1991, prepares to bump its wages. The company announced in late June that it was increasing the average minimum wage in existing U.S. stores by 17 percent beginning January 1, 2015. According IKEA Local Marketing Specialist Jessica Azerrad, the store is excited about the recent announcement. “A large chunk of our employees are going to be affected by this . . . we’re pleased to offer them this opportunity,” she said. In a press release, the company stated the wage increase does not mean an increase in IKEA’s prices. “In fact,” read the release, “IKEA is committed to continuing to lower prices.” On July 16, Walmart opened a neighborhood market at 20226 Avalon Blvd. According to Store Manager Saad Elghossaini, the neighborhood market model primarily sells grocery items such as produce, dairy and meat. The 30,000 square foot store also features a pharmacy and bakery. “It’s a new concept to California, but Walmart has neighborhood markets [na-
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business is increasing. We’re substantially ahead of last year, with growth of about 15 percent year to date,” Evans said. He further explained that the dealership employs 151 workers and enjoys a solid relationship with the city. “The business is well, we’ve been active in the community and we’re happy to be a part of Carson.”
Hospitality
Angel Santana is the general sales manager at WIN Hyundai Carson, which operates under the same ownership as Carson-based WIN Chevrolet. The Hyundai dealership is located at 2201 E. 223 St. For more information, call 877/862-4102.
According to Carson Toyota’s Fixed Operations Director Sean Evans, car sales at the dealership have experienced a 15 percent boost this year. Toyota Carson is located at 1333 E. 223 St. For more information, call 310/522-2300.
tionwide],” Elghossaini said. “After we opened the first and second one[in California], there was high demand from other cities and other areas. They like the format. You’re getting everything you need at a big box price.”
According to Carson City Manager Nelson Hernandez, the city’s auto dealerships are among the top revenue generators for the city in terms of sales tax. Mayor Jim Dear added that the Car Pros Kia of Carson is the top performing Kia dealer in Southern California.
Auto Dealerships
Speaking to the Business Journal, Carson Toyota Fixed Operations Director Sean Evans said that while the parts department, which supplies products wholesale to body shops, has seen a slight drop in sales, auto sales are up. “For our dealership, generally the car
The DoubleTree by Hilton is Carson’s only full-service hotel. Located adjacent to the 405 freeway at the intersection of East Carson Street and Avalon Boulevard, the building features 225 rooms and suites as well as 6,000 square feet of meeting space. It is also located next to the Carson Center, which hosts various events including conventions and weddings. According to DoubleTree General Manager Larry Saward, the proximity of the hotel to the Carson Center is convenient for guests. “They can walk across the parking lot and take the elevator back to their room,” said Saward. (Please Continue To Next Page)
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Compared to last year, occupancy rates at the hotel are up and Saward said he expects 10 percent growth over 2013. “This will definitely be a strong year over year performance,” Saward said, adding that room rates are also holding steady, and in addition to transient visits, the hotel recently secured a contract to provide rooms for a flight crew operating out of LAX. “That has also impacted both occupancy and revenue as well,” he said. In 2012 the hotel completed a top-to-bottom renovation of guest rooms, as well as public areas and meeting rooms. Saward explained that some capital improvements continue but nothing that outwardly impacts hotel guests. “We have a very good ownership group that is willing to support and maintain the product,” Saward explained of the hotel brand.
Oil The Tesoro refinery located in Carson employs 1,450 full-time workers. Tesoro purchased the refinery in June of 2013 from BP. According to the company’s website, the facility has the capacity to refine 363,000 barrels of crude oil per day.
Located within the Watson Industrial Park, this building at 901 E. 233rd St. is currently under construction by owner Watson Land Company. The 221,050square-foot industrial property features 5,105 square feet of office space and is located within the overweight shipping corridor. For leasing information, call 310/952-6401. (Rendering provided by Watson Land Company)
In June 2013 Tesoro purchased the massive BP oil refinery, which straddles Carson and the City of Los Angeles. Though Tesoro representatives declined to be interviewed for this article, a press release issued by the company last June stated that Tesoro bought the 266 thousand barrel per day (mbpd) Carson refinery as well as more than 800 dealer-operated retail stations for a purchase price of $1.075 billion. At the time, Tesoro also announced the purchase of the first portion of the integrated Carson logistics assets, which included six marketing and storage terminal facilities for a combined throughput capacity of 225 mbpd and approximately 6.4 million barrels of total storage capacity. In future developments in Carson, Occidental Petroleum (Oxy) plans to drill more than 200 wells in the now dormant Dominguez Oil Field using directional drilling techniques. According to Carson’s website, the company plans to construct an oil and gas processing facility as well as shipping and pipeline facilities to transport 6,000 barrels of oil and natural gas per day. Following pushback from residents concerned about pollution and the use of hydraulic fracturing, commonly known as fracking, to extract oil and natural gas, the city placed a moratorium on new drilling operations in March, but lifted the ban a month later. The city’s website states that fracking is not to be used at the proposed site. In an e-mailed statement, Oxy spokeswoman Susie Geiger told the Business Journal the project still awaits city approval. “The city is currently preparing responses to comments received on the city’s draft environmental impact report for the project. We look forward to continuing to work with the City of Caron and its residents to develop a project soon that brings jobs and economic development to the city,” the statement read.
Industrial Real Estate
Watson Land Company owns millions of square feet within three master-planned business parks in Carson. This 204,000-square-foot building at 810 E. 223rd St. in the Watson Industrial Center is undergoing construction as part of Watson Land’s master renovation plan, in which the company is upgrading its aging industrial buildings in Carson to accommodate warehousing and distribution needs, according to Lance Ryan, senior vice president of marketing and leasing. Renovations also feature energy-efficient upgrades, he said. The rendering above illustrates the end result of these upgrades. For leasing information, call 310/952-6401.
More than half of Carson’s land is taken up by industrial real estate, according to Mayor Jim Dear, and local real estate firms report that the vacancy rate among industrial properties within the city is essentially at zero percent. “There is almost no floor space available in the portfolio,” Lance Ryan, senior vice president of marketing and leasing for Watson Land Company, said of his company’s
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The Carson Companies owns about 3 million square feet of industrial land in Carson, including this 84,000-square-foot building in the Dominguez Technology Center, a master-planned 438-acre industrial park. The building, located at 18049 S. Wilmington Ave., houses Mid-America Overseas, Inc., a global transportation and logistics company. Todd Burnight, senior vice president of marketing and development for The Carson Companies, said many industrial companies locate within Carson due to its proximity to the San Pedro Bay Ports.
industrial holdings in Carson. Todd Burnight, senior vice president of marketing and development for The Carson Companies, said his company’s industrial properties in Carson are 100 percent leased. The Carson Companies and Watson Land Company own millions of square feet of industrial land and business parks in Carson and the South Bay. Businesses dependent upon the flow of goods to and from the San Pedro Bay Ports occupy Carson’s industrial buildings, many of which are distributors, according to Bruce Choate, Watson Land president and CEO.
Located just a few miles from the ports with access to four major freeways and an overweight traffic corridor, Carson makes an ideal location for these companies, Choate and Ryan noted. About 70 percent of imports from Asia to the U.S. come through the ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles, Choate added. “The ports are the driver for the industrial real estate market,” Burnight said. Steadily increasing imports, a stable economy and the fact that there is simply no more room in most of the South Bay to construct new industrial buildings are the fac-
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tors creating a highly occupied industrial real estate market in Carson right now, Choate and Ryan explained. “What we are seeing is very strong demand and limited supply,” Ryan said. Lately, companies located in Carson seek to renew their leases “far in advance of expirations,” Ryan observed. “They are aware of the tightness in the market and the lack of supply, so they want to avoid getting close to an expiration date,” he explained. Tenants may be renewing their leases in advance due to an improving economic climate, he added. “They are seeing their
business outlooks improving and they are confident in taking on an additional [lease] term in advance.” “We are seeing the quality of our tenants improve in terms of larger, better capitalized, more sophisticated national and international companies and it is very important to them to be in a masterplanned park,” Choate stated, adding that three of Watson Land’s industrial parks in Carson are master planned. Thanks to high demand and little supply, both companies expect to raise rents this year. “We do anticipate there to be some rent growth over the next 12 to 18 months if overall market conditions hold and the economy holds,” Burnight said. Ryan said he expected “upward pressure on rents and reductions in lease concessions.” A potential threat to the industrial market’s stability is the possibility of the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) striking rather than coming to an agreement with the Pacific Merchants Association (PMA), which represents companies using ILWU workers at local ports, Burnight said. Although negotiations are ongoing, recent statements from PMA suggest no imminent strike. To keep their inventory of buildings up to date, Watson Land and The Carson Companies upgrade their older properties when tenants move out. “We are renovating and upgrading older Class B buildings if they become empty or available,” Burnight said. (Please Continue To Next Page)
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Watson Land is in the midst of a master renovation plan and is upgrading three to four buildings per year, Ryan said. “We have gone through seven million square feet,” he noted. Renovations are both functional and aesthetic, and often involve converting buildings from manufacturing uses to distribution uses and implementing cost-saving, environmentally friendly measures such as energy efficient lighting. Choate explained the changes are “good for our customers, good for Watson and good for the environment.” ■ – Industrial Real Estate Written By Staff Writer Samantha Mehlinger
Private And Public Developments Transform Carson’s Landscape ■ By SAMANTHA MEHLINGER Staff Writer
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variety of residential, mixeduse, commercial and corporate developments are underway or planned across the City of Carson’s 18.97 square miles. Dozens of housing units, a luxury vehicle test driving center, a new movie theater, an outlet mall and city infrastructure projects are set to transform the city’s mostly industrial landscape over the next few years and beyond. Many of Mayor Jim Dear’s priorities focus on fostering development within the city, particularly around the I-405 Freeway corridor, where “we want to develop the whole area into a destination center for L.A County,” he said. “I’m leading the charge to transform Carson from a bedroom and industrial community into a destination community. All the work I’m doing is geared toward that,” he said.
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Real estate investment firms Community Dynamics and CityView are developing one of the largest new mixed-use residential and retail projects under construction in Carson, pictured at 616 E. Carson St. Plans for the 9.5-acre site include 14,000 square feet of retail and 152 forsale residential units. The estimated completion date is January 2016 at the latest.
Although the dissolution of California redevelopment agencies in 2012 “was a blow” to Carson, Dear said the city retained an economic development strategy that prevented it from losing funding for real estate projects. “The California State Department of Finance approved a number of our projects because we already had contracts and obligations, so we were fortunate,” he said. “Though we lost a lot of money, we didn’t lose all of our projects, and those projects will produce prosperity and revenue.”
Residential And Mixed-Use Projects In the past two years, about 340 new residential units have been completed in Carson. Since then, another 188 multi-family units plus about 28 single-family homes have been approved for construction. One of the largest new mixed-use residential and retail developments is Veo, a joint venture by real estate firms Community Dynamics and City View located on 9.5 acres at 616 E. Carson St. According to Community Dynamics Vice President Steve Roberts, plans include 48 condominiums, 89 townhomes and 15 detached single-family homes, all for sale. Twenty-three condos are dedicated as affordable housing and are available to applicants who meet the state criteria for moderate-income households. Plans also include 14,000 square feet of
ground floor commercial space and a recreational facility with a 1,500-squarefoot clubhouse, entertaining kitchen, spa, pool and adjoining showers and restrooms for residents. Other outdoor amenities include a barbecue area and a play structure for children. The development’s first phase is currently under construction and includes 24 townhomes, 26 condos and 7,000 square feet of retail, Roberts said. “It is typical with forsale housing that you build in phases so you’re building the homes as you sell them,” he explained. The first buildings should be completed late this year, while the overall project should be complete by December 2015 or January 2016. Veo has room for four to nine retail tenants in its ground floor commercial space, Roberts said, adding that Community Dynamics has only just begun outreach to potential tenants. “We are starting that process, but retail tenants will only pay attention when you are a little bit closer to delivery [of the buildings],” he explained. Also under construction on Carson Street is the second phase of a project called Via 425 by developer Related California. The first phase, a 65-unit affordable apartment community at 425 E. Carson St., was completed in May 2012. The sec-
ond phase is located nearby at 401 E. Carson St., where five single-family homes in deteriorating condition previously stood, according to Bob Pitsenberger, superintendent of Portrait Construction, Inc. and construction manager for the project. Currently, construction workers are completing framing of the four-story development, which consists of 40 one-, two- and three-bedroom apartment units, Pitsenberger said. Like its completed sister project, this development is being built on a podium, meaning that the residential building is constructed atop of a ground-level parking structure, he said. Planned amenities include a barbecue area and a recreation space for children. “We are anticipating to be completed by the end of November or first of December,” he said. The City of Carson recently approved two other residential projects. A development by City Ventures at 2666 E. Dominguez St. should be under construction late this year, according to the city’s July Development Status Report. The project replaces the Dominguez Trailer Park with 13 new single-family residences, according to the city report. The homes are to be one and two stories and sized between 1,900 to 2,400 square feet. The Carson Planning Commission on
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U It Lesley Wille, RN, executive director of Kaiser Permanente South Bay Medical Center, visits Kaiser’s Carson Medical Offices at 18600 S. Figueroa St., located in the former headquarters of Nissan North America. The 180,000-square-foot medical facility opened in June of last year, offering a variety of medical services including optometry, obstetrics, gynecology, x-rays, mammograms, pediatrics, dermatology and more. In recent months, a new allergy department opened at the offices, Wille said. More departments may be added in the future; Kaiser left about half of the building as shelled-out space to accommodate growth, she said. “The needs of the community and our members will determine what we will put there in the future,” she said of plans for the facility. Kaiser’s Carson Medical Offices serve about 47,000 Kaiser members located in and around Carson and Rancho Dominguez, Wille said.
Le or
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The framing for a new 40-unit apartment complex is under construction at 401 E. Carson St. The development by Related California should be complete by late November or early December, according to Construction Manager Bob Pitsenberger. The project is the second phase of an apartment community called Via 425 located at 425 E. Carson St.
July 8 approved an 11-unit, two-story apartment complex at 440 E. Sepulveda Blvd. with units consisting of 19,326 square feet, including parking. The project’s application from developer Equassure is currently in plan check. The city’s development report estimated construction should begin later this year.
Corporate/Commercial Projects Under Construction Slated for completion in the second quarter of next year is The Porsche Experience, a 53-acre facility with a vehicle exhibition area, driving tracks for testing and training, a restaurant, a conference center, meeting rooms, driving simulators and more. The development is on the site of the former Dominguez Hills Golf Course, owned by Watson Land Company. “We are the site
of one of five Porsche Experiences being built around the world,” Dear said, noting other sites are in Dubai, China, Germany, Great Britain and Atlanta. “It’s a really significant development,” he added. “All of the on-site remediation and all the soil importing and grading is completed,” Lance Ryan, senior vice president of marketing and leasing for Watson Land Company, told the Business Journal. About 280 support piles are currently being placed in the ground, he said, after which construction of the facility may begin. “The excitement is building in the automobile industry and community over it,” he said of the Porsche Experience. “A lot of buzz is going on around that project.” Cinemark is also bringing more options for entertainment to the Carson community
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with its new 13-theater cinema complex at the SouthBay Pavilion, a mall located at 20700 Avalon Blvd. According to Carson’s July Development Status Report, the movie theaters are being built within the mall at the former location of Chuck E. Cheese and New Millennium High School. Chuck E. Cheese, Old Navy and other SouthBay Pavilion tenants were relocated within the mall to make way for the theaters, while New Millennium High School was relocated to the campus of Gardena High School. Roger Burghdorf, executive vice president of leasing for Vintage Real Estate, LLC, which owns the SouthBay Pavilion, said the theaters are currently under heavy construction with support columns and footers now being installed. The Cinemark theater complex encompasses about 60,000
square feet, with an entrance on the interior of the mall, he said. The screens in the 13 theaters “will be state of the art” and “all digital,” he added. Customers of the SouthBay Pavilion are excited for the project’s completion, which is scheduled for spring of 2015, Burghdorf said. He anticipated there might be a 25 percent increase in mall business once the theaters open.
Planned Developments On what Dear called the “largest undeveloped land in urban Los Angeles County next to a freeway,” plans are underway for The Boulevards at South Bay, a mixed-use development consisting of an outlet mall, hotel, restaurants, additional retail, entertainment and 1,550 multi-family homes. The 157-acre site adjacent to the I-405 Freeway at 20400 S. Main St. is currently undergoing environmental remediation because it sits on a former landfill, according to Judi Lapin, spokesperson for The Boulevards at South Bay. “An on-site team works closely with both the City of Carson and the California Environmental Protection Agency, Department of Toxic Substance Control,” she wrote in an e-mailed statement. Lapin noted that with access to four major freeways and more than 300,000 vehicles passing by on the I-405 daily, “Carson’s location is ideal” to attract tourists and customers to the project upon completion. Dear pointed out that the location is across Del Amo Boulevard from the future (Please Continue To Next Page)
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Long Beach Business Journal
A Porsche Experience Center, featuring driving tracks, dining, meeting facilities, vehicle displays and more, is under construction in Carson at the site of the former Dominguez Hills Golf Course. The center is one of five being built around the world. Representatives from Watson Land Company, which owns the property, said the 53-acre facility should be completed by the first or second quarter of 2015. (Photograph provided by Watson Land Company)
Porsche Experience Center, with the SouthBay Pavilion on the east side of the I-405 Freeway. With all the new developments in the area, including the new Cinemark theaters, he hoped the area might become a “destination” within L.A. County. Another large planned development area sits on a 448-acre site at 20945 S. Wilmington Ave., home to Shell Oil’s Carson Terminal. Shell plans to develop the site over 15 to 25 years into retail, light industrial and perhaps other uses, according to Mat Melendez, the site’s business development project lead. The first planned phase is an 8.8-acre retail site and 12.3-acre business park, according to Carson’s Development Status Report. The proposed project is currently undergoing environmental review, according to the city’s report. “We just completed the environmental impact report (EIR) comment period as of March 26,” Melendez said. This document is required to comply with the California Environmental Quality Act, which requires state and local agencies to identify environ-
Pictured at Carson Center, 801 E. Carson St., are Michael Page, the center’s manager, and Regina Ramirez, supervisor. The center, which features 21 rooms of varying sizes for meetings, weddings, community events, trade shows and more, has 40,000 square feet of meeting space and a 12,000-squarefoot ballroom.
mental impacts for developments and other projects. The City of Carson is currently working on responses to comments on the EIR. The document, with the city’s responses, should come before the planning commission in the fall, according to the Development Status Report. The final EIR must be certified before the city may approve the project. “We’d like to get started right away,” Melendez said, adding that he hoped the EIR process would be complete by the beginning of next year. “Once we get approval from the City of Carson and get all the required permits we’d like to start on the parts [of the development] that benefit the community first,” he said, referring to constructing retail and beautifying the property.
City Infrastructure Improvements The city is also actively pursuing projects to beautify and develop Carson’s infrastructure to meet the needs of the community and encourage private investments. “The other day at the city council meeting, I said I want this to be the year of in-
frastructure,” Carson City Manager Nelson Hernandez told the Business Journal. “The city has about $45 million or so in financing available to build infrastructure, so . . . the council has established a committee of the council to prioritize our capital improvement and infrastructure projects,” he said. A long list of proposed infrastructure and capital improvement projects has been created and “the question now is putting them in priority order,” Hernandez said. One of the mayor’s priorities is the Carson Street Master Plan and Improvement Project, described in the city’s Development Status Report as “an extensive public investment stretching 1.75 miles between the I-405 and I-110 freeways that would complement existing and proposed development by reinforcing the concept of a ‘main street.’” The goal of the plan, approved in 2012, “is to enhance community well-being by making Carson Street a place where social and business interaction can occur on a regular basis through the development of walkable streets, shopping districts and res-
idential neighborhoods that lessens the dependency on automobiles.” In January, the Carson City Council authorized city staff to finalize plans and estimates for Carson Street improvements as part of this plan. The estimated cost at this point is $12 million, according to the city’s development report. Construction is expected to begin in 2015. A point of pride for Mayor Dear is the recent completion of $14 million in renovations to Carson Park, funded by the Carson Successor Agency and redevelopment bond proceeds. The park now features a 21,210-square-foot building with dance, activity and computer rooms, a gym, a workout area, a childcare facility and a concessions area. Old restrooms were demolished and rebuilt as well. Dear recalled how when he was first elected to the city council in 2001, parks “were being claimed by gang members as their turf.” With the formation of a Park Enforcement Team of the division of the L.A. County Sheriff ’s Department serving Carson, along with these recent renovations, “parks have been totally transformed into safe havens for recreation and enjoyment of the families and individuals of Carson,” Dear reflected. More improvements to the park are coming soon; the city was recently awarded a $290,000 grant from the California Department of Housing and Urban Development to renovate the pool at Carson Park with new pool pumps, lighting, a water heater and a new solar thermal hot water system, according to a city press release. An infrastructure project currently underway involves improvements to the Wilmington Avenue interchange at the I-405 Freeway. The $24 million project is slated for completion in December 2015. It includes “construction of a new I-405 northbound onramp, widening Wilmington Avenue from 223rd Street south of the I405 to the I-405 northbound onramp north of the interchange, and construction of a right turn lane from Wilmington Avenue northbound to 223rd Street eastbound,” according to a city report. ■
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The StubHub Center in Carson has a variety of sports and entertainment venues, including a 27,000-seat soccer stadium, an 8,000-seat tennis stadium, a 2,450-seat indoor Velodrome for track cycling, and a 2,000-seat track and field facility. The center, which is managed by AEG Facilities, is home to Major League Soccer teams Chivas USA and Los Angeles Galaxy. For more information, visit stubhubcenter.com.
Special Events Contribute To The Carson Community ■ By SAMANTHA MEHLINGER Staff Writer ith a huge sports complex, W university arts programs, museums and a city-run community and events center, the City of Carson is home
to many special events and community activities year-round. Carson’s largest attraction, the StubHub Center, is located on 125 acres adjacent to California State University, Dominguez Hills and brings in about 1.5 million visitors per year through both ticketed and
non-ticketed events, according to Katie Pandolfo, general manager. The StubHub Center hosts about 45 to 50 soccer games per year, both for its home teams – the Los Angeles Galaxy and Chivas USA – as well as visiting teams such as Chivas Guadalajara and Cruz Azul, Pan-
dolfo said. Soccer events, which fill much of StubHub’s calendar, are growing in popularity thanks to the World Cup, which shone an international spotlight on the sport for much of July, she pointed out. “People are just a lot more interested in soccer right (Please Continue To Next Page)
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booking events difficult, Page said once the work is completed the upgrades should attract more business. “It should improve the center’s looks and our sales situation,” he said. Renovations may be finished as soon as August, or November at the latest, he estimated. ■
Carson Has Rich History And A Growing Arts Presence ■ By BRANDON FERGUSON Staff Writer arson may be known for its oil C refineries and business-friendly climate, but that doesn’t mean art and his-
The Dominguez Rancho Adobe museum (18127 S. Alameda St.) sits on 13 acres of land representing some of Carson’s last remaining green space, according to Museum Executive Director Alison Bruesehoff. The sprawling property includes a home built by one of the area’s first families in 1826. Several cultural events are held at the museum each year including musical performances and lectures. This October the museum will host a reenactment of the Battle of the Old Woman’s Gun, which took place in 1846. For more information, visit dominguezrancho.org or call 310/603-0088.
now because it was on the world stage, and we have definitely felt the effects,” she said. “Our Fourth of July game for the L.A. Galaxy was completely sold out.” Another popular event for the center is the Reebok CrossFit Games, which Pandolfo said typically attracts about 20,000 visitors daily during its three-day run. Justin Bergh, general manager of CrossFit Games Inc., said the games have been located at StubHub Center since 2009, when the event outgrew its original location on a private ranch. CrossFit Games, Inc., which puts on the event (while Reebok is the title sponsor), chose StubHub Center because it has a variety of facilities to accommodate the games’ array of activities. “They are absolutely without equal in terms of the quality of their staff . . . [and] the way they handle problems and challenges. They are out of this world,” Bergh said of StubHub Center’s staff. This year the fitness competition begins
July 25 and is expected to positively impact the local economy, Pandolfo noted. “It brings in an enormous amount of people from not just around the country but from the world to this area,” she said of the CrossFit Games. The local DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel Carson is sold out during the event, as are some hotels in Manhattan Beach and Long Beach, she noted. “The economic impact that this one event has on this whole area is pretty incredible,” she said. In addition to ticketed events, StubHub Center hosts various events for the Carson community, such as the city’s Fourth of July celebration. The center also supports the community through scholarships for local students and partnerships with local schools such as the California Academy of Mathematics and Science, Pandolfo said. StubHub staff members sit on various community boards, including the local YMCA, the Carson Chamber of Commerce and the Boys and Girls Club.
Another major events venue in Carson is the city-run Carson Center, which has 40,000 square feet of meeting space and a 1,200-square-foot ballroom suited for events ranging from weddings to trade shows. The center is also home to many city-hosted community activities and events, according to Manager Michael Page. Currently, the Carson Center is undergoing a $1.4 million renovation, the first major upgrade to the center since 1995, Page said. The city council approved the project in March, and construction has been underway for about three months, he said. Both lobbies and the center’s breezeway are being outfitted with new ceramic tile. Marble countertops and new furniture are being installed in the main lobby. New furniture and foliage are to be placed in the atrium, and restrooms in the ballroom upgraded to higher standards, Page explained. “It is fairly major,” Page said of the renovations. While the construction has made
tory don’t thrive in the city. According to Jim Keville, chair of the Department of Art and Design at Cal State Dominguez Hills, approximately 170 students are enrolled in the art department. “One of the things that sets us apart is our small, intimate class size and the closeness of faculty due to that class size,” Keville said. The school offers classes in three core areas: art history, graphic design and studio art. According to Keville, about half the department’s students are enrolled in the graphic design program. The school currently offers a digital photography program and the graphic design program is beginning to delve into the fields of animation and video game development. “That’s something we just started piloting last spring and we’re continuing to try out some experimental classes in that area,” Keville said. The department also features a 2,500square-foot gallery space and in September plans to feature a faculty art show. For more information, visit cah.csudh.edu/art. In addition to its art program, the university also features courses in theater, music and dance that involves about 200 students, according to University Associate Director of Communications Amy Bentley-Smith. The department of theater and dance produces performances in two theater spaces: The 485-seat University Theater, and the 70-seat Edison Studio Theater. The program presents six on-campus productions a year – four of them theatrical and two dance performances. The music department meanwhile performs more than 40 concerts and recitals throughout the year. The department has an inventory of 21 handcrafted Steinway pianos giving the university the distinction of being the first CSU to be named an “AllSteinway” campus by the Steinway company, according to Bentley-Smith. “As an all-Steinway campus, we will have the opportunity to bring on All-Steinway artists to conduct master classes and concerts,” Bentley-Smith said in an e-mail. Providing a historical perspective on the evolution of the printed word, Carson is home to the International Printing Museum. The museum features 18,000 square feet of (Please Continue To Page 12)
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space and houses one of the largest working collections of printing presses. “[It] spans several hundred years in age,” said Executive Director and Curator Mark Barbour, who explained that tours explore an age when books were printed by hand through the age of the Gutenberg press. “We talk about how the advent of printing changed the world,” Barbour said. The exhibits also explore the colonial period up through more modern times that feature technologies such as the linotype and lithograph press. Barbour estimates the museum welcomes roughly 25,000 people a year, many of them school children. The museum also has a full-time actor who portrays Benjamin Franklin. “All of our educational programs have a theater component to make history come alive for students and the general public,” Barbour said.
In 2013 the museum celebrated its 25th anniversary. Barbour explained that when the museum first opened, it was located in Buena Park near the 91 and 5 freeways. Caltrans construction eventually led to the loss of that facility in 1998. Luckily, said Barbour, a museum boardmember owned the property where the building currently sits. “He gave us an opportunity to come into the space, which we did in the fall of 1998. Then in 2001 we initiated a campaign to purchase the building,” Barbour explained. He added that people who visit the museum are surprised by the wealth of exhibits. “The wow factor is really big,” Barbour said. “When [California travel show host] Huell Howser finally made it to the museum and came to Carson in 2006, he was so surprised that he considered it one of his best museum experiences.”
Long Beach Business Journal
For more information on the International Printing Museum, visit printmuseum.org or call 310/515-7166. Those interested in California’s early rancho history should pay a visit to Carson’s Dominguez Rancho Adobe Museum, which sits atop a sprawling 13-acre property. According to Executive Director Alison Bruesehoff, the property represents some of the area’s last remaining green space. She estimated the museum receives 10,000 visitors each year who come to hear the story of the Dominguez family and visit the property’s gardens and orchard. “[The Dominguez’s] were one of the first families in the South Bay and their history parallels the history of Los Angeles,” Bruesehoff told the Business Journal. Visitors to the museum receive a tour of the Dominguez family adobe, which
was built in 1826. “As you walk through the museum, you basically walk through the Dominguez’s lives. It depicts different rooms that would have been in the adobe. We talk about their history, the history of Los Angeles and the history of Southern California with a focus on the South Bay,” Bruesehoff said. The museum also features a number of events including Flamenco performances and a speaker series. In October, the museum is set to host a reenactment of the Mexican-American War engagement, The Battle of the Old Woman’s Gun, which took place on rancho lands 168 years ago – in 1846. The museum, located at 18127 S. Alameda St., is also available for private gatherings such as weddings and corporate events. For more information, visit the museum’s website at dominguezrancho.org or call 310/603-0088. ■
California State University, Dominguez Hills Has Major Positive Impact On Community And The Region modest growth unless there are changes in funding to allow for more students.” Student retention rates, however, show room for improvement, Hagan said. “Our student retention rates are not where we want them to be,” he said, attributing the higherOne of the most influential public resources in Carson in terms of its community impact than-ideal dropout figures to a percentage of students who have other obligations such is California State University, Dominguez Hills (CSUDH). The state university is one of as full-time employment and their own families. To help boost student success, CSUDH “invested a lot of money” in programs and the largest regional employers, with about 1,489 employees, of which 809 are full-time and 680 are part-time. Thanks to the number of people coming to the university every services to guide students through their college experiences, Hagan said. Some students day to work and study, in addition to the school’s local spending, the university’s economic are coming from “under resourced” high schools and as a result their writing and math impact to the surrounding area is about $20 million per year, according to CSUDH Pres- skills are sometimes not up to university standards, he explained. The university offers a Summer Bridge Academy to students who need to bolster their math and writing skills ident Willie J. Hagan. “The benefits of an educated workforce are also something we bring to the table,” Hagan and learn organizational and time management tactics. CSUDH is also working to ensure said, pointing out that of CSUDH’s 90,000 alumni, about 50,000 are located within 25 all students have access to at least two “high-impact practices,” which Hagan said are miles of the campus. “We send into the local community people who have degrees in fields proven by research to improve student success and graduate rates. Some of these practices that benefit the community, from social work to business to software design,” he explained. include participating in faculty research, taking an internship and traveling abroad. As the university grows, plans for facility expansions top Hagan’s priorities. CurCarson and its surrounding communities also benefit from CSUDH’s incorporation of rently, renovations are underway to improve science, math, engineering and technology community service into its academic curriculum. “We have consistently ranked among the nation’s top universities in terms of students who (STEM) laboratories and classrooms “to integrate the best instructional technology,” participate in service learning as part of their curriculum,” he said. “About 60 percent of our he said. Improving the university’s STEM facilities is a priority for Hagan because students engage in some form of service learning.” Last year, about 8,000 CSUDH students STEM fields may hold the most potential for future job growth and employment of performed about 200,000 hours of community service, he added. Through the service learn- graduates, he said. To fund future construction such as a new science building, student dormitories and ing curriculum, students engage in everything from beautifying parks to helping local cities faculty housing, conduct research on Hagan said he is inissues such as obesity vestigating publicprevention or even private partnerships city policies. between the univerThe university sity and real estate continues to grow as developers. demand for higher education increases, “If we can build Hagan said. Enrollall those things with ment for the coming a private developer year is about 16,500 in conjunction with students. “We have building in some an increased number mixed-use commerof people trying to cial [buildings], it get in,” he said, notmight be possible ing that the univerthat by us providing sity received about the land through a 30,000 applicants public-private partlast year. “We took nership that we could in about 1,500 generate enough revfreshmen last year enue to help amorand about 2,500 to tize the debt for a 2,600 transfers. We new science buildexpect those numing,” he explained. bers to be roughly He said the univerthe same [this sity is actively pursuyear],” he said. “We do expect to con- California State University, Dominguez Hills President Willie J. Hagan said the university is “a major contributor” to the Carson community and surround- ing this option through discussions tinue to grow, but it ing areas by providing employment, community services and an educated workforce. Hagan is focused on fostering student success through curriculum with developers. ■ will be slow and and programs aimed at boosting retention rates, and hopes to grow the university’s facilities in the near future. ■ By SAMANTHA MEHLINGER Staff Writer
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