How has your city/EDC sustained interest as an attractive option for companies seeking new alternatives and locations, given the challenges of the past few years on the economy and daily work life?
Recently, Carson adopted a new Economic Development Strategic Plan which includes several industry-specific “gamechangers.” These include investing in downtown; growing the sports, tourism and hospitality sector including creating a Live Entertainment District; incentivizing high job-creation and placemaking land uses; and partnering with environmental technology start-ups.
How does your city differentiate itself from others in the region?
Carson is the single best location on the West Coast for logistics and goods movement and has a long industrial history but prides itself for being the sports and group meeting powerhouse of the South Bay, as the home of the LA Galaxy, the Porsche Experience Center, Cal State Dominguez Hills and other meeting facilities. Yet the City remains affordable and a good value for its residents and businesses and provides a high quality of life with fully staffed parks and recreation programs, and unique and high quality human service programs for residents.
Which industries are demonstrating the most interest in your area today?
Major retail development is still underway – the Los Angeles Premium Outlets, the Carson Country Mart, the redevelopment of South Bay Pavilion, and a Costco – and new sports and entertainment venues are also scouting Carson. Carson is also seeing growth in the manufacturing sector, particularly in electric vehicle design and engineering.
What type of new-build activity are homebuilders experiencing, and what’s next for the sector in the coming months?
The 177-unit Carson Landing and the 34-unit Upton projects are new townhome communities which have sold out or are nearing completion. Major multi-family projects in the City’s core could bring nearly 4,000 new units of different types – mid-rise apartments, townhomes, and even detached homes. The signature residential project here, the 1,115-unit Carson Lane project, is in plan check. Carson is also experiencing a boom of small residential projects in the 4- to 20-unit range.
How is technology impacting the needs of businesses moving into the area?
Two technologies affect businesses: available, quality electrical power and high-speed broadband services. Carson is seeing an influx of businesses created to electrify vehicle fleets at the ports, but they need plentiful electric power in the right locations. We are partnering with SCE to help meet the challenge. Quality broadband, as always, is a universal challenge.
How has the Los Angeles region’s market growth impacted development and offerings in your city over the past three years?
The steady increase in traffic at both local ports affects Carson in dramatic ways, creating economic pressure on industrial land to be developed as logistics rather than other types of industrial uses. The City is developing incentives to mitigate the economic disadvantage that other land uses – manufacturing and commercial/retail – face when competing with logistics. On the flipside, the robust LA housing market has made housing development in Carson very attractive for developers, although projects have recently slowed in the changing interest rate environment.
What Financial, tax incentives, or other programs have been created to help your city attract businesses?
In the past year, Carson has funded the Small Business Growth Academy run by the Innovation Incubator at CSUDH and created a Commercial Façade Improvement program for retail/commercial businesses and shopping center owners to increase the appearance and vitality of these businesses. Carson has also entered into Economic Development incentive Agreements with targeted retail developers or tenants to facilitate new retail and restaurant projects in preferred locations.
