California State University, Long Beach (CSULB), in strategic alliance with the City of Long Beach, is in process of creating the CSULB Technology Park on land formerly used as military family housing by the U.S. Department of the Navy.
This property was acquired from the U.S. Navy in 1996 via the Navy's first Economic Development Conveyance nationwide. An Economic Development Conveyance is an effective mechanism to provide for redevelopment and reuse of former military bases, enabling the local community to recover from the major economic and job losses resulting from the closure of local military bases. Significant project funding support has been provided by the U.S. Department of Commerce, Economic Development Administration, the California Trade & Commerce Agency and the U.S. Department of Defense -Office of Economic Adjustment.
The location of the CSULB Technology Park has many strategic advantages, due to close proximity to downtown Long Beach, the Port of Long Beach and Los Angeles area major freeways. The project will be located on 30 acres on West Pacific Coast Highway in Long Beach, between the Terminal Island Freeway (CA -47) and the Long Beach Freeway (I-710), in close proximity to the future Alameda Transportation Corridor, and the port facilities on the west coast of North America.
The CSULB Technology Park will provide a wide range of buildable sites, architecturally attractive buildings, high quality infrastructure and a high quality technology park environment. Training facilities for a wide variety of instructional programs will also be built.
The project development has included demolition of existing Naval Housing to create buildable lots, completion and upgrades of infrastructure improvements and landscaping. Approximately 11,600 Square feet. of existing buildings have been renovated for office use within the CSULB Research & Training Center portion of the project. The initial tenants for these buildings include the Long Beach Enterprise Center and de Alameda Corridor Transportation Training Project. Portions of these buildings are currently available for lease and occupancy at very attractive rates.
Inquiries concerning the Project should be directed to Mr. Mo Tidemanis, Director of Property Development, 562-985-8489.
Inquiries concerning research at CSU Long Beach may be sent to Dr. James Brett, Director of Research, 562-985-5314.
Inquiries concerning instruction at the Research and Training Center may be sent to Dr. Robert Behm, Dean, University College and Extension Services, 562-985-5570.
For comments concerning this WWW address, please send e-mail to mtideman@csulb.edu
Center History
California State University Long Beach Converts Navy Housing to Technology Park
Mo
Tidemanis Director of Property Development
California State University Long Beach Foundation and Director, CSULB Technology
Center
California State University Long Beach (CSULB) Foundation has begun the transformation
of an old Navy housing area into a university related Technology Park. A $2 million
Phase I, a $1.25 million Phase II and a $1.4 million Phase III grant have been
awarded to the CSULB Foundation from the U.S. Department of Commerce, Economic
Development Administration (EDA) under Title IX Sudden and Severe Economic Dislocation
Program. This EDA Grant Funding provides for the demolition of 268 Navy family
housing units. New Technology Park buildings totaling up to 600,000 square feet
of facilities for private industry working in partnership with the University
as well as specific University facilities.
California State University Long Beach Research & Training Center
A 5 acre portion of the site (lots 26 & 27) has been reserved for University facilities. There are numerous facilities, services and resources that California State University Long Beach can bring to the University Research and Training Center portion of the CSULB Technology Park. These services and resources have proven to be the key elements in the success of over 130 university related research parks throughout the country and over 300 university related research parks in the world. Generally, these services and resources fall in the following categories:
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Access to research facilities and equipment
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Faculty/student research capabilities
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Access to training programs
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Link to library and computer resources
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Access to faculty and students as consultants, mentors and
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employees
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Access to telecommunications, grants and other university
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assets or expertise
Space may be established for conducting university research. According to the specific type of research required, this may include laboratories, materials testing facilities, computer facilities, required research administrative space, and other research related building space. Facilities established will allow for research conducted with faculty from other California State University campuses and other Universities.
The University proposes to establish research and training facilities on this site. The exact configuration of these facilities will be dictated by the needs of future specific research grants. Specific examples of research laboratory facilities and operations relate to the existing research activities at California State University Long Beach.
Facilities will be established for a variety of training programs. California State University Long Beach currently conducts a wide variety of training programs, including extensive training for private industry and governmental agencies. Programs and facilities will be established to train private industry and / or the local community. California State University Long Beach will be able to offer specialized areas of interest to local industry. International trade, import / export, and international marketing are areas of particular importance to the local area. A prime example of training facilities is the first tenant in the existing buildings, which have been renovated into office space, the Alameda Corridor Training Project. To compliment these training programs, facilities will be established to allow for business meeting space needs which may include teleconferencing.
These training facilities will vary in size from classrooms to conference rooms to auditorium style facilities. It is anticipated that these training facilities will be augmented by telecommunications, distance learning, and computer facilities. The exact configuration of these training facilities will be dictated by the requirements of future training program partners.
The EDA grants have provided for the renovation of existing buildings to support a new business incubator the (Long Beach Enterprise Center), the Alameda Corridor Training Project and university uses. Demolition has created future development by private industry, EDA grant funded infrastructure improvements have created an attractive and aesthetic Technology park corporate environment.
The
site, on 30 acres near downtown Long Beach and the Ports of Los Angeles and Long
Beach, was formerly used to house Navy personnel in three and four bedroom, one
and two story, family housing units. The land transfer in July 1996 culminated
a four-year process of securing the land, and represented the Navy's first Economic
Development Conveyance nationwide. The CSULB proposal for reuse of the site was
ranked first in priority of 12 proposed reuses of the site by the City of Long
Beach as the Local Reuse Authority. The site will be used by the university and
private industry to develop research and training facilities, an incubator for
start-up businesses and interactive educational programs.
The CSULB Technology Park is located within the Long Beach Enterprise Zone, and a Recycling Market Development Zone. Together, these zones create significant tax incentives for private industry to locate on site. The project site is also directly adjacent to the West Long Beach Redevelopment Area and in very close proximity to the future Alameda Corridor. The Alameda Corridor is the nation's largest transportation project, which consolidates port-related train traffic onto a 20-mile high speed, high capacity, and grade-separated transportation corridor linking the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach to key transcontinental rail yards near downtown Los Angeles. By eliminating at-grade rail crossings, this $2 billion project will greatly facilitate international trade. Other adjacent reuses of the project site include a $60 million new high school and a $22 million Job Corps Training Center built by the US Department of Labor. The adjacent Villages at Cabrillo will provide training to veterans and others living in attractively renovated residential buildings. A $7 million City of Long Beach Westside Police Substation has been recently built and is open, directly adjacent to the CSULB Technology Park.
The Long Beach Enterprise Center
The Long Beach Enterprise Center is an association of academic, local government and private sector agencies and businesses assembled to ensure the participation of high-potential tenants from targeted growth sectors. State-of-the-art services will ensure the expansion and profitability of these fledgling businesses. The goal of the incubator is to spur formation of higher value-added technology driven businesses based on an understanding of local and regional business clusters. The incubator program has been established as a non-profit entity aligned with the Los Angeles County Incubator Program. The business plan calls for a financially self-sustaining entity. The CSULB Foundation will provide approximately 5,800 square feet of renovated building space to the Long Beach Enterprise Center at no cost. CSULB faculty and students will provide consulting services and a well-trained workforce to these new companies.
CSULB
has renovated existing buildings to accommodate a variety of specific university
research and training programs, which are currently in need of space. These projects
include the Alameda Corridor Training Project.
These training programs, located in existing renovated buildings, will serve
not only to attract new private industry users to the site, but also provide
needed training programs to the local community.
A project feasibility study prepared by DRI / McGraw Hill projects that the economic clusters that will represent the economic growth of the immediate area and the project site will be transportation/logistics, multimedia/creative services, environmental services, and health care support services.
CSULB has been awarded $300,000 Phase I and $150,000 Phase II grants from the State of California Trade and Commerce Agency through its Defense Adjustment Matching Grant Program. These grants helped meet the matching funds requirement for the EDA grant and funded marketing, entitlements, and operating expenses for both the Technology Park and the Long Beach Enterprise Center. The CSULB Foundation is working with both the California Trade and Commerce Agencyand the City of Long Beach Economic Development Bureau to market the site to private industry users.
Groundbreaking for the project was held on April 13, 1998. Left to right are Tom White (California Trade & Commerce Agency), Len Smith (U.S. Department of Commerce, Economic Development Administration), Beverly O'Neill (Mayor City of Long Beach), Robert Maxson (President CSULB), Juanita Millender-McDonald (Congressional Representative 37th District California), Mike Donelon (City Councilman, 7th. District) and Mo Tidemanis (Director of Property Development, CSULB Foundation)
Contributed by Mo Tidemanis, Director of Property Development for the CSULB Foundation and Director of the CSULB Technology Park.