City redevelopment officials are looking to bring manufacturing back in a big way to downtown Los Angeles with a green twist.
Last September, the Community Redevelopment Agency announced plans for a CleanTech Manufacturing Center on a 20-acre parcel purchased from the state of California for $14 million.
The agency is now soliciting companies both established and emerging engaged in the assembly, manufacturing or development of products in clean energy generation, clean water technology and reduced emissions vehicle technology. Also wanted are companies that use recycled and recyclable material.
Firms with space requirements of 40,000 to 400,000 square feet or more are the primary focus and occupancy could move in as early as 2011, said Len Betz, the center’s project manager.
While the agency has received about 20 letters of interest from various clean tech companies since September, Italian rail maker AnsaldoBreda is the top contender to become the anchor tenant, bringing 660 jobs, Betz said.
“We’re optimistic about it,” Betz said. “The company has said that beyond assembling the rail cars here, it would make the stainless steel car bodies here that are now made in Italy and assembled in Northern California.”
But it’s a touch-and-go situation because AnsaldoBreda is in danger of losing a $300 million contract with the Metropolitan Transit Authority for 100 rail cars. The company currently has a contract to build 50 cars for the Gold Line, but MTA officials have criticized them as being late and exceeding weight specifications.
AnsaldoBreda executives have shored up support from city officials and labor unions by saying they would set up manufacturing at the downtown Los Angeles facility if the MTA awards them the full order.
Betz said the CRA has agreed to a 60-day negotiation period with the rail company to occupy about 75 percent of the clean tech center, but the deal hinges on the MTA’s decision, which is set to be final before July 31.
To play it safe, Betz said the CRA is pressing ahead with preparation for the release of a request for proposals in the coming months.
Building a Case
Long Beach yacht manufacturer Gambol Industries is hoping to operate a shipbuilding and repair business at the site of the shuttered Southwest Marine site at the Port of Los Angeles where port officials want to dump nearly 3 million cubic yards of soil dug from the Main Channel.
The L.A. City Council last week instructed port officials to reconsider the dumping plan, part of the Channel Deepening Project, and put together a feasibility study to see if a shipyard could be built. However, the council also allowed the channel project to move forward, leaving Gambol’s $50 million pitch in limbo.
“We’re holding our breath,” said Bob Stein, president of Gambol Industries. “But in order for the ports to diversify beyond relying on cargo, this is the kind of opportunity they need to seize.”
Work on the three-year Main Channel deepening project, designed to accommodate larger cargo ships, is expected to start in October, pending final approval from the California Coastal Commission by June 12.
Port officials said it could take at least another five years to build the shipyard, but are expected to report back on the feasibility study by August. They said both projects could proceed if another area is found to dump the soil.
One More Flight
Unmanned aircraft manufacturer AeroVironment Inc. announced last week that U.S. government agencies funding an aviation program have exercised an option to build a third aircraft from its product line.
The Global Observer Joint Capability Technology Demonstration program provides a high-altitude unmanned aircraft system for intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance and communications. It can remain in flight for up to one week, the Monrovia-based company said.
An initial $57 million contract for a three-year development program was awarded to AeroVironment in September 2007. Six contract options have been exercised since the program was initiated. The five previous options are valued at more than $120 million. Terms of the most recent option were not disclosed.
News & Notes
Avery Dennison Corp. has appointed R. Shawn Neville as group vice president, retail information services. Prior to joining the Pasadena company, Neville was chief executive of Boathouse Sports, a Philadelphia custom team apparel manufacturer and brand Plastic pipe manufacturer JM Eagle, headquartered near LAX, has appointed Jeffrey Lee and Robert Wang as West Coast and East Coast sales directors, respectively, for its waterworks division.
Staff reporter Francisco Vara-Orta can be reached at [email protected] or (323) 549-5225, ext. 241.
