This post was written for The Ground Floor by Robert Krueger, communications associate at the Urban Land Institute.

What are the challenges and opportunities–physical, social and economic–involved in redeveloping existing industrial infrastructure so that it is can attract clean technology industries in the 21st century? That is exactly the question posed to an upcoming ULI Advisory Services panel that will visit Los Angeles in May. The initiative is part of Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and L.A.’s Community Redevelopment Agency’s (CRA/LA) long term vision for creating the world’s top clean technology manufacturing corridor. 

 “Los Angeles will be the word’s clean technology capital,” said Villaraigosa in a 2008 statement. “This is where innovators will create jobs of a new economy for the 21st century.” 

 But the task is easier said than done. This old industrial site has a long controversial history. In 1984, efforts from the State of California to build a prison on the site were derailed by local organizing and battles by lobbyists. In 2008, CRA/LA purchased the site from the state, and has spent the past two years preparing it for redevelopment.

Once completed, the Clean Tech Corridor will be made up of three anchors, all forming a LEED community: The Clean Tech Manufacturing Center, the Cornfields Arroyo Seco neighborhood, as well as the Clean Tech Research Center. The idea is similar to Richard Florida’s creative class clustering, which gives some cities economic, professional, and cultural advantages of others when they are able to attract those professionals who work in similar industries. According to the City of Los Angeles, the Clean Tech Corridor will draw together the very best researchers, designers, and manufacturers who share a commitment to the development of innovative clean technology products and solutions to solving the climate crisis. 

When CRA/LA announced the initiative, it stated that “the CleanTech Manufacturing Center will accelerate Los Angeles’ development as the center for green manufacturing by attracting, incubating and promoting the growth of environmentally sustainable companies. This groundbreaking initiative will bring together existing companies and innovators in our city, along with companies from around the world seeking to locate in Los Angeles.”

According to the Los Angeles Times, there have been over 100 clean technology companies that have expressed interest in the site since the purchase of the site. These companies include electric car manufacturers, innovative recycling businesses, and an Italian rail manufacturer. The mayor’s team is also pushing for a laboratory cluster intended to attract companies to work with local universities. UCLA and USC already have plans for future research centers on the site.

What is the panel’s goal? The ten-person panel, consisting of land use and real estate experts within the membership of ULI, will provide recommendations concerning what strategies should be used to evolve the existing land while encouraging green collar jobs, while reusing the current building stock in order to accommodate a new clean tech workforce. The panel will focus on a two-square mile area of the four-mile long corridor that stretches from the Los Angeles State Historic Park (formerly the “Cornfields”) at its northern end to Adelante Eastside at the south. 

The panel will spend five days touring and evaluating the site and interviewing individual stakeholders before they offer their recommendations at a public presentation on May 21 at the Kyoto Grand Hotel. The panel is taking a unique approach by collecting suggestions and concerns from the general public. All submissions will be delivered to the panel prior to their arrival in Los Angeles.