A look at 'small town' Los Angeles: El Segundo.

"Small town LA." That's how El Segundo is known in the South Bay region of Los Angeles County. Why? Because, the 5.5 square mile City of El Segundo is such an interesting mix of small town living and sophisticated business operations.

Despite its central location adjacent to LAX and major freeways, El Segundo has maintained its small town reputation even with 10 million square feel of office space within its boundaries. That small town reputation means that businesses located here get the best of all worlds. El Segundo is not only close to the 105 and 405 freeways and the airport, there are also three Green Line stations within the City. It's no surprise that several Fortune 500 companies including Mattel, Unocal and Computer Sciences Corporation are headquartered here; many other Fortune 500 companies have offices including Boeing, Northrop Grumman, Sun Microsystems, Oracle, Raytheon and Chevron. And then there is the Los Angeles Air Force Base, home to the Space and Missile Systems Center, which has been in El Segundo for over 40 years and will soon undertake a significant modernization project that will help to ensure its continued operation. The Base is a major economic engine that is very, important to the entire region.

Adjacent to the Base is The Aerospace Corporation, a private, non-profit corporation with an exclusively scientific purpose. That purpose is In provide research, development and advisory services to their primary customer, the Space and Missile Systems Center. According to The Aerospace Corporation, its focus is on the government's need to develop the best space-related hardware and software at the lowest prudent cost.

El Segundo is also the operating base of the Los Angeles Lakers, Kings and Sparks of the WBA. The HealthSouth facility is the place to spot those teams as well as Olympic medallists and hopefuls who practice on HealthSouth's two ice skating rinks. The rinks, as well as an in line rink, are open for public skating for several hours each day.

And several new projects are underway. The modernization at the Los Angeles Air force Base will replace outdated buildings with 560,000 square feet of state of the art facilities. Thomas Properties received entitlements from the City of El Segundo to build over 2,000,000 square feet of primarily office uses on a 46 acre site formerly owned by Rockwell and adjacent to the 105 Freeway. The project will be known as Campus El Segundo. For example, Continental Development's beautiful new Atrium building on Rosecrans added almost 300,000 square feet of Class A office space and Kilroy's 999 Sepulveda underwent renovation and expansion and now offers great spate with wonderful views at the gateway to the City. Exciting plans for the corner of Rosecrans and Sepulveda will he unveiled soon. This new development will take place on one of the few large pieces of vacant land in the area.

In addition to the sophisticated, thriving business community, El Segundo offers one of the most charming residential communities in the South Bay region of Los Angeles County. A major downtown improvement project, costing almost $4 million, will be completed in late fall giving Main Street El Segundo a new exciting look. With over 30 restaurants in the downtown, there is no problem finding a great lunch no matter what your taste or price range. In fact, the City provides a free lunchtime shuttle bus service from the east side of town, where most of the businesses are located, to the downtown. There are other unusual downtown amenities that deserve mention such as a silent movie theatre and beautiful and historic murals that grace the sides of some of downtown's buildings. The transient occupancy tax rate in El Segundo is at 8%, lower than those of surrounding cities.

This article was provided by the City of El Segundo. To learn more, visit the web site at www.elsegundo.org or call 310-524-2333.