‘Oasis’ Starts in Commerce Business Park : 3rd Phase Includes Amenities for Tenants in $40-Million Project

Trammel Crow Co. has opened the third and most ambitious phase of its Commerce Business Park, a $120-million office and service center under construction on a City of Commerce site once used by heavy-industry plants.

The third phase, nicknamed “superblock” by its developers, is built on an 18-acre parcel in the middle of the 45-acre complex at Slauson and Eastern avenues.

Valued at $40 million, the third phase is designed to serve as an “oasis” within the larger complex. It incorporates a campus, garden-like theme with a jogging course, curving roads for visual diversity, fountains, sculptures and walkways.

Third-Phase Buildings

Buildings in the third phase include:

--5500 South Eastern, a 48,000-square-foot, 2-story office and research-and-development building, designed by Orange-based Leason Pomeroy Associates;

--The Archway, two 1-story R&D;/service center buildings with a total of 33,000 square feet of space, designed by Lee Sakahara of Irvine.

--The Courtyard, two 2-story, 45,000-square-foot buildings designed by the Nadel Partnership of Santa Monica.

--The Cornerstone, an 85,000-square-foot 4-story office building designed by Arechaederra/Hong/Treiman Architects of Santa Monica.

Another 48,000-square-foot, build-to-suit office building in the third phase houses computers owned by Transcon Lines, a transportation company.

Training Facility

National Education Corp., the nation’s largest provider of vocational schools and training programs, has signed a $4-million lease for 36,000 square feet in the 5500 South Eastern building.

NEC will use the space as a post-secondary training facility, according to David G. Mgrublian, leasing agent for Trammel Crow’s City of Commerce office.

The third phase also includes a heliport. L.A. Helicopter has already begun a service that transports people from the business park to Los Angeles International Airport in seven minutes, Mgrublian said.

Completely Occupied

Commerce Business Park was began four years ago. Earlier phases included about 500,000 square feet of office space that is now completely occupied, a Gerber’s Children’s Center and a restaurant complex.

The site was previously occupied by several industrial firms, including U.S. Steel and Chrysler Corp. But they began leaving in the 1970s, as foreign competition heated up and American industry consolidated.

The park may eventually have as many as 1.5 million square feet of space. Trammel Crow is developing several other projects in the area, incorporating more than 400 acres.