Work Begins on Tech Center at Rail Yard

A part of an old northeast Los Angeles rail yard is about to be turned into a 400,000-square-foot tech center geared toward the region’s entertainment industry.

Taylor Yard, which at its peak during the 1950s employed about 1,000 people for Union Pacific, will be a home for a $78-million development that will target film production companies, said Councilman Mike Hernandez during a groundbreaking ceremony Thursday.

The dusty, weedy yard is one of the largest open parcels near downtown, said Melanie Winter, director of Friends of the Los Angeles River.

William Shubin, vice president of Legacy Partners, said his company and AMB Property Corp. will develop the tech center in an environmentally friendly way.

Plans for building a park behind Taylor Yard, which is located next to the Los Angeles River, will help beautify the area and absorb water from the river during flooding, Winters said.

Hernandez’s father-in-law used to work in Taylor Yard repairing trains, Hernandez said. When the repair yards moved to Colton, his father-in-law and about 900 other workers lost their jobs.

“But the $70 million-plus that is being invested here will result in creating over 1,000 jobs,” Hernandez said.

The Los Angeles Tech Center, as the development is called, should be operational by February, Shubin said. Talks have been underway with potential tenants, which include Internet-related companies.