El Segundo hoping to attract tech businesses to Smoky Hollow neighborhood

EL SEGUNDO, Calif. (KABC) -- El Segundo is pushing hard to attract the tech sector.

The small city south of LAX is looking to make a big name for itself with creative office tenants and tech businesses.

It has set its sights on 120 acres of its industrial Smoky Hollow neighborhood.

The area got its name because smoke once settled there from Standard Oil Co.'s refinery in 1911. For decades, the neighborhood was home to manufacturers serving neighboring aerospace firms, but that dried up after the end of the Cold War.

The neighborhood is no longer smoky and the city considered changing the name to "The Hollow." But city planners say that industrial heritage is what is attracting creative companies to the area.

After decades of debate, the city has changed the zoning for Smoky Hollow and has a plan to make the area an incubator district for young companies. The city's new zoning affects nearly 3 million square feet of office, industrial and public building space through 2040.

The new regulations will prevent other business such as mini storage, medical offices and banks from setting up shop.