Hackman Capital Partners will convert a former aerospace facility in El Segundo into approximately 550,000 square feet of creative offices, according to an announcement today.

The project, which is being designed by Gensler, encompasses a 30-acre site just south of the Century Freeway on Douglas Street, formerly owned and operated by Northrop Grumman.  Hackman imagines the rehabilitation and reuse of existing structures on the site, resulting in approximately 550,000 square feet of office space, with the potential for future expansion.

Gensler's design preserves iconic features from the existing property, including its high bays and sawtooth skylights.  A series of bridges and catwalks would connect the interior of the property, resulting in a seamless campus environment.

At the exterior, plans call for carving new open-air walkways through the property's largest buildings, as well as repurposing some existing parking as green space for tenants.

The project, scheduled to break ground in the first quarter of 2018, is slated to open in mid-2019.  It is located directly across the street from Metro's Aviation/ LAX Station, which is currently served by the Green Line, and will eventually see trains from the under-construction Crenshaw/LAX Line - also scheduled to open in 2019.

The office conversion is emblematic of both short-term and long-term trends in the Southern California economy, including the gradual southward migration of L.A.'s tech sector, and the long-term decline of aerospace.  These two moves have intersected in El Segundo, where a number of former industrial facilities have been repurposed as office space.  Some residential development has also entered the picture, with a large apartment complex completed last year just east of the former Northrup Grumman property.

Hackman has recently made news for its work in Culver City, most notably for beginning construction yesterday for the long-delayed Culver Steps development and signing Amazon to a 280,000-square-foot lease at Culver Studios.