Civic Enterprise Development will open later this year Amped Kitchens L.A. South, a project to provide premium food production spaces to small and growing businesses in the 9th Council District. The $30 million project will convert a nearly 100-year Carnation granary on Avalon Street to a bustling complex of 62 food production spaces housing an estimated 250 new jobs.

City Councilmember Curren D. Price, Jr. said Amped Kitchens L.A. South embodies what’s so exciting about the NEW 9th and the shift ahead.

”A vacant warehouse will transform into a center of food enterprise, innovation and employment,” said Price, who chairs the Economic Development Committee on the Los Angeles City Council. “Civic Enterprise is investing in the incredible talent, community and history that’s so abundant in District 9, and I am excited to support innovative projects like this, Which breathe new energy into our historic communities.”

Amped Kitchens L.A. South will allow food companies-restaurants, bakers, packaged goods manufacturers and others-to produce, expand and develop products faster and for less money than they can on their own. Tenants will rent dedicated, wholesale production spaces in a range of sizes.

They will benefit from fully-staffed loading docks, as well as dry, cold and frozen storage, packing rooms and office space, giving them flexibility to grow in a rapidly-evolving marketplace.

This concept is the culmination of Civic Enterprise’s multiyear collaboration with key regulatory agencies, including the L.A. County Department of Public Health and the City of Los Angeles Department of Building and Safety, to streamline food businesses permitting. L.A. Prep South solves a major problem for food businesses and public regulators, alike. Operating alone, food companies can spend many months and sometimes hundreds of thousands of dollars to process permits and build production kitchens. At L.A. Prep South, most tenants can start production within a matter of days or weeks after signing their lease, at a fraction of the costs of going it alone.

Civic Enterprise co-principal Mott Smith said, “Far too many people and businesses just don’t have the resources to deal with everything they need to get permits to operate legally. We founded our company to help lower the barriers to entry, to help more people get a leg up in the marketplace. We are excited to join the South L.A. community and bring opportunities to local businesses.”

The creation of a community of like-minded food innovators is another benefit to locating at L.A. Prep South. Many growing food owners work on their own or with a small team. At Amped Kitchens (formerly L.A. Prep) and Amped Kitchens L.A. South, they are surrounded by producers with similar needs and goals. “Many tenants are drawn to the opportunity to be part of a larger food community,” stated Brian Albert, co-principal at Civic Enterprise Development. “At L.A. Prep and L.A. Prep South, you’re never working alone.”