Torrance's aerospace and advanced-manufacturing boom is becoming large enough to reshape the city's industrial real-estate market.

One of the clearest examples is Valar Atomics, a nuclear-energy startup that has taken approximately 512,000 square feet of industrial space in Torrance.

That is an exceptionally large footprint for a young technology company—and it is part of a much broader South Bay trend.

Commercial real-estate analysts say aerospace, defense and advanced-manufacturing companies are competing intensely for industrial facilities throughout Torrance, El Segundo, Hawthorne and neighboring communities.

Commercial Observer reported that demand for advanced-manufacturing space in the South Bay has grown to roughly four times available supply.

Torrance has become particularly attractive because it already has a manufacturing workforce, large industrial buildings and a long aerospace heritage.

City officials have separately identified companies including Castelion, Northwood Space, FlightWave, Heart Aerospace, AnySignal, GITAI and Antares among the newer aerospace and defense businesses establishing or expanding operations in Torrance.

The result is an economic shift that Torrance residents may increasingly notice through hiring, construction, traffic and redevelopment of former industrial properties.

For decades, Torrance has been known for automobiles, petroleum and traditional manufacturing.

A new identity is now being layered on top of that history: space, defense, robotics, nuclear technology and advanced manufacturing.

Article Link: Read about the South Bay advanced-manufacturing boom