A few blocks north of the massive Chevron oil refinery in El Segundo, a small commercial building dating to the late 1940s has made way for modern offices.

watermark View of construction site looking southeastUrbanize LA

The project, located at 212 Eucalyptus Drive, will consist of a three-story edifice featuring just over 14,100 square feet of offices above street-level parking and retail space.

Balian Architects is designing the low-rise building, which will be clad in a mix of exposed steel and metal siding.  An open-air staircase will line the northern side of the building, leading up to a rooftop deck.

According to Los Angeles County Assessor's records, the owner of the roughly 5,000-square-foot property is the El Segundo-based entity Roots on Eucalyptus, LLC.

Per a project description from the Balian Architects website, the owner of the property commissioned the under-construction design in advance of a zoning ordinance which increased the allowable floor-area for new construction in the surrounding Smoky Hollow district.

View of northern facadeBalian Architects

The name “Smoky Hollow” is a reference to the neighboring oil refinery, which billowed smoke into the surrounding blocks in its earliest days.  The name El Segundo, translated to 'The Second" in Spanish, is also derived from the oil refinery, which was the second such facility for The Standard Oil Company on the west coast.

Several other office projects - including a 200,000-square-foot campus - are either planned or in development nearby.