Verizon launches third SmartPark development in Long Beach, CA

APRIL 2, 2008 -- Verizon (search for Verizon) is joining with the developers of Long Beach, CA's Douglas Park project to create the city's third SmartPark, providing tenants with a fiber-optic network that meets their communications requirements and has the capacity to grow with the bandwidth demands of future technology.

As a Verizon SmartPark, the Douglas Park development will offer tenants quick and reliable access to today's latest voice, data, and video communications technologies delivered over an all fiber-optic network, claims the carrier. All services and support will be business-ready and available from the moment tenants move in.

"As part of Verizon's SmartPark program, the tenants of Douglas Park will have full access to a network that is unparalleled in speed, reliability, and flexibility," contends Rick Martin, SmartPark national program manager. "We find that SmartPark developments have higher occupancy, higher market value, and enhanced brand recognition than business parks developed independently," he adds.

Verizon's SmartPark team is working with the Douglas Park developers to design a network infrastructure with ample capacity to support technology's increasing demand for bandwidth. Verizon places an underground fiber-optic network in the SmartPark and then monitors and maintains the network 24 x 7 to ensure tenants' long-term satisfaction with the products and services they receive from Verizon. Every location is pre-wired so that tenants can have the technology, products, and services they need as soon as possible.

The two other SmartParks in Long Beach are Kilroy Airport Center and the Cal State University at Long Beach Technology Center.

Douglas Park was created in December 2004 when the Long Beach City
Council approved the redevelopment of approximately 261 acres of former
Boeing aircraft production facilities. Of the 261 acres, 238 are within the city of Long Beach, with the remaining 23 in the city of Lakewood.

The Verizon SmartPark program will provide Douglas Park tenants a range of
advanced services from basic high-speed data transport to full-motion video over ATM, Frame Relay, and other broadband services.

The Douglas Park development includes 3.1 million square feet of commercial space, including office space, research and development, and light industrial. The plans also call for 400 hotel rooms, 200,000 square feet of retail space, and 13.5 acres of parks and recreation area that includes bike paths and trails.

"Douglas Park will clearly be a terrific, new asset for Long Beach," asserts Robert Swayze, the city's manager of economic development. "It will give Long Beach a brand new business park that not only commemorates a great company but also provides much-needed business space and high-quality jobs in a beautiful environment. And having a Verizon SmartPark means businesses in Douglas Park will have an absolute state-of-the-art telecom network," he says. "That is a terrific strategic advantage."

Today the Verizon SmartPark program supports 156 locations in 13 states.

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