THE GAZETTE.
January-February 2006 • Year 12, Number 1.
Downtown Neighbor A Part Of Revitalization Cast.
By ALEX HERNANDEZ
Administrative Analyst For Economic Development,
City Of Santa Clarita.
Five hundred and eight acres directly south of the Downtown Newhall Specific Plan area will play a pivotal role in the city's revitalization efforts.
The proposed Gate-King Industrial Park is more than seven times the size of the area in the specific plan. Development and relocation of businesses to Gate-King will spur economic growth in the neighboring revitalization project area.
Paul Brotzman, the city's director of community development, hopes to expand Santa Clarita's entertainment and motion picture industry. He has coined the name "Media Center North" to promote the Gate-King Industrial Park as a potential entertainment hub encompassing a full film studio, back lots, sound stages and post-production companies.
The city's Economic Development Division recently commissioned a labor market study. The study found that six percent of Santa Clarita's total work force is involved in motion picture and television production. That translates to more than seven thousand workers, many of whom commute to larger entertainment hubs such as Burbank and the San Fernando Valley.
Brotzman expects that the fully developed Media Center North will capture this highly skilled work force.
"We hope these well-paid employees help revitalize the stores and restaurants in Old Town Newhall by visiting them often and shopping locally," he said.
Gate-King was first presented to the city's Planning Department in 1999. The City Council and staff worked with the owner to subdivide the project into one hundred and six lots. The site includes industrial, commercial and open space zoning designations with full build-out of the site using two hundred and three acres.
This acreage will accommodate up to 4.2 million square feet of industrial-commercial development, and provides upwards of seven thousand new jobs. At full build-out, businesses in Media Center North can provide approximately $6.7 million in new retail expenditures, with Old Town Newhall expected to capture a majority of those expenditures.
Residents of Old Town Newhall and Santa Clarita also will be able to enjoy other public benefits from the development of Media Center North.
The owner has agreed to provide a tree planting program of up to five hundred trees over a five-year period, a Class I bike trail along two streets, and contributions over the next ten years to support Newhall youth sports leagues.
The project will also include a fire station, wildfire helipad, two on-site trailheads, wildlife guzzlers and an open space buffer for the wildlife corridor that runs across Sierra Highway.
The developer has also agreed to a $2.4 million cash contribution for a pedestrian bridge over San Fernando Road and streetscape beautification, Newhall Community Center improvements, an entry sign to Old Town Newhall, an off-site park-and-ride facility, and preservation of the historic Pioneer Oil refinery.
The revitalization of Old Town Newhall will provide an urban environment for employees working at Media Center North to enjoy. The business park's adjacency to William S. Hart Park and Museum, as well as Newhall Creek, offers natural features and environments that employers can promote to their employees.
The synergy from Media Center North and Old Town Newhall will no doubt transform Santa Clarita.
©2006, Old Town Newhall USA. All rights reserved.
