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Friday, Mar 29, 2024

Newhall Ranch Project Clears Preliminary Approvals

The proposed Newhall Ranch project — which spans 19 square miles in the Santa Clarita Valley and has been embroiled in controversy for 15 years — this month moved one step closer toward a ground-breaking. The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors this month granted a preliminary approval of the first phase of the development, known as Landmark Village. Set adjacent to the Santa Clara River, the project calls for 270 single-family homes, 1,174 apartments, town homes and condos, a school and retail businesses. “This was a major step forward for us,” said Newhall spokeswoman Marlee Lauffer. The board’s move comes as the housing market remains stuck at the bottom — constrained by foreclosures and tight-lending requirements — which has also held back economic recovery efforts. Year-to-date single-family home sales are down 5 percent in the Santa Clarita Valley, according to data from the Southland Regional Association of Realtors Inc. Although August saw a jump in escrows closing, the numbers are still below average. Meanwhile, questions swirl about whether there’s sufficient demand for the new community. And plans for the larger Newhall Ranch project have been tangled in lawsuits, bankruptcy court and the halls of county government. Newhall Land, a Valencia-based landowner and master planner, created the grand vision for the proposed Newhall Ranch project, which would be built in several phases over a more than 20-year period, depending on demand. The large-scale plan calls for 21,000 residential units for 60,000 people. Tough market conditions don’t give Newhall pause, Lauffer said, adding homebuilders can hold off on construction at Newhall based on market conditions. Other developers have not yet expressed interest in the project, however it’s too early for that process, she said. “Obviously the housing market has some challenges right now, but we anticipate by the time we get going for Newhall Ranch … there will be demand for a great place to live,” Lauffer said. Despite the challenging real estate market, broker Dave Dobrow said the Landmark Village development will give an added kick to the market, releasing new homes not under short sales, which often take a long time to close. The larger development, in planning for more than a decade, is unlikely to flood the market, he said, especially with an increased industrial and commercial base in the Santa Clarita Valley. “It is a positive thing especially the way they plan to release this in phases slowly,” the broker with Coldwell Banker Vista Realty in Valencia said. Los Angeles City Councilman Richard Alarcon has raised concerns the new development does not have enough jobs built in and residents will be required to travel far distances to commute to work, creating more gridlock on the Golden State Freeway through the San Fernando Valley. “The issue really has to do whether they are going to create job opportunities at the same time they are creating housing opportunities,” Alarcon said. But Newhall says the final project will create 60,000 jobs in the area, including 19,000 within the community. The Newhall Ranch project proposes roughly 5.5 million square feet of light industrial, retail and office space, Lauffer said. Jonas Peterson, president of the Santa Clarita Valley Economic Development Corporation, said development will help accommodate future projected population and job growth in the region. “That is all the more reason to prepare the product and be prepared for that growth,” he said. The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors must still give its final approval for the Landmark Village project. A vote has yet to be scheduled, said a county spokesman.

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