Pamela Verner joined SCV Commercial Real Estate in 2007. Her prior experience includes more than 12 years working in escrow handling high volume commercial and residential escrows.
Your company’s site notes you’ve been involved in the commercial real estate industry for about two dozen years — what significant changes have you noted in the local market in your experience here?
With the city’s attempt to balance housing and jobs, we have seen an increase in industrial parks, office buildings and retail centers.
Most notable have been Centre Pointe and the Commerce Center and more recently the Needham Ranch and Vista Canyon projects. With the continued support, leadership and outreach of the SCV Chamber of Commerce, the Valley Industrial Association and the SCV Economic Development Corp. there has been increased awareness of our market from industries such as aerospace, bioscience, and manufacturing as well as filming, entertainment and retail.
Old Town Newhall is quickly becoming a destination spot. The new Laemmle Theater, Newhall Crossings development, and parking structure along with several new restaurants, breweries and wine bars have brought opportunities for not only the commercial real estate industry, but the tenants, as well.
Santa Clarita has recently looked at several business-friendly changes, including raising the ceiling for construction to securing better Internet options. How impactful are these changes in your industry?
Access to high-speed internet, increased ceiling height for industrial property, and additional stories for office buildings is important to the growth of our business community, both for recruiting new businesses to the area and to help with the growth of our existing businesses.
More options for high-speed Internet have been something this valley has needed for quite some time. With the recent contract awarded to Crown Castle Fiber LLC, we hope that this will be a huge benefit to our local economy.
What are some of the challenges that exist in the local market, and how are commercial real estate agents working to overcome them?
Our biggest challenges right now are low inventory and high prices.
Both lease rates and sale prices are at an all time high. Vacancy rates, especially in the industrial market, can be misleading. A few 100,000-square-foot buildings on the market can make the vacancy rates appear high, when in fact there are few options for smaller users.
Keeping a close eye on inventory, working closely with other commercial real estate brokers, allowing sufficient time to locate a property, and offering creative suggestions for space are some of the ways we help our clients find a property that suits their needs.
What do you focus on from a marketing perspective as the SCV’s biggest selling points when you try to bring clients from out of the area to the SCV?
The city of Santa Clarita has earned its place as one of the top business-friendly cities due to a vast qualified local workforce, its close proximity to the Los Angeles area and its pro-business environment.
The overall cost of doing business in the city of Santa Clarita significantly lower compared to the City of Los Angeles. In addition, SCV is a great area to raise a family due to its outstanding school system and its ranking as one of the safest cities.
For more information about SCV Commercial Real Estate Services, visit scvcommercial.com, or contact 661-714-5271.
