By Holly Schroeder, president and CEO of the Santa Clarita Valley Economic Development Corp.
If you’ve driven out Highway 14 or Highway 126 recently, you probably noticed
the amount of development and construction along those corridors.
And if you’re on Facebook, you’ve probably noticed some people aren’t happy about it.
I’d like to share why this growth is beneficial to the SCV’s economy.
Have you ever stopped to consider what companies might eventually move into all that new construction? These are the businesses that help fuel our strong economy and provide a growing high-quality, high-paying jobs base.
At the Santa Clarita Valley Economic Development Corp., we are on the front lines working to attract and retain these companies, with a focus on the aerospace and defense, advanced manufacturing, biotechnology, information technology, and digital media and entertainment industries. And these are precisely the types of companies that are filling those new, state-of-the-art spaces, and opening up new career opportunities — especially attractive to SCV residents who want to give up hour-plus commutes and work close to home.
Let’s take a closer look at the developments. On the north side of Highway 14, you can see The Center at Needham Ranch — the largest industrial development under construction in the state, and possibly the nation with 4.2 million square feet of new, state-of-art industrial and commercial space when completed. With its proximity to I-5, it’s a great location for a variety of industries from advanced manufacturing to digital media and entertainment.
A bit further north in the SCV on the south side of Highway 14, you can see the construction of Vista Canyon and their beautiful, new office building — a perfect place for a corporate headquarters or a growing tech startup. This office space is one of several under construction in SCV, eventually adding nearly 1 million square feet to support new and expanding businesses.
When Vista Canyon is completed it will feature a new Town Center, a variety of housing options and multi-use buildings as well as single-family homes. Its location near a stunning new Metrolink Station (a planned relocation of the current Via Princessa station) will surely make it an attractive location for millennials and those who want easy commuting to Downtown Los Angeles and Hollywood.
As a private-public partnership representing the effort of regional industry and government leaders,the SCVEDC adopts an integrated approach to attracting, retaining and expanding a diversity of businesses. For more about the SCVEDC, visit scvedc.org.
