Ken Striplin, City Manager
We are just days away from the big countdown, the beginning of a new year and a new decade. This next year also marks the home stretch of our Santa Clarita 2020 Strategic Plan. I am proud of all the major projects we have already checked off the list, and excited for those remaining to reach completion.
As we enter 2020, the first project we will hold a ribbon cutting for is the new Inclusive Play Area at Canyon Country Park. This project invites people of all abilities to play, socialize, learn and grow.
Designed around our City’s rich, Western heritage, the playground has a Wild West theme and offers a wide-range of play equipment. Visitors to the playground will enjoy inclusive swings, sensory activity features, accessibility for mobility devices, music and auditory play, an inclusive zip line and much more.
The big grand opening event is scheduled for Saturday, Jan. 25, at 10 a.m.
In the premier arts and entertainment district of our City, Old Town Newhall, two much anticipated projects are scheduled to open their doors in 2020.
The first will be Newhall Crossings. The finishing touches are being put on this retail/residential building on the corner of Main Street and Lyons Avenue. Once complete, visitors can follow the meandering walkway between the buildings as they shop, eat or enjoy a movie.
Speaking of movies, the Laemmle Newhall is also moving along and will soon offer residents and visitors alike a full schedule of art-house and film festival favorites in a comfortable setting.
The seven-screen theater will give moviegoers additional film offerings, not usually available in local theatres. In addition, it will add to an already bustling entertainment district in Old Town Newhall!
One of the landmark projects in Santa Clarita 2020 will take shape over the next 12 months. Construction of the new Canyon Country Community Center building, located at the intersection of Soledad Canyon Road and Sierra Highway, will begin in the coming weeks. Once open, this new center will be a hub for enrichment, learning, socialization, activity and much more for residents across the City.
The Canyon Country Community Center is scheduled to open in early 2021.
The other flagship project in Santa Clarita 2020 is the new Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff’s Station. Much work has already been done on the site on Golden Valley Road between Centre Pointe Parkway and Robert C. Lee Drive.
Working hand-in-hand with Fifth District Supervisor Kathryn Barger and the County of Los Angeles — the Sheriff’s Station will replace the current facility located on Magic Mountain Parkway. Once complete in early 2021, the new Station will be more than 44-thousand square feet, with a transmission tower, vehicle maintenance facility and a helipad.
Thanks to the direction and leadership of our Santa Clarita City Council, our City has once again wrapped up a year full of successful and innovative projects, programs and new amenities. The New Year promises to bring even more, with the full slate of projects already in the works. I want to thank the community for their support and wish all of you a very happy New Year.
Ken Striplin can be reached at [email protected]. The views expressed in his column are those of the City and do not necessarily reflect those of The Signal.
