Welcome to the newest addition to the SCV Business Journal, “Developing Stories.”
The Santa Clarita Valley Business Journal, which is owned by The Signal and a partner publication of the SCV Chamber of Commerce, frequently gets information from new businesses and developers who are excited to do business in Santa Clarita, which has gained a reputation beyond the city’s borders for being business-friendly.
And part of the process for any new location, of course, is getting all of the permits required and following all the rules and regulations that amount to the cost of doing business in California.
So whether a new business is just starting the application process at the city’s Online Permit Center, or maybe they just received approval from the city’s Permit Center at Suite 140 in City Hall, “Developing Stories” will look at some of the locations that will be a part of the SCV’s business landscape in the coming weeks, months and even years, depending on the scope of the project.
For some of the projects, this will be the first mention of them in the media, so the details may change once the work is complete, alas, the best laid plans …. But here’s a look at a few that are in the works.
Lights, cameras, action
In light of this being the film issue, there’s no more appropriate project to talk about for Developing Stories than Rye Canyon Studios.
The project, which just gained approval from City Hall, will be big enough, when built out, to rival some of the SCV’s largest filming locations, according to city officials.
The project is being developed at the location that old-timers will know as Mann Biomedical Park, or maybe “that place where Taste of the Town used to be held,” or, more accurately, its more recent moniker of Southern California Innovation Park.
Owned by Dale Donahoe, the former Newhall Land and Farming executive and current CEO of his own company, Intertex General Contractors, Rye Canyon Studios Project received the green light from City Hall in November. Oxford Properties, which is owned by one of Canada’s largest pension funds, and Oceanic Partners, a venture capital firm, are listed as partners in the project.
One of the more impressive aspects of this job-generating future film facility is its proposed size. The plan calls for 28 new soundstages, which would increase the number citywide by about 50%, spread out over nine buildings that total up to about 725,000 square feet. That figure includes about a quarter-million square feet of office space and more than 470,000 square feet of sound stages.
The project includes a mixture of new surface parking and a parking structure to support the new studios, and the approved works would complete the build-out of the business park, which was first approved in 1999.
The studio will finish off what’s shaping up to be an eclectic gathering of businesses, with the massive project expected to have Advanced Bionics, the biomedical manufacturer, and Lucky Luke Brewing — which was formerly Wolf Creek Brewing — as neighbors.
Right now, the undeveloped portion of the project is slated for grading, with city officials alluding to a groundbreaking likely to take place early next year.
While the Rye Canyon Studios project has received the green light from City Council, another development expected early next year is the completed environmental review for another massive filming-related project, Shadowbox Studios. That facility is looking to develop more than 1 million square feet of property in an area known as the gateway to Placerita Canyon, in Newhall.
Once the environment impact review is completed for that project, which looks at all the effects a development could have on a surrounding area and how the developer proposes to mitigate them, then the project would first go before the Planning Commission, and then Santa Clarita City Council, for final approval.
Also coming soon
While job creation and tax revenue are important drivers for the folks at City Hall, almost everyone gets excited at the prospect of a new restaurant — which are always among our most shared stories on social media.
Coming soon to the Skyline Ranch development, a Japanese food spot known as Hanasaki Sushi is looking to build a location near the intersection of Skyline Ranch Drive and Plum Canyon Road in Saugus.
Permits have also been issued recently for the Tourney Plaza Surgery Center, which will be located at the Tourney Medical Plaza at 27420 Tourney Road. The facility is likely to be a facility for outpatient procedures.
There are also two locations right next to each other expected to come online next year in the relatively new Vista Canyon Park, the transit-friendly, mixed-use development in Canyon Country: Street Corner Urban Market will be a convenience store-type location at 27651 Lincoln Place, in Suite 140, and C&A Cafe & Creamery, is slated for the same address in Suite No. 150.
