The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors took another step to realizing the Honor Ranch Development Project, a proposed 1.8-million-square-foot mixed-used development in Castaic — after approving a motion Feb. 7 that further laid out the terms in an exclusive negotiating agreement between the developer and the county.
In June 2022, the board authorized the county’s chief executive office to negotiate and execute an exclusive negotiating agreement with TC LA Industrial Development, a subsidiary of Trammel Crow Co., the developer.
“The Honor Ranch Development Project is a tremendous opportunity to support the continued growth and evolution of the Santa Clarita Valley,” said Supervisor Kathryn Barger, 5th District, which includes the SCV, and who authored the motion, in a statement sent to The Signal via email.
“In coordination with the developer of the project, I want to ensure that this development is planned in a manner that is comprehensive, responsible, and responsive to the identified goals of the project as well as the surrounding community’s needs,” she continued.
This recent action by the board, according to the county’s agenda, further laid out terms of the agreement between the two parties and outlined predevelopment tasks such as site due diligence, community outreach, financing plan, environmental documents and conceptual design to be completed.
The county director of Public Works, or a designee, in consultation with the county’s CEO, will oversee the predevelopment phase of the project and work alongside the developer. This work also includes taking actions necessary to effectuate the agreement such collecting deposits and fees, and to administer the expenses and accounting associated with the agreement.
According to the county’s agenda, the proposed project would be located on approximately 206 acres of undeveloped land, immediately adjacent to Interstate 5.
Honor Ranch, a mixed-use project, would include 1.5 million square feet of industrial business park — for manufacturing, warehousing and distribution, media and entertainment. Also, the project would include about 250,000 square feet of life sciences office, for research, development and bioscience, and 55,000 square feet of retail and housing space.
In previous discussions, county officials noted the development would take place on independent parcels of land that are not currently part of the Pitchess Detention Center campus, as the project would sit directly west of the facility.
“I introduced this motion to establish appropriate timelines for site assessment, development of financial plans, and conducting community outreach to help inform the project’s ultimate design and layout,” said Barger in the statement sent to The Signal via email. “Honor Ranch’s footprint will be sizeable — 1.8 million square feet in its totality — so I want to make sure that we do this right.”
