Thirty years ago, downtown Newhall was economically dead. Storefronts were vacant. Retail sales and property values were upside-down while the rest of the city was booming. People were afraid to walk along the street at night.
It took a herculean effort by the community, city government leaders, business owners and property investors to turn it around. Today there are full restaurants and bars, tasting rooms, music, unique bakeries with lines out the door, specialty boutiques and personal services, fitness places, live and motion-picture theaters, out-of-town patrons, a thriving farmer’s market, an active business organization, and thousands of people in the street for special events.
Those of us who’ve been involved in downtown Newhall revitalization forever know this stuff, but it’s interesting when you stop and realize that most of Santa Clarita’s population wasn’t here 30 years ago.
They wouldn’t remember the history of Newhall’s dark times and resuscitation. I have to wonder how many newcomers are aware that it’s all part of a detailed plan to transform Main Street and the surrounding area from what it was into a vibrant economic center for the next 50 years. And it’s just getting started.
The Old Town Newhall Specific Plan has evolved over time, and you can read the latest version here: bit.ly/4jv1ajJ. The City Council-approved plan outlines the vision and the zoning codes needed to achieve it.
As far as Newhall has come, the entire plan must be implemented for it to work in the long run. The zoning calls for multistory mixed-use development (upstairs residential over ground-floor commercial-retail) up and down Main Street, max five stories, with two parking structures – one already built and the other hopefully in the final planning stages next year – with an estimated 1,092 more residential dwelling units in the area than currently exist, to create a weekday clientele for the businesses and to put “eyes on the street” for public safety. Think of the Old Town Newhall Specific Plan as a system, not unlike the human body. It requires all of its component parts to function properly.
Main Street has a history, but Main Street is not a historic park. That’s at the south end of the corridor. Main Street is a business district. It’s not about yesterday. It’s about tomorrow.
Leon Worden
Newhall Redevelopment Committee
member, 1997-2012
Santa Clarita
