The Santa Clarita City Council is scheduled to take up discussion Tuesday of The Hartwell, a condos-and-retail project for downtown Newhall on Main Street — and the project is seeking permission to grow again.
The Serrano Development Group is looking to increase the project’s size by about 25%, with the addition of a neighboring radio station’s property, according to plans on next week’s agenda.
After initially opposing the project, the co-owners of KHTS FM 98.1/AM 1220 made an agreement with Jason Tolleson, Serrano’s principal, in June.
The pending purchase of their land at 24320 Main St. would allow Tolleson to add 20 more apartment units, almost 1,100 more square feet of commercial space and 36 more parking spots, according to the specs shared by city planning staff.
“The building’s architectural style and height would remain the same as the original approval, at five stories (52 feet) in height, with one subterranean level of parking,” according to the city agenda for Tuesday. “Commercial storefronts along Main Street would be expanded to the north, with parking behind, within the building footprint. Apartment units would be located on the upper levels and oriented around an internal courtyard located on the second floor. Vehicle access to the project site would remain via two driveways: one on Railroad Avenue and one on Market Street.
City officials stated approval of the project has been mandated under the Housing Accountability Act, because the project meets all of the city’s objective design criteria and the city failed to give any notice otherwise by the project deadline.
The plans have undergone several iterations since the original Hartwell deal that included a historical impact fee negotiated by Mayor Pro Tem Laurene Weste on behalf of the city.
Tolleson of Serrano Development Group said the project would breathe new life into an area full of businesses that’s struggling without more regular foot traffic a project like The Hartwell could bring. He counted dozens of nearby tenants and neighboring businesses among the project’s supporters, as well as the Old Town Newhall Association.
Previously, the Santa Clarita Council approved three existing buildings on the project’s site for demolition: the Horseshoe on Main building, previously known as Soundsations; the historic Masonic Lodge/Courthouse; and the Mac’s Pool Supply building, which is next to the radio station.
The new plan calls for the radio station’s demolition adjacent to the northern edge of the original Hartwell project site.
The original staff recommendation mentioned a $750,000 historic preservation fee, originally to help pay for the saving of any artifacts that might be in the nearly 100-year-old courthouse.
Representatives for the Santa Clarita Valley Historical Society, for which Weste sits on the board, sent a letter prior to the project’s approval, saying the courthouse building had been worked on so many times there was doubt of enough remaining building to call it historical.
The agenda states the city found evidence sticking out of the walls during an inspection before the building was scheduled to be razed.
“Staff have met with the applicant on site of the Masonic Lodge/Courthouse building and identified that the holding cell bars are limited to a window,” according to the city’s agenda. “The bars will be removed and preserved before demolition.”
The $750,000 historic preservation fee has been eliminated from the project in favor of $300,000 for a parking structure on the north end of Main Street — a switch that was put forth in a motion by Councilman Jason Gibbs when the project returned to the council for what was then thought to be its final approval.
That requirement for the project stands with a potential modified approval, according to Jason Crawford, director of community development for the city of Santa Clarita.
Weste recused herself in May from the City Council’s previous 3-0 vote to approve the project. Councilwoman Marsha McLean said she was abstaining from the vote due to her concerns.
