Van Nuys, Chatsworth Experience Boom

Van Nuys, which boomed with heavy industry after World War II, and Chatsworth, home to a wealth of high-technology companies, are the communities enjoying the highest rates of population growth in the San Fernando Valley.

The Bureau of Business Services and Research at California State University, Northridge, said that Van Nuys has had a boom in population, income and construction because of low real estate costs stemming from its aging housing stock.

“The older, two-story buildings that are run down will be replaced by tall, new buildings because the developers want the greatest return on their investment,” said David Hornbeck, director of the bureau.

Chatsworth neighborhoods have sprouted around the high-tech industrial parks that have replaced ranches and farmland.

Hornbeck predicted that the next residential growth area in Chatsworth will be near Brown Canyon, north of the Simi Valley Freeway between Topanga Canyon Boulevard and De Soto Avenue.

Overall, the bureau estimated, the population of the Valley--encompassing the area from Burbank west to Camarillo--grew about 0.8% in 1985 to about 1.32 million. Chatsworth grew by more than 1.1%, and Van Nuys grew just less than 1%.

The data also shows that 62% to 65% of the Valley’s residents work in the Valley.