Valencia Master Plan Bearing Fruit
Thomas E. Dierckman of the Newhall Land & Farming Co. loves to talk about the master-planned community of Valencia, its thriving, 1,500-acre industrial park and the magnificent new Valencia Corporate Center set in the midst of an 18-hole golf course.
The only problem is that most people want him to talk about the regional shopping center that someday will be built on a 100-acre site near his office on Valencia Boulevard. As the company’s vice president of commercial and industrial real estate, it’s Dierckman’s job to field this touchy question.
“Everybody wants to know about the shopping center,” he said. “It all boils down to population. The Santa Clarita Valley has about 110,000 residents in Valencia, Newhall, Saugus and Canyon Country. Shopping center developers usually say that a regional center needs a population base of 200,000 or more.”
Dierckman would only say that major retailers such as Sears, Penney’s, May Co. and Broadway are all examining the potential of the Santa Clarita Valley. He added that the Mall of Victor Valley in Victorville--scheduled to open in November--is a good indication that shopping center developers are interested in the rapidly growing outlying areas of the Southland.
3,000 Acres Developed
“The Victorville area, including Apple Valley and Hesperia, has more than 200,000 residents, so it meets the standards set for a regional shopping center,” he said.
In the two decades since the community was started, about 3,000 acres of the 10,000 acres in the Valencia master plan have been developed, he said.
As the industrial park near Interstate 5 and Rye Canyon Road nears completion, the firm’s planners are looking at a 1,700-acre site to the northwest, near the California 126-Interstate 5 interchange. Development is expected to begin next year on the site, known as Valencia North Industrial Center, Dierckman added.
Still, the Valencia Industrial Center is far from built out, according to Lew Horne of Coldwell Banker Commercial Real Estate Services, Sherman Oaks, the park’s broker. Last year, land sales in the project totaled 67 acres, including one 30-acre sale to developer Gerald Katell.
The 180 firms in the park occupy about 3.7 million square feet of space and employ more than 6,000 people, in such firms as Lockheed, Sperry, Foxboro and H. R. Textron. Lockheed has been in the park since 1961 and is currently involved in a major expansion program at its 511-acre Kelly Johnson Research and Development Center.
Along with Saunders Development Corp., Woodland Hills, Katell of Katell Properties Inc., Torrance, is one of the two biggest players in the Valencia commercial real estate market, Horne said, adding that most land sales in the park have been to developers.
“With land prices in the $8 to $10 per-square-foot range--about half the going rate in the San Fernando Valley--Valencia is an attractive alternative to developers who formerly built in the Valley and adjacent areas,” Horne said.
The 30-acre sale--the largest single land sale in the industrial center’s history--will be developed as a 12-building high-tech, industrial and office park, Katell said. The first phase will consist of one office building and three research-and-development structures.
Office Building Start
Saunders, having completed nearly 250,000 square feet of space in the Valencia Technology Centre and the Valencia Business Center, both in the industrial park, has started construction on Valencia Plaza, a $14-million, 74,300-square-foot, three-story office building at 23920 Valencia Blvd.
Featuring a glass-and-brick veneer exterior, the building near the Newhall Land & Farming corporate headquarters was designed by Herbert Nadel AIA & Partners of Santa Monica.
According to Don Puente, a Newhall Land & Farming senior vice president, Valencia Boulevard, between McBean and Magic Mountain parkways, is designated for office development.
He added that the county government offices at Valencia Boulevard and Magic Mountain Parkway are a natural draw for law firms, architects, engineers, title companies and other professional firms that like to cluster near governmental offices.
The 54-acre Valencia Corporate Center is adjacent to the Golden State (5) Freeway. A development of the Valencia Corp., it will ultimately accommodate 1 million square feet of office space on sites ranging from one to 10 acres, Dierckman said.
The first firm to occupy space in the center is American Pharmaseal, a division of American Hospital Supply. The company has a four-story, 185,000-square-foot headquarters and manufacturing building that can be enlarged by 100,000 square feet without acquiring any more land. Employment at the facility is expected to reach 1,000 in 1990.
Another area of expansion is the Valencia Restaurant Row along Interstate 5 at Magic Mountain Parkway and The Old Road, Dierckman said. Marie Callender’s was the first, opening in 1983, followed by a Wendy’s last year and an El Torito Mexican restaurant that just opened. A Seafood Broiler is scheduled to open next month, he said.
