Palmdale Elated in Spite of Growth Concerns
News of an estimated 5,000 new jobs possibly headed for what is already the state’s fastest growing city was greeted in the Antelope Valley on Tuesday with enthusiasm tinged with concern.
New housing developments already draw hundreds of people willing to stand in line to buy homes that start at $90,000. It takes three red lights to make a left turn off some heavily traveled streets in the once rural area. And the schools are badly squeezed for space, even with four new ones being readied for September in Palmdale. But because the announcement by Lockheed Corp. promises new jobs as well as new population, no one is complaining too loudly.
“Seven years ago we would have danced in the streets” at such an announcement, said David Aaker, executive vice president of the Palmdale Chamber of Commerce. And even with the 229% population increase that has occurred since 1980, pushing the city’s population to 50,000, there is still excitement.
Aaker said the announcement that as many as 5,000 of the 7,000 jobs to leave Burbank may end up in Palmdale caused a “real electricity” to circulate among the attendees at Tuesday’s weekly Rotary Club meeting. Retailers talked of hiring additional help. Others speculated about investment opportunities.
The exact number of jobs moving to Palmdale will depend on the strength of Lockheed’s aerospace business, said James Ragsdale, chief spokesman for Lockheed’s aeronautical systems division.
The company is building six new buildings on 684 acres of land adjacent to Air Force Plant 42, the military’s design and testing facility in Palmdale. Lockheed already employs 1,500 people at its facility there and will add the additional jobs as the new facilities are completed.
Several hundred other jobs, mainly in research and development, will be relocated from Burbank to Lockheed’s Rye Canyon facility near the Valencia Industrial Center in Santa Clarita. Lockheed is building a 30,000-square-foot anechoic test chamber there and will soon begin construction of two other buildings, including a 200,000-square-foot research facility.
An unknown number of the remaining jobs will move to Marietta, Ga., Ragsdale said.
Officials said the additional jobs in Palmdale will boost the Antelope Valley’s commercial and retail economies without adding greatly to the crush of traffic already strangling the Antelope Valley Freeway, the main route west to Interstate 5.
Caltrans officials have estimated that 45,000 to 50,000 Antelope Valley residents commute to jobs in Los Angeles and the San Fernando Valley every morning. “Having the jobs here . . . may mean that some of those folks driving down below won’t have to do that,” said Palmdale schools Supt. Forrest McElroy.
McElroy’s school district, which now includes 12 elementary and intermediate schools, has been growing by 15% to 20% a year for the past three years. From 2,000 to 3,000 new students are expected in September, McElroy said.
10,500 Students
The school district has 12 schools serving 10,500 students. Two permanent schools now being built should be finished by then; two other temporary facilities should also be ready. And construction is set to begin on four more schools this summer.
“We’re geared up for the growth, but if that many jobs became available and we were faced with more growth than what we have anticipated, it would mean some concern on our part to make sure we were ready,” McElroy said.
Catherine Adams, executive officer of the Palmdale Board of Realtors, said the city “is growing as fast as we can and still maintain the infrastructure” of roads, schools and other services.
Although the average house is on the market 60 days, she said, many sell within two weeks or less.
Bob Schack, treasurer of the area’s Building Industry Assn., said 6,000 homes are already planned for construction this year. But that won’t meet the demand for housing by the 600 families who move to the area every month.
Although smog sometimes blurs residents’ views of the Tehachapi Mountains, a daily afternoon wind clears it out before nightfall, said Schack, who has lived in Palmdale for 20 years. Even if the growth continues unabated, “the Antelope Valley will always have its own life style,” he said, which makes it far more relaxed and wide-open than Los Angeles.
As a result, he said, he has no doubts that continued growth is desirable.
“It’s nice to see the kids be able to graduate from high school and be able to get a job,” he said. “In the past, there was nothing for the kids to do. They had to leave the area. We’ve just been seeing a lot of very, very positive, good things happening. This is what we’ve looked for since the 1950s.”
