Santa Clarita / Antelope Valley : Palmdale Will Buy 117-Acre Parcel : Growth: Hoping to lure new employers, council OKs $1.5-million purchase. Land will be developed as an industrial park.

In a bid to attract new employers, the City Council has voted to spend $1.5 million to buy a 117-acre parcel that will be developed as an industrial park.

City officials said they plan to build roads and install utility lines on the property, then offer parcels to Chatsworth-based Packard Bell and other firms that have said they are considering a move to Palmdale.

The price for the 117-acre site was far below the land’s $3.5-million appraised value, city officials said. They also said it provides plenty of room for large employers.

“This is the kind of deal economic development people dream about,” said Danny R. Roberts, the city’s redevelopment manager.

The site is the undeveloped Lusk Industrial Park at Avenue M and 10th Street West.

City Council members, in their role as directors of the Palmdale Redevelopment Agency, authorized the purchase in a 3-1 vote at a special meeting last week.

The Irvine-based Lusk Co. had agreed to sell the acreage for the reduced price if the council could approve the deal on or before this Friday. City staff members said Lusk is selling the land because the company wants to consolidate its holdings.

Councilman Terence Judge cast the sole vote against the purchase, saying there’s wasn’t enough time to address some of his concerns.

“There’s still a lot of questions unanswered in my mind about whether it’s a sound purchase,” he said.

Judge said the land has drainage problems, and its location may not fit the city’s industrial development needs. “I’m not prepared to say yes just because the price itself is good,” he said.

Mayor Jim Ledford and councilmen Jim Root and David Myers voted for the purchase. Councilman Joe Davies was absent.

“Price-wise, it was excellent,” Ledford said. “I do have a concern about how we may be competing against other (privately owned) industrial properties. But I think we can fill a niche in the large-parcel projects.”

Seeking to create more local jobs and boost the local economy, Palmdale officials have been trying to persuade industrial firms to relocate to the city.

But city leaders say there is a shortage of industrial land that is free of financial problems and land-use restrictions--and that is ready for immediate construction. In addition, they said, there are few industrial areas that offer large parcels of 50 acres or more.

After completing the Lusk purchase, city officials said they will have plenty of land available for immediate use by a new employer. As part of an incentive package, Palmdale could offer land in the industrial park at greatly reduced prices, city officials said.

Al McCord, deputy city administrator, said he will notify Packard Bell about the availability of the new industrial land. The computer maker, which has been negotiating with several cities, needs about 50 acres to relocate its operations, McCord said.