State Funds to Help Build Veterans Park

Santa Clarita city leaders today are expected to receive $250,000 from the state to help fund the building of a veterans memorial park in downtown Newhall.

The money will be presented by Assemblyman George Runner (R-Lancaster) at a ceremony today marking the anniversary of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, which drew the United States into World War II.

Runner said he supported Santa Clarita’s request for state funds for the memorial project because of his “great regard for veterans and military personnel,” many of whom are his constituents in the Santa Clarita and Antelope valleys.

The park site is a vacant, triangular lot of about 19,000 square feet, between Market and Walnut streets and Newhall Avenue. It lies within the Old Town Newhall redevelopment area that Santa Clarita officials are attempting to transform into a shopping and entertainment destination.

City leaders recently took steps to begin eminent domain proceedings to acquire the property, but then reached an agreement with the property owner to purchase the parcel for $200,000. The deal is scheduled to be finalized at Tuesday’s City Council meeting, officials said.

While a master plan for the park has not been completed, it will include a monument honoring each branch of the armed services. City officials anticipate it will cost another $250,000 to construct the memorial.