Old Town Newhall Revitalization Project

168144 Resource 135547 120144 120144 1178475587355 1206982033281 Controlled Old Town Newhall: Redevelopment by the Numbers

Most existing residential and commercial buildings will be either torn down or refurbished.

This is Part VI of a multi-part series looking at the December 2006 study (the <a title="Newhall Retail Opportunities Analysis" href="http://www.oldtownnewhall.com/city/otn/pdf/NMS-FinalReport.pdf" target="_blank">Retail Opportunities Analysis</a> or ROA) on the <a title="Old Town Newhall Revitalization Project" href="http://www.oldtownnewhall.com/city/otn/development/index.php" target="_blank">Old Town Newhall Revitalization Project</a>. In <a title="Part I: Old Town Newhall Revitalization Project" href="item/166793" target="_blank">Part I</a>, we looked at an overview of the <a title="Newhall Retail Opportunities Analysis" href="http://www.oldtownnewhall.com/city/otn/pdf/NMS-FinalReport.pdf" target="_blank">Retail Opportunities Analysis</a>. In <a title="Old Town Newhall Revitalization Part II" href="item/166907" target="_blank">Part II</a>, we looked at local businesses targeted for removal. In <a title="Old Town Newhall Part III" href="item/167169" target="_blank">Part III</a>, we looked at creating a boutique environment in the Downtown Newhall area as well as attracting customers to that area. In <a title="Old Town Newhall Part IV" href="item/167331" target="_blank">Part IV</a>, we looked at attracting big-box and medium-box retailers to the Downtown Newhall area. In <a title="Old Town Newhall Retailers" href="item/167526" target="_blank">Part V</a>, we looked at the potential upscale retailers as well as the bottom line on this whole flawed retail study. In this installment, we'll look at the overall buildings to be removed (both commercial and residential) and take a slight diversion to look at the impact on the residential units affected by the redevelopment plan.For residents and business owners in the Old Town Newhall redevelopment area, the overall numbers of this project can get a bit scary!<h1>Redevelopment by the Numbers</h1>Here's how the redevelopment numbers break down:Residential Redevelopment<ul><li>690 Existing Dwellings in the area</li><li>380 Dwellings to be Replaced</li><li>310 Existing Dwellings to Remain</li></ul>Ouch! That's more than half of the existing dwellings slated for a date with the wrecking ball! These will be replaced with a maximum of 1,092 new residential units.Commercial Redevelopment<ul><li>957,243 Existing Square Feet</li><li>750,321 Square Feet to be Replaced</li><li>236,922 Square Feet to Remain</li></ul>That's over 78 percent of the existing commercial space scheduled for the wrecking ball as well! There will be a maximum of 1,017,422 square feet of new commercial space added after the dust from the wrecking balls clears.<h1>Rental Housing an Endangered Species</h1>The residential plans get even more scary for existing renters and owners as we get deeper into the actual plan details. The plan is that "the City will endeavor to help the residents turn rentals into ownerships," meaning that most rental stock will be eliminated and replaced by "affordable" housing. There will likely be some sort of programs initiated including possibly down-payment assistance programs, silent second mortgages and home improvement programs to help move this program forward. Those that do not qualify for these programs will receive relocation assistance as required by Federal law, outlined in the <a title="Uniform Relocation Act" href="http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/realestate/act.htm" target="_blank">Uniform Relocation Act</a>. According to this law, "Computation of a payment under this subsection to a low-income displaced person for a comparable replacement dwelling shall take into account such person's income," and this amount shall not exceed $5,250.This residential redevelopment isn't all bad, since the downtown Newhall area has definitely seen better days. But with this area being one of the "most affordable" areas in Santa Clarita, it's likely that many of these tenants will be forced to move elsewhere, or maybe to add to that "<a title="Overcrowded homes" href="item/167059" target="_blank">overcrowded homes</a>" issue with multiple families under one roof. Add to this the recent immigration sweeps in the area, and you'll start to get a flavor of what's happening here.And, as in the commercial areas, the eminent domain provision has been provided for in the residential redevelopment plans. For buildings with "derelict landlords", especially those facing Pine Street and Market Street, eminent domain has been specified as a "beneficial tool" to use for the area's long-term improvement. Market Street alone (from Race Street to Newhall Avenue) has been allocated over $4 million for streetscape improvements, including curb extensions, pedestrian-scale light fixtures, street furniture and new trees. With this sort of financial commitment, you can be sure that there won't be any derelict buildings remaining in the area!Stay tuned! There's still more to come in this series. We still haven't covered the premise of "sales leakage" out of the area, developer issues, income projections, and other important items that are part of the overall Newhall Redevelopment Plan. 9 application/xml false affordable housing commercial derelict landlord downtown newhall dwellings housing newhall newhall redevelopment newhall rental newhall revitalization old town newhall residential santa clarita uniform relocation act Old Town Newhall Revitalization Project Review of the Retail Opportunities Analysis: Does this plan make sense? item/166793 Old Town Newhall: Local Businesses Targeted for Removal Part II of this series. Only retail merchants with "acceptable sales levels" to remain. item/166907 Old Town Newhall: Creating a Boutique Environment and Attracting Shoppers Part III of this series. Attracting out-of-area shoppers is critical to this plan's survival. item/167169 Old Town Newhall: Big Box, Medium Box, Anyone? Part IV of this series. A look a the larger retail stores considered for the Old Town Newhall Redevelopment Area item/167331 Old Town Newhall: List of Potential Retailers Part V of this series. How will the Downtown Newhall area attract more sales tax dollars? item/167526 Santa Clarita Sends Out Threatening Eminent Domain Letters "Get Lost!" letters sent to many Newhall businesses. item/166823 The eminent domain provision has been provided for in the residential redevelopment plans. Mozilla/4.0 (compatible; MSIE 7.0; Windows NT 5.1; SU 3.011; .NET CLR 1.0.3705; Media Center PC 3.1) 127.0.0.1 127.0.0.1 lslocum 76.171.62.15 false true false false true 181698 false false true false false false true 135547 blog blogsite/SantaClaritaRealEstate/web