SANTA CLARITA VALLEY, CA – After completion of a nationwide search, the Board of Directors for the Santa Clarita Valley Economic Development Corporation (SCVEDC) announced today the promotion of current Vice President of Workforce & Economic Development, Dr. Jey Wagner, to the role of President & CEO, as successor to Holly Schroeder. To ensure a seamless leadership transition, Schroeder will remain in her position through the organization’s premier event, Economic Outlook, on September 15, 2023. Schroeder is leaving to pursue new career opportunities at a local advanced manufacturer, DrinkPAK.

A New Shop Local Video Series Showcasing Local Businesses 

The City of Santa Clarita, in partnership with SCVTV, is excited to announce "Santa Clarita Spotlight," a brand-new Shop Local video series dedicated to promoting and celebrating the diverse range of local businesses within the City. The pilot episode of Santa Clarita Spotlight was released on Friday, August 18, on the City’s website at santa-clarita.com/ShopLocal and social media pages.

The SCVEDC would like to congratulate everyone who made this years list of most influential leaders in the region, including our own President & CEO - Holly Schroeder. Several members of the Santa Clarita Valley Economic Development Corporation’s Board of Directors have also been named to the San Fernando Valley Business Journal’s Valley 200 list announced on July 31st.

“[The Valley 200 list] is 200 people we consider the most influential in our area - the San Fernando, Conejo, Santa Clarita, Simi and Antelope valleys,” wrote Charles Crumpley, SFVBJ publisher and editor, in the August 1st, 2022 edition of the bi-weekly business publication. “They are the leaders we depend on, the ones whose work – whether at the office or in nonprofits or in other ways –improve our community and make our local economy sturdier. [W]e also tend to select those who are active – in professional, political and community organizations.”

Have you heard about the California Competes Tax Credit (CCTC)? It’s a state income tax credit supporting the growth of high-quality jobs in California, available to businesses who want to come to, stay in, or grow in our state. Through a two-phase process, businesses apply and compete for this credit during three application periods each fiscal year (FY).

Here's how it works: Phase I is an online application process, where businesses submit information on their 5-year growth plans including a comprehensive description of their growth project, projected new hires and wages, projected amount of investment equipment and facilities, and their requested tax credit. A cost-benefit ratio is then calculated, and companies with the most advantageous cost-benefit ratio (and additional factors) move on to Phase II for final agreement negotiation and selection. Phase ll applicants must then be approved by the California Competes Tax Credit Committee.

New Ownership, new location, and a new way of doing business

SANTA CLARITA VALLEY, CA – Avon Rents, a one-stop vehicle rental company serving the greater Los Angeles area for over 40 years, has recently expanded into the Santa Clarita Valley. Avon operates one of the largest independently owned and operated fleet of commercial vehicles in Southern California. While their fleet primarily serves the film industry with production trucks and trailers, Avon also offers a new and improved variety of cargo vans, stake beds and cube trucks for small businesses and individual rentals.

It's always bittersweet when you lose a coworker so beloved as Sue Arellano. For those who don't know her, Sue was the Director of Business Assistance here at the SCVEDC for over 7 years. Her impact on the businesses and the community in the Santa Clarita Valley during her tenure is impossible to quantify. Whether it was helping with permitting issues, tax credits and business incentives, or assisting with workforce and training solutions, she was always willing to fight alongside our businesses to achieve their goals. Sue has taken the next step in her life and retired after many years of hard work and commitment to our community, and we couldn't be happier for her. 

The trend of workforce shortages and a tight labor market has continued to be at the forefront of issues facing businesses. The Santa Clarita Valley has not been immune to the effects of this. We are however very ideally positioned to tackle this issue, and the SCVEDC has been collaborating extensively with a number of different organizations to find viable solutions for our local employers. Workforce development and training is more crucial than ever for economic developers engaging in business assistance and retention. To that end the EDC is excited to welcome Jey Wagner, Ed.D. as our Vice President of Workforce & Economic Development!

Press Release - New aerospace company joins SCV's thriving local cluster

SANTA CLARITA VALLEY, CA – This month Lockheed Martin announced the completed transition of their hybrid airship IP and related assets to a newly formed commercial company, AT² Aerospace. AT² is developing airship solutions to support commercial and humanitarian applications around the world. The development of airships is anticipated to provide new freight alternatives for shippers, as well as the
ability to reach remote locations efficiently.

soon to occupy 965,000 square-feet across 6 buildings at Needham Ranch

When they started out, DrinkPAK was just a small start up in search of a new location in Southern California. Their principals had a long and successful track record  creating beverage brands, then selling these brands along with their manufacturing facilities to world-class companies such as PepsiCo and Keurig Dr. Pepper. For their first dedicated contract manufacturing facility they ultimately chose the Center at Needham Ranch (CANR) as the optimal location for their project.  Their plans called for a state-of-the-art, 3-line beverage contract manufacturing, packaging, and fulfillment center. 

The SCVEDC is committed to spurring workforce training and development to empower our local labor force and help our businesses thrive. A big part of that commitment is our  close partnership with College of the Canyons and their continued efforts to provide high quality training based on current industry needs.

Where are all the workers with the relevant job skills my company needs? Most have heard or experienced this sentiment for years now, and it was only exacerbated by the labor challenges from the pandemic. The economic impact of shifting technology and skill requirements across almost all workforce areas continues to be a concern. There are simply more jobs available than there are workers with the requisite skills.

So how do we fix it? There are short term solutions to this problem, such as offering higher pay for retention or increasing flexibility in the hiring process. High schools and colleges however are investing in comprehensive career pathways to provide real-world career experience to bridge this skill gap.

Providing vital data and information is just one of the important services and resources that the SCVEDC provides to local businesses. Most prominent of these resources comes from our resident economist, Dr. Mark Schniepp. Every quarter Dr. Schniepp and the SCVEDC publish an Economic Snapshot that updates data on labor force and employment, residential and commercial real estate, hotel vacancy rates, and film activity.

In his Q4 Snapshot for 2022, Dr. Schniepp summarized the labor force and employment trends as mainly positive, but still having areas for improvement. The job creation trend was consistent throughout 2022 and our region created 5,200 jobs in 2022, the most in any year since 2004. 

Did you know the SCVEDC has an interactive, online tool that provides themed virtual tours of the amazing features our community has to offer? Engage with different media, maps and data, and really get to know the various aspects of the Santa Clarita Valley that make it such a great place to live, work, and play! We'll be adding new customized tours periodically, so keep an eye on our social media, website, and newsletters for updates.

Welcome Vallarta and it's corporate employees to the Santa Clarita Valley!

SANTA CLARITA VALLEY, CA – The Santa Clarita Valley Economic Development Corporation (SCVEDC) announced today that California-based Vallarta Supermarkets will begin relocating its corporate headquarters to the Santa Clarita Valley (SCV) in early 2024. Vallarta Supermarkets has purchased a three-building campus at 28470 - 28490 Avenue Stanford in Santa Clarita. The three buildings that make up the "Valencia Corporate Plaza” encompass 195,387 square-feet of office space. This campus is bordered by Advanced Bionics (HQ), Donaldson, Contractors Wardrobe, and several other small businesses and manufacturers in the Valencia Industrial Center.

Congratulations to the Top 22 Power Brokers!

The Santa Clarita Valley Economic Development Corporation (SCVEDC) invests not just in growing our local businesses, but attracting great companies to the region with a focus on industries that provide our residents with high quality, high paying jobs.

Bringing these businesses to our community takes a combined effort from the SCVEDC and our partners in economic development, and of

course, from the tireless commercial real estate brokers who work hard to get these businesses set up at the right location that works for them. Each year we recognize the top commercial real estate brokers active in the Santa Clarita Valley, with this years list featuring many returning faces as well as some new ones!

On Tuesday night Holly Schroeder, President & CEO of the Santa Clarita Valley Economic Development Corporation, released the 2022 SCVEDC Annual Report to the City Council. It featured our organization's business attraction and retention, business assistance, economic information & research, and community marketing efforts.

Click here for the presentation slides, and read below for more details!

Recently, the New York Times published an article and podcast titled, “The most empty downtown in America.” It outlined the story of San Francisco’s rise as a tech hub, with highly paid young adults employed at growing companies such as Yelp, Salesforce and Uber. 

These workers spent money at local coffee and lunch spots, creating a need for another set of service and hospitality workers. It was a virtuous cycle until the COVID-19 pandemic sent tech workers to work from home.

THIS PAGE IS NOW OUT OF DATE.           VISIT OUR 2025 UPDATE            FOR THE MOST CURRENT INFORMATION!

Minimum Wage Increase for Businesses within City of Santa Clarita on January 1st, 2023.

Are you confused about the minimum wage increases? You’re not alone! The Santa Clarita Valley is in an especially unique situation in that the City of Santa Clarita and the County of Los Angeles have two different minimum wage increase schedules which has caused confusion and challenges for many of our local employers and residents alike.

The City increases its wages in keeping with the State of California’s schedule (January - December), while the County of Los Angeles has adopted a wage increase schedule based on their fiscal calendar (July - June).

Does your business pay Use Tax? If so you may be eligible to direct a large portion of your Use Tax back to Santa Clarita’s general fund for public safety, parks, libraries, infrastructure and other City services AND receive a cash rebate on a portion of the Use Tax remitted to the City. 

Last Thursday night, the Los Angeles Economic Development Corporation (LAEDC) recognized the City of Santa Clarita as the Most Business Friendly City  in LA County with a population greater than 60,000, tying with the City of Gardena. El Segundo was named the winner for cities with a population under 60,000. Tom Cole and Monica Fawcett from the city's Economic Development department accepted the award on the city's behalf at the LAEDC’s 27th Eddy Awards in SoFi Stadium.

The Eddy Awards® is one of the most prestigious awards programs to recognize leadership in economic development in business and government throughout Los Angeles County. It celebrates exceptional public and private leadership in LA County economic development, with the Most Business Friendly City Award and recognition of honorees that demonstrate outstanding contributions to economic development in the region.

Learn more about the grants, eligibility requirements, and how to apply HERE

DrinkPAK Pre-Leases 200K-SF in Final Phase to Expand SCV Footprint to 770,000 square feet

Honoring Santa Clarita Valley's Largest Employers

The Santa Clarita Valley is a growing region with significant opportunities for businesses including available, state-of-the-art industrial and commercial buildings in master planned developments. Despite the challenges of the last two years, 2022 was a successful year for many companies, and there were several attractions and expansions across our target industry clusters. Through our research for the Economic Outlook Forecast, we compiled the Santa Clarita Valley Largest Employer’s List illustrating some remarkable growth this past year.

The 2022 Economic Outlook Forecast 

Designed to provide attendees with an economic analysis and outlook for the coming year, the 2022 Economic Outlook Conference included global, national, and state perspectives, while focusing primarily on the trends and issues associated with the Santa Clarita Valley and the surrounding business community. Alongside the conference the SCVEDC also releases it's Outlook Book, containing more in-depth data and economic forecast information.

Summary Overview:

• Our population continues to grow steadily and we built almost 2000 new homes in the last 3 years alone. It's expected to average 0.8% per year through 2027, increasing by approximately 12,000 residents.
• Meanwhile, our jobs base has also grown as we've built millions of square feet of new industrial, commercial, and retail space.
• We have nearly recovered all the jobs lost during the pandemic and our job creation rate is still up, having added approximately 5,200 jobs in 2022 alone. Many of these jobs were in the hardest hit industries in the Santa Clarita Valley by the Coronavirus Recession.
• The rate of job growth exceeded the rate of population growth.
• Industrial vacancy is at zero, but commercial office space is expected to steadily recover. There are millions of square feet of mixed-use space under current construction, already approved, or awaiting approval.
• Inflation has likely peaked and should normalize by the end of 2023. While overall growth predicted for this year has been downgraded, and stagflation is a continued concern, a bona fide recession is not likely at this time according to Schniepp.

WILLIAMS HOMES INTRODUCES NAMESAKE WILLIAMS RANCH MASTER-PLANNED COMMUNITY WITH LONG-AWAITED GRAND OPENING CELEBRATION

Williams Homes, one of the nation's leading, privately-held homebuilders, will debut its brand new Williams Ranch master-planned community in the Santa Clarita Valley, California on September 24 and 25.

Located in the hills of Castaic and overlooking the Santa Clarita Valley and Valencia® below, the grand opening celebration will allow home shoppers to experience the Williams Ranch lifestyle and tour 15 stunning model homes that include a selection of both single-story and two-story designs. All are invited to join in the festivities with food, fun, giveaways, and music both Saturday and Sunday from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.

New extension of Film & TV Tax Credit will support continued growth already seen in SCV film industry.

When people think filming television and movies, of course Hollywood and Los Angeles are the first to come to mind. Santa Clarita Valley however is one of the most filmed locations in the State, and that includes LA. Santa Clarita is consistently one of the most filmed places in California because it’s located within the industry’s well-known 30-Mile Zone and offers thousands of film-friendly locations that can double for almost anywhere in the world. Throw in a  City Film Incentive Program, Movie Ranch Overlay Zone, low-cost permit fees and expedited permit processing, and it's easy to see how we recently broke our own record this year by generating over $40 million in economic impact!

California has long been known as the entertainment capital of the world, and one of the ways the state has been working to keep filming here is through the Film & Television Tax Credit Program. The program has been shown to generate $24 in economic activity for every $1 invested – spurring tens of billions of dollars in economic output, helping create over 110,000 jobs, and bringing shows and films to California. The legislation expands the current film credit program with a $180 million increase over two years and an additional one-time $150 million incentive to be used over multiple years for the construction of certified motion picture soundstages – building out studio infrastructure to keep pace with the growth in production.

The SCVEDC would like to congratulate everyone who made this years list of most influential leaders in the region, including our own President & CEO - Holly Schroeder. Several members of the Santa Clarita Valley Economic Development Corporation’s Board of Directors have also been named to the San Fernando Valley Business Journal’s Valley 200 list announced on August 1st.

“[The Valley 200 list] is 200 people we consider the most influential in our area - the San Fernando, Conejo, Santa Clarita, Simi and Antelope valleys,” writes Charles Crumpley, SFVBJ publisher and editor, in the August 1st, 2022 edition of the bi-weekly business publication. “They are the leaders we depend on, the ones whose work – whether at the office or in nonprofits or in other ways –improve our community and make our local economy sturdier. [W]e also tend to select those who are active – in professional, political and community organizations.”

Have you heard about the California Competes Tax Credit (CCTC)? It’s a state income tax credit supporting growth of high quality jobs in California, available to businesses who want to come to, stay in, or grow in our state. Through a two-phase process, businesses apply and compete for this credit during three application periods each fiscal year.

Here's how it works: Phase I is an online application process, where businesses submit information on their 5-year growth plans including a comprehensive description of their growth project, projected new hires and wages, projected amount of investment equipment and facilities, and their requested tax credit. A cost-benefit ratio is then calculated, and companies with the most advantageous cost-benefit ratio move on to Phase II for final negotiation and selection.

The SCVEDC is happy to announce the release of our newest resource to help Santa Clarita Valley businesses succeed and grow.

The focus of economic development has expanded over the past months to include talent attraction and workforce development. In todays labor market, companies are doing everything they can to maintain their current staff, while simultaneously competing with other businesses for top talent.

SCV Companies: Business Climate in SCV is Robust

Local companies positively rate the business climate and quality of life in the Santa Clarita Valley. That’s the key takeaway from the Santa Clarita Valley Economic Development Corporation’s 2022 Business Survey of 155 companies.

The Honor Ranch Site (Honor Ranch) is a potential development located in a County-owned vacant lot in the Santa Clarita Valley. This 206-acre plot along the eastern edge of the I-5 (north of the Castaic Junction) offers an excellent opportunity for a new jobs-creating development. It consists of a large contiguous land area with high visibility and freeway access.

The location has been identified as a potential development site for years. A motion was introduced by 5th District Supervisor Kathryn Barger on June 14, 2022 that enters LA County into an exclusive negotiation phase for the project. The "Honor Ranch Development Project" has now moved further in the process than ever before towards making this project a reality.

Trammell Crow Company (TCC) was chosen as the preferred developer for a 1.8 million SF project consisting primarily of new industrial facilities. TCC will work closely with LA County Public Works on the pre-development phase, as well as negotiating a final agreement. Honor Ranch has great potential to bring more high quality jobs to our valley, allowing more residents in our expanding population to live and work right here in SCV!