Content about Santa Clarita, California

In addition to VIA’s signature monthly business luncheons the third Tuesday of every month, there’s some exciting business events planned in the next several months. Several events are being held in conjunction with other local business organizations, which expands the business possibilities. Be sure to save the date and visit www.VIA.org for details as they become available.

When the economic market sank, it no longer made sense for developers to build. The return on investment was less than the cost to build at one point. But that is all changing.

The industrial vacancy rate in the Santa Clarita Valley steadily climbed from mid 2008 until it peaked in 2010 at about 11 percent, according to data provided by Jones Lang LaSalle.

Builders stopped building as tenants and buyers were getting some of the best deals in years.

Santa Clarita continually has higher office vacancy rates than surrounding markets, and this doesn’t look to change even as the valley slowly pulls out from the grips of the recession.

According to data from Jones Lang LaSalle, SCV’s office vacancy rate for the fourth quarter 2011 was 23.4 percent, compared to around 17 percent across Los Angeles County. And office vacancies hover even higher at about 25 percent for SCV multitenant office properties larger than 30,000 square feet, according to data from Colliers International.

One of the features touted business-friendly by business owners and the city of Santa Clarita has been the ability for businesses to bid online for city contracts.

In order to improve the bidding process, the city updated its purchasing software to make it easier for companies to do business with the city.

Once a company registers online through the city+ website, it will be automatically alerted of any bids, proposals or quotes.

Fred Arnold, of American Family Funding, has been named as the incoming 2013 Chair announced the Santa Clarita Valley Chamber of Commerce Thursday. He begins serving Jan. 1, 2013.

"Fred comes to us with a long history of serving the Santa Clarita community as a lifelong resident of Santa Clarita and is a proven leader in the community", says Chris Angelo, 2012 Chairman of the SCV Chamber of Commerce.

A Denver-based developer unveiled plans for a new 157-unit rental townhome project in Santa Clarita on Thursday.
Archstone, a leading apartment investment and operations company, announced that it has begun construction in a joint venture with a division of The Resmark Companies, a full-service real-estate investment adviser.

The company held a groundbreaking ceremony on its 12.49-acre site located east of Highway 14 on Via Princessa and Lost Canyon Road. Archstone expects the first units to be ready by the spring 2013.

To borrow from the basketball term “nothing but net,” the Valley Industry Association’s 2012 B2B Industry Show was “nothing but business” and lots of it.

On Thursday, March 1VIA opened its doors to 44 exhibitors, hundreds of luncheon attendees and more than 2,000 business people as they walked the exhibit floors at the Hyatt Regency Valencia. This was the show’s first appearance at the Santa Clarita Conference Center.

There are a surprising number of entries when looking up the word “bridge” in the dictionary. Ultimately, there are many ways to say how a bridge serves its purpose of joining people, places or things that are not connected; in essence, overcoming a gap. In most cases there is a mutual benefit to forging this connection.

More Santa Clarita Valley companies could benefit from the Enterprise Zone tax credit program if they make themselves aware of it, or work with their CPAs to claim the credits, said Laura Biery, administrative analyst with the city of Santa Clarita’s Economic Development division.

Tax credits for hiring employees who qualify can offset the payroll costs for hiring employees, said Tim DiTomaso, keynote speaker and president of DiTomaso Incentive at Thursday’s Enterprise Zone lunch seminar.

In any economic state, and even more so in an unhinged economy, new global competitors and challenges abound ranging from the uncertain successes of emerging markets, to the instability of the skills gap and quality of the workforce pool. The upswing in emerging markets has placed significant pressure on traditional industries to enhance competitive competencies; a strong workforce at the foundation.

The Valley Industry Association’s top goals for 2012 have been identified as collaboration, member recruitment and retention, and leadership development and successor planning.