Ever since word of the possibility of a Laemmle Theatre in Old Town Newhall emerged, many residents have expressed their excitement and are asking when it will happen. As with any potential development, there is a process that must be followed.

Over the last two decades, our city and its partners have worked hard to revitalize our downtown area and create a destination location for entertainment, shopping, services and the arts. Millions of dollars in public infrastructure projects like the Old Town Newhall Library, the Community Center, Veterans Historical Plaza, the streetscape and storefront façade projects, a new entrance to Hart Park, landscaping and the Newhall roundabout have gone a long way towards the realization of an Arts and Entertainment District for Old Town Newhall.

These projects have been guided by the Old Town Newhall Specific Plan, which was adopted by the city Council in 2005, after extensive public input. Implementation of these public projects and more has set the stage for the next project – the transformation of the empty city-owned block across from the Old Town Newhall Library.

The Newhall Specific Plan provided a vision for this area which included as one of the potential options, a six-screen movie theater at the north end of Main Street, in addition to a combination of retail and residential development, (called mixed use), plus public parking.

The city-owned block envisioned for the potential movie theatre development project is located at Main and Lyons, and was purchased by using redevelopment funds with the intent of making that vision a reality. However with the dissolution of redevelopment in California, the city is now required to adhere to a state-directed process to sell that property, as well as ensure that the revitalization efforts of the area continue and a development is completed that provides a positive impact for the community.

Over the last several years, the city and Laemmle Theatres have received verbal and written communication from area residents requesting that a Laemmle Theatre open in Santa Clarita. We’ve also seen this input appear on city surveys and in letters to the editor at the Signal newspaper from residents interested in bringing Laemmle here. The Laemmle family has visited Santa Clarita several times and agrees that their theatre concept would be a great fit with our community.

Earlier this year, and following a competitive Request for Qualifications process, the city entered into exclusive negotiations with a team of developers including: Laemmle Theatres, Serrano Development Group and Pacific Coast Housing Development. Right now, city staff is working with this development team to negotiate a potential deal for consideration by the City Council that would be presented in a public meeting.

At that public meeting, members of the public will have the opportunity to express their opinions to the City Council on the proposal. It is anticipated that there will be an economic development subsidy from the city to help bring Laemmle Theatres to Santa Clarita. We constantly hear from people coming into Old Town Newhall that more, convenient parking is needed and therefore, the city will be funding the construction of a parking structure.

We are estimating that the proposal will come before the City Council in the next couple of months. There is a lot of potential for this project and the transformation of the property into something our community is so enthusiastic about. I encourage you to stay engaged in the process! For more information about Old Town Newhall, please visit: www.OldTownNewhall.com.

Marsha McLean is mayor of the city of Santa Clarita.