Tuesday, October 15, 2013

City of Lancaster Ca. Revitalization of Yucca Neighborhood

Yucca Neighborhood Revitalization The geographical area located between Sierra Highway and Division Street and between Avenue I and Avenue K, shall be referred to as the Yucca Neighborhood Vision Plan. This name was selected because of the important early role Yucca Avenue played in the development of the area within the urban core of the City, and because it is a recognized feature common throughout the entire vision plan area. The Yucca Neighborhood Vision Plan area is broken up into a number of land use districts composed of residential, commercial, industrial and transportation related uses. It is from the strength of these previously established uses that the vision plan will focus on promoting quality redevelopment in some of the older areas, while promoting compatible new development and growth on land suitable for infill projects yet to be developed. The primary objectives for the Yucca Neighborhood Vision Plan are: 1) to eliminate or reduce the number of deteriorating and unmaintained properties; 2) redevelop areas involving inconsistent patterns and densities of multi-family residential uses; 3) to mitigate the conflict between some of the uses (e.g. mostly commercial to residential uses); 4) to develop programs and establish street patterns for the redevelopment and rehabilitation of older commercial and residential properties; 5) to enhance circulation and access, wherever possible; 6) to ensure and facilitate the construction of new infrastructure to support neighborhood growth and future investment; and 7) to create implementation tools and comply with environmental standards in order to realize the potential benefits from the resultant vision plan. The City of Lancaster has been planning since at least September of last year to revitalize the area east of Sierra Hwy and between Ave I and Ave K. There have been community meetings with participation from residents in the area. The funding has been secured from Los Angeles County revitalization projects with an update of zoning code for the areas to the east and south of the Lancaster Metrolink Station since September 2012 with a grant from the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA), the City has retained a team of consultants. This planning grant from the Southern California Association of Governments, the City of Lancaster has retained Sargent Town Planning to help create a Vision Plan for the Southeast Transit Village Plan Area (STVPA). The STVPA is approximately 90 acres located east and southeast of the existing Metrolink Station, from Lancaster Boulevard to Avenue J and between Sierra Highway and Division Street. The Plan builds on Downtown’s recent civic and economic revitalization to: 1. Extend the success of Lancaster Boulevard to the east side of the railroad tracks 2. Rethink the Metrolink station as an urban, pedestrian-oriented, multi-modal transit facility 3. Establish better pedestrian, bicycle, and bus connections to the Lancaster Metrolink Station from both sides of the railroad tracks, while still accommodating access via vehicles 4. Introduce mixed-use development to provide housing, offices, and retail uses that complement Downtown Several recent meetings have been cancelled, but with funding in place the prospects of a rejuvenated area between Division and Sierra Hwy and Lancaster Blvd and Ave J look good. Most of this area is industrial type property and development, but the zoning is Mixed Use neighborhood allowing apartments with retail at street level and housing above. The cost per acre for this land may seem high, but the likelihood of this area being filled with new development seems very high. The area here has lots of development and the open space is mainly infill. It looks to be a great area to invest for a short term gain. The area has need a boost for some time, and maybe now is that time with the funding in place and the area is surrounded by development. It will become a large transit zone with access to hospitals and all city services. It may even become a location for retired people because of the accessibility.

Friday, October 4, 2013

The Rich are Buying Land Why not You

As the wealthy get wealthier, they're putting more of it into land. America's 100 largest individual landowners added 700,000 acres to their landholdings last year, according to the Land Report 100, which is created by Land Report and Fay Ranches a brokerage firm and reported by CNBC. Those 100 individuals or families now control more than 30 million acres, or 2 percent of America's entire land mass. What are they buying? Looks like Ranches and Farmland, timberland which they lease out to farmers and loggers. Some of the recent holdings are by John Malone a Cable Titan who bought 120 acres in Florida, and Ted Turner (CNN) who bought 2 million acres, Jeff Bezos of Amazon who bought 290,000 acres, the Koch family with 239,000 acres and hedge fund titan Louis Moore. Why is this important for Antelope Valley Titans, well duplicating what the rich do can also influence your pocket book for one. You don’t have to buy hundreds of thousands of high desert land in the Valley. But these large land buyers don’t by thousands of acres just to hold. They investigate before they buy and they assess value with risk. They invest for the future, although some may donate this land for conservation purposes and develop elsewhere. But for investors looking longer term so when others get in on the low end of the market then it is a positive sign that low priced land may also be available for you in places like Antelope Valley, We have a number of low priced industrial land for sale on our website www.vacantlanddeals.com