SCV Business Journal May 2016 by Signal

Canyon Country · Newhall · Saugus · Valencia · Stevenson Ranch · Castaic · Agua Dulce

SANTA CLARITA VALLEY BUSINESS JOURNAL Santa Clarita’s Only Business Publication

www.scvbj.com

$2.00 · Volume 8 · Number 1

may 2016

■ Fiber cabling needs to be installed underground in Santa Clarita. iStock photo.

One Year Later: A Valley Still Disconnected By Jana Adkins SCVBJ Editor

Special Report:

Aerospace firm Lamsco moves into ultra-modern facility

n exactly one year since the Santa Clarita Valley Business Journal ﬁrst documented, and published, a detailed special report on the lack of access to high speed Internet services for businesses in the region, little progress has been made to develop a cohesive, See DISCONNECTED page 7

Page 5 ■ Steve Griffith, president at Lamsco West Inc. in Santa Clarita. Photo by Tom Cruze.

From Something to Nothing

A Unique Culture Contributes to Growth and Success

SCV Hotel Room Demand Exceeded Supply During Gas Leak By Jana Adkins SCVBJ Editor

■ Status Not Quo founders, from left, standing, Ben Loveless CTO, Pam Capistrano CEO and Scott Capistrano, President with team members in the staff room. Photo by Dan Watson.

By Ken Keller

n 2008, when Scott Capistrano, his wife Pam and friend Ben Loveless founded Status Not Quo, they had a different kind of business in mind. The company provides turnkey technology creation and production digital media services to diverse clients including Disney, RealD, Coca-Cola, Dignity Health and… The Beatles. The objective was not to focus on the be-all-end-all of business and proﬁtability, but rather to focus on the enjoyment of the

journey and to create a special workplace that people would want to look forward to: spending time every day where clients and the community played special roles in the ongoing success of the company. The core elements of that culture included having a drama-free environment, a company that was both employee- and family-focused, where personal and professional growth was prized, where respectful communication was expected, and success for all was the goal. That success was designed to be shared See SOMETHING, page 22

he nearly five-month massive leak at the Aliso Canyon gas wells in Porter Ranch drove residents from their homes and into temporary housing within a 50-mile radius of the leak – the distance prescribed by the Southern California Gas Company, a subsidiary of Fortune 500 company, Sempra Energy, in order to be eligible for reimbursement of living costs. Declared to be the worst natural gas leak in U.S. history in terms of its environmental impact, the cost to relocate Porter Ranch residents is having an unintended economic benefit. As rentals in the San Fernando Valley were snapped up, refugees from the gas leak began filling Santa

■ Aliso Canyon gass well facility above the Porter Ranch area of Los Angeles. AP photo.

Clarita Valley rentals – ironically, delivering an economic beneﬁt to local hotels and the City of Santa Clarita. Enough extra rooms at local hotels were See HOTEL, page 17

Sunset Pointe Plaza sold to local investors By Jana Adkins SCVBJ Editor

ne of the more recognizable ofﬁce buildings in the Santa Clarita Valley, the three-story, all brick Sunset Pointe Plaza, built in 1988, sitting prominently on The Old Road off the Interstate-5 freeway, has come home to local ownership. The deal closed April 1, with the sale being reported for $9.1 million. Representing the institutional seller, Blackstone, Colliers International sold the

59,000 square foot building to a group of local investors, including Augusta Financial Inc., who already occupies space in the office building. The group of local investors purchased the building as Legacy Holdings Sunset Plaza LLC. Augusta Financial expects to eventually occupy up to 12,000 square feet of space on the third floor of the building, said owner Mike Mena. The home loan firm already owns a free-standing iconic Victorian style office building on Lyons Ave. near Wiley Canyon Road. See SUNSET, page 6

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MAY 2016

SANTA CLARITA VALLEY BUSINESS JOURNAL

Canyon Country · Newhall · Saugus · Valencia · Stevenson Ranch · Castaic · Agua Dulce

SANTA CLARITA VALLEY BUSINESS JOURNAL Santa Clarita’s Only Business Publication www.scvbj.com

$2.00 · Volume 8 · Number 1

Cover One Year Later: A Valley Still Disconnected Aerospace ﬁrm Lamsco moves into ultra-modern facility From Something to Nothing: A Unique Culture Contributes to Growth and Success SCV Hotel Room Demand Exceeded Supply During Gas Leak Sunset Pointe Plaza Sold To Local Investors

may 2016

Editorial SCVBJ Editor

Jana Adkins jana@signalscv.com 661-287-5599

Advertising Features

661-287-5564

$HURVSDFH ¿UP /DPVFR PRYHV LQWR XOWUD modern facility . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 Making Improvements in Life Possible . . .8 Canyon Engineering: The Little Company that Could . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 Voice Cockpit recording excerpts from USAir Flight 427 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 Van Nuys Firm Relocating to Santa Clarita. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .11 Stevenson Ranch Plaza sold for $72.5 million . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 Flextronics Building Sold. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 Three Sites Sold at Gateway V. . . . . . . .13 Aerospace Firm Moves to Valencia from North Hollywood. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .14 Ken & Joe’s Motorcycle Dealer Relocates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .15 Lundgren Heads up $4.8 Million Art Deco School Project. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .18 500-home Castaic development gets support . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18 Iconic Women Served as Godmothers to Princess Cruises’ Ships . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19 Appointments. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .20 Rams Homecoming: The Rams Belong to Los Angeles Again. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .21 Mall Morphing into Social Interaction Center. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .23

SCV Business Services The Lists . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .24 & 25 Column: VICA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .25 VIA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .26 SCVEDC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .27 Chamber of Commerce . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .28

Major and National Accounts Marketing Director

Maureen Daniels maureen@signalscv.com 661-287-5566 Multi-Media Account Executives

Alesia Humphries Monica Jaffe Darmon McGruder Toni Sims Administrative Assistant

Jennifer St. Clair Art/Production ■ An employee at Lamsco West Inc. in Santa Clarita. Photo by Tom Cruze.

Deborah Runions

From the Editor Santa Clarita seems to increasingly have a larger presence on the map as we report in this edition on seven real estate transactions worth millions of dollars; the expansion and relocation of three Santa Clarita Valley ﬁrms; and two more businesses that have selected the region for their new base of operation. We also follow up on the issue of concern to local businesses – namely, lack of access to high speed Internet connections – which the SCVBJ documented with multiple business owners exactly one year ago last May. Alas, the area still appears to lack a coordinated and consolidated strategic approach to tackling the problem. Resolving the issue should be part of an overall economic strategy to attract the right business

and right-paying jobs for local residents. And, lastly, we take a look at the unintended economic beneﬁt to Santa Clarita as a result of the Aliso Canyon gas leak just over the hill in Porter Ranch, in which a well’s failure has cost SoCal Gas millions – but a portion of that money has streamed into the city as refugees ﬂeeing the gas leak near their homes took up temporary residence in the Santa Clarita Valley.

■ Ken & Joe’s Executive Manager Rod Reim in the show room at existing location in Valencia. Photo by Dan Watson.

Daniel Watson Katharine Lotze Executive Staff Publisher

Charles F. Champion II 661-287-5578

Jana Adkins SCVBJ Editor jana@signalscv.com

Index of Products and Services American Family Funding . . . . . . . . . 4 Brain Balance. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 Brookﬁeld Residential . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 Castaic Lake Water Agency . . . . . . . .11 City of Santa Clarita . . . . . . . . . . . . .14 Colliers International . . . . . . . . . . . . .31 Community Bank . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .18 Exclusive Service Directory Group . . . 24 JD Systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 LBW Insurance Financial Services . . . 20 RM Business Solutions . . . . . . . . . . .21 Mission Valley Bank . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

Photographers

cchampion@signalscv.com

Business Data Central Commercial Real Estate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .29 Residential Real Estate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .31

Graphic Design Supervisor

NAI Capital . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .31 Poole & Schaffery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .16 R&R Awards . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 Randal G. Winter Construction, Inc. . .31 Rosalind Wayman, Sr. Deputy. . . . . 23 SCVEDC: Dennis King . . . . . . . . . 13 SCVEDC: Michael Alfred. . . . . . . . .15 SCVEDC: Steven D. Lavine . . . . . . .17 SCVEDC: John Arvin . . . . . . . . . . . .19 SCVEDC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32 Valencia Acura . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .10 Watford Moving & Storage . . . . . . . .31

Santa Clarita Valley Business Journal (a Signal publication), © 2015, is published monthly by the Santa Clarita Valley Signal newspaper, a Morris Multimedia company, 24000 Creekside Rd., Santa Clarita, Ca. 91355. The SCV Business Journal is intended to provide business executives with a cross-section of industry news and information, trends and statistics that impact our growing community. Information gathered in the pages of the SCV Business Journal has been collected from what is considered reliable sources, and is believed to be accurate, but cannot be guaranteed. Articles may not be reprinted without publisher’s written permission. For reprint requests, please call 661-259-1234. POSTMASTER: Send address change to SCV Business Journal, P.O. Box 801870, Santa Clarita, Ca. 91380-1870.

Assistant to the Publisher

Ethel Nakutin Vice President and Editor

Jason Schaff jason@signalscv.com 661-287-5515

Online www.scvbj.com

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SANTA CLARITA VALLEY BUSINESS JOURNAL

Aerospace Firm Lamsco Moves Into Ultra-Modern Facility; Doubles Size By Jana Adkins SCVBJ Editor

erospace supplier Lamsco West Inc. of Santa Clarita threw open the doors to its new, state-of-the-art, 75,000 square foot building on The Old Road by Henry Mayo Drive – a move that cost the company some $4 million to double its space and increase capacity. And, it completed the move without skipping a beat in supplying high performance parts to any of its clients. Lamsco produces high-tech versions of shims – parts used as wedges to align parts, close gaps, or make parts fit tightly – for commercial and military airplanes. “With the official opening of this new facility, we are absolutely delighted to be cementing the foundations for the next phase of exciting growth at Lamsco,” said CEO Howard Kimberley. Not your grandfather’s manufacturing shop, aside from the high-tech computerized machinery, the open floor space is well lit with skylights and LED lighting. Heavy duty ceiling insulation drops the ambient temperature by 10 to 15 degrees. And a special massive environmental ducting system continuously sucks out any dust or debris from the shop, leaving the air smelling clean and a pristine clean room in the computerized machine shop. Even the water used in the manufacturing process is cleaned and recycled, eliminating discharge into the sewer systems. The investment Shimtech has made in Lamsco will help set even higher benchmarks of performance, which in turns brings greater value to its customers, Kimberly said. How Lamsco creates its products, however, is a fascinating process to witness.

■ An employee at Lamsco West Inc. in Santa Clarita. Photo by Tom Cruze.

made out of metal. Today, solid metal-like sheets of varying thickness are made by adhering layer after layer after layer of materials from tinfoil to stainless steel to titanium. Every single layer is treated for corrosion. The tinfoil products, for instance, are layered until the sheets measure in various fractions of an inch and the finished product looks like a solid metal plate. But, each layer measures as little as .003 inches and can be peeled away. Other products can be peeled away at .002 inches.

Production

Composites

Holding approvals from all North American airframe manufacturers, Lamsco was originally founded as Pacific Hills Manufacturing, founded in 1961. Today Lamsco, a division of U.K.-based Shimtech, is the largest single manufacturer of shims and laminated shim stock in the world for the global aerospace industry. Five years ago or more, every part was

“We make composite panels of different thicknesses,” said Steve Griffith, president of Lamsco. “Boeing takes some of the panels (intact) and we machine tool the others inhouse to produce the shims.” The multiple layering process serves two purposes – it results in a stronger sheet of material; and it makes the end product adjustable, allowing aviation mechanics to peel

■ Steve Griffith, president of Lamsco West Inc. in Santa Clarita with two examples of shims. Photo by Tom Cruze.

back the layers as needed to ensure perfect fit for the shims. Composite sheets are carefully encased in heavy black plastic to protect them from ultra violet rays, he said. Sheets can run from $50 to $6,000 per sheet. And all those sheets are later used to make parts.

Parts Somewhat simplistically, like leveling a kitchen counter or installing a front door to a house, Lamsco manufactures shims of all shapes and sizes to fill any number of needs throughout the building of an airplane – whether a shim is needed to fit a cargo door, fill a gap, or to help lift the flaps on the wing of a Boeing 777. Producing five to six million parts per year, running in cost from 50 cents to $5,000, Lamsco efficiently tools parts in 20,000 different shapes and makes 35,000 shipments a year. But producing massive volumes of shims isn’t a matter of merely creating a precision tooled part. Those composite parts also need to be “lightening resistant” – in other words, you don’t want electricity passing through a plane full of people thousands of feet up in the air and then make contact with fuel in the wing or plane, Griffith said. And so, Lamsco also insulates the materials as it layers them in the manufacturing process so that its parts do not conduct electricity. Employing their own proprietary manufacturing system for production, used by some 150 employees, Lamsco inspects every single part it produces. It even has a special operations unit for customized production that comprises five to 10 percent of its business. But, operating as a manufacturing plant and relocating are two different stories.

The move Key suppliers couldn’t be left hanging

while Lamsco moved its massive operation, inventory, systems and machinery. “Those are $150 million planes; there were no chances of putting them on hold,” Griffith said. “We pre-built all parts that would need to be shipped out to be prepared for the move. We moved from Anza Drive to here without any shortages (of parts) and without creating any delays for Boeing.” To ensure operation without interruption, its IT department built in a triple redundancy along with a Halon fire extinguishing system, a dry fire suppression unit to protect the servers from water in event of a fire.

Awards That attention to detail has earned the supplier eight of nine excellence awards from Boeing, among the aircraft builder’s 14,000 suppliers. In 2012, Lamsco also won Supplier of the Year from them, Griffith said. It maintains a 99 percent manufacturing rating for quality and delivery; it won a Boeing Performance Excellence Award in 2013. “That’s highly unusual for a company making parts this small; a company our size,” Griffith said. And speaking of size, Lamsco traces its roots back to 1961. It relocated from Glendale to Santa Clarita in the 1980s, Griffith said. But Griffith is no stranger to his key supplier, Boeing. In 1997, Lamsco West opened a division in Kent, Washington, to manufacture shims and provide Lamsco West with an in-house painting source for Boeing Shims and fillers. Named Lamsco Northwest, Griffith was the General Manager of the division when the company was acquired by Shimtech in 2005. As for revenue, the privately owned Shimtech doesn’t release gross sales or revenue figures, but Griffith assured us it was in the many multi-millions of dollars annually – at least healthy enough to continue expanding, acquiring firms, and investing. ■

SANTA CLARITA VALLEY BUSINESS JOURNAL

MAY 2016

SUNSET

SCV VOICES

Continued from page 1

Repetitive Behaviors and Social Challenges By Rebecca J. Ivatt

epetitive behaviors associated with conditions like obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) can be an oppressive weight to be shouldered for children. Every situation represents potential new problems resulting in new anxiety. As if the burden of reoccurring thoughts and behaviors isn’t enough, it can also interfere with a child’s ability to forge social connections, which cuts off a source of support.

Common Social Challenges OCD tendencies can interfere with the social contact required to build friendships. For example, a fear of germs can trigger avoidance behaviors by prompting a child to stay away from social situations where germs might be present. Declined invitations and dismissed efforts to connect from other kids are less likely to be repeated. Rigid adherence to rituals also interferes with a sufferer’s social life by taking up excessive time. The emotional upheaval resulting from the interruption of rituals makes it clear that this is not a condition that mixes well with new friendships. Many children don’t have the capacity to ask for help or fully explain how they’re feeling; some are embarrassed and afraid of being different. Many

times the child doesn’t know that there’s a neurological explanation for their excessive thoughts and fears, that it’s not their fault and that they can’t effectively rationalize their feelings. As such, they’re also less able to censor their reactions and behaviors in social settings, which isolates them further.

How to Help Parents can help by offering compassion and patience, without judgment. It helps to communicate to the child that the behaviors are due to a brain imbalance and can be managed with the right tools and resources – that there’s hope! It’s also important to remember that understanding of those around them is a vital part to the child’s well-being. Clinical research indicates that Neurobehavioral Disorders like Obsessive Compulsive Disorder and others share an under-connectivity of electrical activity within and between the hemispheres of the brain. At Brain Balance, we refer to this under-connectivity as Functional Disconnection Syndrome. After completing a comprehensive assessment of your child’s brain and body function, our team integrates physical, sensorymotor, and cognitive exercises with simple dietary changes to help the brain make connections. Our Program offers life-changing results, for children as well as their families. ■

and

AWA R D S

“We’re going to consolidate the company and then recruit more staff. We’ve been out of space for about ten years,” Meena said. “We’ll rent out the Lyons building then.” The sale of the Sunset property was part of a larger portfolio that had changed hands with institutional investors several times, said Broker Kevin Fenenbock, senior vice president with Colliers International. The transaction took a couple months to put together. “Buying buildings is a trend happening with tenants like the Gothic Landscape and Paciﬁc Funding sales,” Fenenbock said. “These were three signiﬁcant transactions in the last three months.” Rick Hawn with Realty Executives Commercial Division represented the buyers. Augusta Financial has wanted to be under one roof – “they’ve been busting at the seams.” Mike and his partners are excited

■ Sunset Pointe Plaza courtesy photo.

661.259.5067

MEMBER

about the deal, Hawn said. “It’s exciting because we’ve made offers on a couple of buildings through the years,” he said. “It’s nice to find a building and finally close. He’s been looking for four to five years. Now he has a place to do business for the next 15 to 230 years.” Legacy Holdings Sunset Plaza is a small group of investors comprised of local business owners and investors, said David Rendall, a managing partner of the investment group, and also a broker for Remax. “It’s great visibility,” Rendall said of the building. “And it’s good to have local business owners after being owned by massive institutional investor, Blackstone.” Fenenbock agrees. “It’s neat to see the building back in local hands,” he said. One other point, Rendall noted RE/MAX might also take over space in the building as it adds a commercial division, allowing the brokerage firm to separate its residential division from commercial business. ■

MAY 2016

DISCONNECTED Continued from page 1 strategic plan to build up the infrastructure. Progress to date has taken place in silos – by private parties making piecemeal attempts to patch service together. One such case is the owners of the Mann Biomedical Park, who invested tens of thousands of dollars in their effort to build a world class business park by negotiating a fiber deal with Time Warner, committing to deliver a number of tenants as customers to the provider. “We paid to bring it to the park,” said President Dale Donohoe of Intertex. “We were quoted $150,000, but got down to the ballpark of (paying) tens of thousands less by showing them the number of businesses they’d have hooking up to it.” Recognizing the importance of offering the high-speed connection as an incentive to attract other firms to the business park – already home to Boston Scientific, Bioness, and the Alfred Mann Foundation – Donohoe said bringing in a high-speed connection to the park was critical to its success. “We were able to show Time Warner they’d get their money back over time (by hooking the park up to fiber),” Donohoe said. “We showed them they’d have a future revenue stream.”

SANTA CLARITA VALLEY BUSINESS JOURNAL

coax are available in several areas that didn’t have that type of service available previously. But, it’s a slow process.”

Hit and miss VIA itself experienced multiple problems when it was located on Avenue Tibbitts. The industry group finally moved to Smyth Drive. Ironically, its old headquarters now has fiber available in the building – installed too late for VIA. Other businesses on Avenue Tibbitts and Avenue Scott in the Valencia Industrial Center – located in the heart of the City of Santa Clarita – have finally been connected, and a small number of companies on Avenue Hopkins have been hooked up as well, Norris reports. “Time Warner does ask that those folks sign a two- or three-year contract with them, however, to help them with their return on investment,” Norris said. “It is a costly process to continue with fiber. Some of the older areas of the Valencia Industrial Center are still struggling, however. And other companies on Rye Canyon, Beale Court, the north end of Avenue Hopkins, etc., still don’t have high speed services available to them.”

Newer business park

The struggle to get accurate answers also frustrates many of the business owners. Attorney Carl Kanowsky of Kanowsky & Associates, also a member of the VIA Advocacy Committee, said he’s been given so many conflicting answers as to what is or is not available from the providers, he’s not sure who or what information to trust. Located on Summit Circle in a newer business park, Kanowsky’s firm still operates using a DSL connection. After several years of asking about upgrade options, Kanowsky now thinks he may be close to getting a coax connection, which is not – Carl Kanowsky, as good as fiber but far Attorney, Kanowsky & Associates better than a DSL line; and it appears rates are But, the effort to connect businesses is spot- going down. But, he doesn’t want to count on ty and continues to occur one tenant, building it until he can see it proven, he said. “We need to provide the infrastructure to or business center at a time. increase the attractiveness and desirability to Outdated technology firms relocating up here, especially the enterAfter multiple business owners said last year tainment and hi-tech industries,” he said. “It’s that the lack of access to high speed Internet in the Santa Clarita Valley was a serious prob- one of the prime concerns to people in those lem for their firms, hampering efforts to con- industries.”

W ne We need to provide the iinfrastructure to increase the attractiveness and desirability to ﬁrms relocating up here, especially the entertainment and hi-tech industries. It’s one of the prime concerns to people in those industries.”

duct business, the Valley Industry Association convened its Advocacy Committee to look at the problem, attempting to find solutions for some of its members. The cost for individual businesses to solve the problem alone was often unaffordable, in some cases exceeding the cost of their rent. The lack of modern day technology drove many business owners to actually curtail tasks performed by employees during certain times of the day, and others shifted work to their homes where they found higher upload speed with their residential service than at their business. Many firms were operating on old, outdated technology, including DSL or by cobbling T1 lines together to get by. Yet, Santa Clarita is the third largest city in Los Angeles County. “We’re still working to address the lack of high speed Internet in the industrial parks, but there are no quick solutions,” said Kathy Norris, CEO and president of the Valley Industry Association. “Time Warner has made some strides in the affected areas, and both fiber and

Infrastructure But, connecting isn’t all that simple. There are two major roadblocks to adding the infrastructure to existing business centers. The cost for providers to build fiber connections isn’t cheap, with the city requiring utilities to be placed underground. Thus, providers need to ensure multiple tenants in a building want their services before they commit so that they can get a return on their investment. The second obstacle is a far bigger problem for the region. If a business is located within the City of Santa Clarita limits, the city does have excess fiber available, referred to as dark fiber because it is not being used, for private leases. It’s available along major roads in parts of the city, said Benny Ives, senior analyst with the city’s IT department. Currently, the city runs 96-strand count fiber cables through major roadways in a large portion of the city to connect city facilities and manage traffic lights. And it has plans to more than double that capacity by running 192-strand fiber cables in future areas of the

■ Fiber optic connections for high speed Internet are in short supply for the SCV business community. iStock photo.

city. It can lease two to six strands at a time to private users. But, building a city-wide network is a much bigger problem to tackle. “We would like to try to get AT&T and Time Warner to step up and provide more infrastructure on their own,” said City Manager Ken Striplin.

2020 Plan But, the city also included the topic in its 2020 plan last year and formed an internal team to look at the challenge of building its own infrastructure, similar to how Santa Monica and other cities have done. “In terms of economic development, it’s a significant issue,” said Mayor Bob Kellar. “There are pockets of the city with it and without it. In a perfect world, this entire city and world would have access to it.” However, while acknowledging a solution is important, he said there haven’t been any recent developments that’s he heard of. The biggest problem for the city to build some kind of infrastructure itself, according to Ives with city’s IT department, is that Santa Clarita’s fiber connections essentially end – in Santa Clarita. Much like running a train, track has to be laid down from point A to point B. It would need to find a way to connect to One Wilshire – the west coast Southern California center where all carriers come into, he said. “The question is how do we get it (the fiber) to downtown Los Angeles,” Ives said. “We also have to look at the type of equipment we need, the costs, staff resources required, and options available to us.”

2020 Plan High speed Internet connections are an item in the city’s 2020 plan in which the city set forth two objectives under the “Enhancing Economic Vitality” section: (1) “Work with the EDC to provide recommendations and strategies on how to ensure high-speed Internet access to business parks;” and (2) “Establish a revenue-generating program that utilizes existing ﬁber infrastructure to leverage resources and potentially promote greater bandwidth access to the community.” Only some four years off, it remains to be seen if the city will be able to map out a detailed plan and execute it. The ﬁrst goal is set to serve the business parks, not retail centers or other areas that may need high speed. The second goal appears to be more of a revenuegenerating plan for the city, rather than a strategic approach to solving a problem. “We have good cooperation from the developers,” said Holly Schroeder, president and CEO of the Santa Clarita Valley Economic Development Corp. “I think the developers will be a strong partner with us as they build new parks because it’s a selling point for them, as well as they lease or sell their buildings.”

Outside Expertise As for establishing more connections

throughout the region, Schroeder, whose organization is only focused on looking for solutions in the business parks, theorizes that an independent, outside expert will probably be needed to assess what is needed. “If I go to the providers, they might give me their own answers. We need real answers, not self-serving recommendations,” Schroeder said. “I need positions for the future. Demand is only going to grow and our infrastructure has to grow as the needs grow.” Half-funded by city and county funds and half-funded by the private sector, the SCVEDC won’t be able to tackle – let alone solve – the problem alone. When compared to the resources of the city, it has a minuscule budget and only three full time and two parttime staff members. In the meantime, progress isn’t occurring fast enough for local business owners – and that, they say, impedes attracting new businesses offering higher paying jobs.

Combined effort High-speed Internet infrastructure is top of mind for the SCVEDC’s executive committee, of which both the city and county of Los Angeles serve on, Schroeder said. But, the non-profit economic advocacy organization will definitely need all parties to commit to the effort if a solution is to be found. “The EDC could lead an effort, but it can’t be the sole effort,” Schroeder agreed. “We will need action from everyone.” However, Schroeder believes the team is committed. The next step is to find the right expertise so that it can put a plan together. It’s motivated to make Santa Clarita a premier business destination for Los Angeles County, she said. Until a region-wide solution is found, however, most business owners say they are left to fend for themselves in the third largest city in the county.

Still ‘dark’ For the most part, despite the efforts of individual business park owners and businesses, much of the business community is still in the dark so-to-speak and lacks affordable, viable options to conducting business. “The city should take a serious look to see how they can help upgrade the area,” Kanowsky said. In the meantime, just as it said it would a year ago, Mann Biomedical Park stepped up with private money to invest in the future because it knew in order to be an attractive place to do business, it had to offer 21st Century technology. Just recently installed, one business has already hooked up, one is very close to completion, and developer/owner Intertex itself is being connected. “We’re paying for it as park owners. We put it in and tenants are signing up,” Donohoe said. “We’re offering it as an incentive to move to the park.” ■

SANTA CLARITA VALLEY BUSINESS JOURNAL

MAY 2016

Making Improvements in Life Possible By Jana Adkins SCVBJ Editor

n an office on Turnberry Lane in Valencia quietly resides Qiagen (pronounced Ky-gen), a firm providing technical and sales support to its billion-dollar global operation in the life sciences industry. In a field that helps improve the quality and standard of life for people, Qiagen is behind the new blood test for tuberculosis – eliminating the under the skin test of the past – and helping actress Angelie Jolie to determine which DNA marker she carried for breast cancer, as well as to exonerate a man in July 2014 who was imprisoned 26 years for a murder he didn’t commit. Working with biological materials like blood, bodily fluids or skin and other body materials, the company creates test kits used by medical personnel to provide reliable diagnoses for patients in laboratories and scores of hospitals and research centers like the Mayo Clinic, the Cleveland Clinic, and Johns Hopkins University. But, perhaps Qiagen is most noted for its breakthrough in tuberculosis testing – a highly contagious airborne infectious disease affecting the lungs. In 2014, there were 9.6 million active cases of the disease that resulted in 1.5 million deaths, according to the

■ Tech Service Scientist Sonia Dobias demonstrates the procedure for filling test tubes with blood for the Qiagen TB test. Photo by Dan Watson.

puriﬁcation kits it provided to universities and academic centers for the highest level recovery of DNA materials needed for testing. And then, about seven or eight years ago, the company got involved in the diagnostics ﬁelds.

The ge The gentleman spent 26 years in prison for a crime he hadn’t committed. But performing a DNA analysis from biological samples that remained in holding, he was proved innocent. He was exonerated by evidence using our re-agents.”

Life saving testing

Using Qiagen’s reagents – test kits – medical scientists are able to perform molecular diagnostic tests for the disease prevention and profiling fields – including forensics testing, – Mark Boyle, Vice President, Qiagen Boyle said. “Taking a piece of tissue or biopsy mateWorld Health Organization. rial, we can identify the DNA and see if a “We have a blood test for TB to replace person is carrying the DNA for a certain type the skin test. It’s been in the U.S. and global of cancer,” Boyle said. “Our re-agents were markets for 15 years,” said Mark Boyle, vice used to see if Angelie Jolie indeed had the president with Qiagen. “If you go to your DNA marker for the strain of cancer (that doctor’s office, they can order the TB blood had killed both her mother and grandmother test now instead of the skin test.” at a young age). They identified that she had Tuberculosis the DNA marker for the kind of breast canYounger generations won’t remember the cer that ran in her family.” dreaded iron lungs by which polio or tuberAnd then along came the case of Kevin culosis patients lay inside a tubular case for Martin, imprisoned for 26 years for the 1982 months on end, with air being mechanically killing of a 19-year old Washington D.C. forced into the person’s lungs. But many will woman. Martin had always claimed he was recall the multiple prick test administered innocent, but couldn’t prove it to the satisjust under the skin on the inside of the lower faction of officials. Sentenced in 1984 to 35 arm, after which they waited 48 to 72 hours years to life, Martin’s case was picked up by to determine the results of the test based on the Mid-Atlantic Innocence Project. Using swelling in the area. Qiagen’s test products, Martin was finally Qiagen’s advancement of the newer test released in July 2014. worldwide has led to them capturing 12 “The gentleman spent 26 years in prison percent of the global market, Boyle said. for a crime he hadn’t committed,” Boyle There are in excess of some 60 million tests said. “But performing a DNA analysis from per year. But, it first made its mark in the biological samples that remained in holding, medical sciences field with its extraction and he was proved innocent. He was exonerated

by evidence using our re-agents.” The company had lower-proﬁle beginnings, however, when it ﬁrst began back in the 1980s as Cellestis, a life sciences company that was acquired by Qiagen in 2011 for some $355 million in cash. Boyle was with the company back then.

Profile “We were the company involved in tuberculosis,” Boyle said. “Santa Clarita was our headquarters; and now it serves as the call center for technical support and sales.” A billion-dollar company in terms of revenues, Qiagen’s local operation has some 50 to 60 people who sell the company’s innovations, and a technical staff to support all customers who use their products worldwide.

It has expanded from the basic life science ﬁeld of providing materials to diagnose, to producing instruments that automate sample processing to isolate DNA markers. And, it now also provides software to interpret the enormous amount of genetic information produced by the testing. The software can sort through all of that data and produce an answer. Sales team members specialize in various areas, allowing them to offer their expertise when working with clients. Ditto for the tech support team, where clients may call with questions and the staff will walk them through the testing protocols. “Our people are very knowledgeable; some even have PhDs,” Boyle said. ■

■ Mark Boyle, Qiagen Vice President, Immune Monitoring Franchise Business Area, at the Qiagen sales and tech support center in Valencia. Photo by Dan Watson.

MAY 2016

SANTA CLARITA VALLEY BUSINESS JOURNAL

Canyon Engineering: The Little Company that Could – and Did

SCV Engineering Firm Helped Solve NTSB’s Longest Plane Crash Investigation

ne of the longest airplane crash investigations in the history of the National Transportation Safety Board was put on the road to being solved, thanks to the prowess of a small hydraulics engineering company in Santa Clarita in August 1996. When the NTSB concluded in 1999, it said the investigation of the crash of a Boeing 737 near Pittsburgh was the longest aviation accident investigation in its 32-year history. On Sept. 8, 1994, USAir (now US Airways) flight 427, a Boeing 737-300, crashed while maneuvering to land at Pittsburgh International Airport, reported the NTSB in a 370-page study. The flight was arriving from Chicago. It took only 28 seconds for USAir Flight 427 to plummet from the sky. All 132 persons aboard - 127 passengers and five crew members - perished in the crash. After a lengthy process of elimination, the panel of experts gradually came to suspect an event referred to as “rudder reversal” in which the rudder might have jammed, causing the plane to go in the opposite direction the pilots were intending it to go. Meaning, when the pilot pressed on the right rudder pedal, the rudder most likely reversed to a full left position, leading to the loss of control of the aircraft.

Crash examinations The NTSB also examined two other events involving 737s, the 1991 crash of United Airlines flight 585 in Colorado Springs, Colorado. While carrying 20 passengers and five crew members on board, the plane experienced a rudder problem while on final approach to runway 35 at Colorado Springs Municipal Airport, causing the plane to roll over and enter

an uncontrolled dive. There were no survivors. In the second incident, the pilot of Eastwind Airlines flight 517 near Richmond, Virginia lost rudder control in 1996, but was able to land successfully. Only one flight attendant suffered minor injuries. No damage occurred to the aircraft as a result of the incident. The NTSB board concluded that the same type of rudder reversal most likely occurred in those two cases, as well. But, this time there were survivors – and a crew who perhaps might be able to provide vital insights. A special panel was formed to review the studies of the experts who suspected a rudder valve was at fault, but they hadn’t been able to prove it. The thinking behind the special panel was that perhaps a fresh pair of eyes would help validate the experts’ work. It was thought that extreme temperature swings between hot and cold might have caused rudder valves to stick. A four-part news story titled “28 Seconds – The Mystery of USAir Flight 427,” by reporter Bill Adair of the St. Petersburg Times also chronicled the mystery-solving expedition of the NTSB in which a frozen rudder valve was suspect to be the culprit behind the crash.

Canyon Engineering, Valencia Adair succinctly described the testing conducted, and reported by the NTSB, at a little known engineering firm in Valencia – Canyon Engineering. The firm was later acquired by St. Louis-based Esco Technologies Inc. Esco then moved its Palmdale firm, Crissair Inc., down to the Canyon Engineering facility where the two merged in December 2014. No one from the original investigation could be located. But, originally founded in 1978, Canyon

■ Crissair Inc., manufacturer of aircraft fluid control components in Santa Clarita, former home of Canyon Engineering. Courtesy photo.

Engineering designed and manufactured precision fluid control devices primarily for the aerospace industry. It understood hydraulics. But, back in 1996, it appeared to be a tiny little company to the NTSB investigators who described it as “more like a garage than one of the modern test facilities” they were accustomed to working in. Canyon Engineering tested two rudder valves in the blazing hot days of a Santa Clarita summer in August 1996. One was new and straight from the factory, while the other was from USAir crash. Power Control Units containing the valves were placed in Coleman

coolers and frozen with nitrogen gas and then tested for operation capabilities. The valves were passing every test. But then, after reaching the most extreme temperature condition, clicking, hissing sounds began to reach investigator’s ears. And then – the valve jammed. While valves straight from the factory were not jamming, Canyon Engineering tests proved that the valve on Flight 427 was more prone to jamming. But then, the positive test had to be proven with an actual airplane.

Boeing aircraft test That’s when a young Boeing engineer, according to the St. Petersburg Times’ story,

Voice Cockpit Recording Excerpts From Usair Flight 427 Pittsburgh Approach: USAir 427, turn left heading one zero zero. Traffic will be one to two o’clock, six miles, northbound Jetstream climbing out of thirty-three for five thousand. Radio Communications (Captain): We’re looking for the traffic, turning to one zero zero, USAir 427. Cockpit area mike (cabin sounds and flight attendants): [Sound in engines increasing rpms] First Officer: Oh, yeah. I see the Jetstream. Captain: Sheez... First Officer: zuh? Cockpit area mike (cabin sounds and flight attendants): [Sound of thump; sound like ‘clickety-click’; again the thumping sound, but quieter than before] Captain: Whoa ... hang on. Cockpit area mike (cabin sounds and flight attendants): [Sound of increasing rpms in engines; sound of clickety-click; sound of trim wheel turning at autopilot trim speed; sound similar to pilot grunting; sound of wailing horn similar to autopilot disconnect warning] Captain: Hang on.

First Officer: Oh, Shit. Captain: Hang on. What the hell is this? Cockpit area mike (cabin sounds and flight attendants): [Sound of stick shaker; sound of altitude alert] Cockpit area mike (cabin sounds and flight attendants): Traffic. Traffic. Captain: What the... First Officer: Oh... Captain: Oh God, Oh God... Pittsburgh Approach: USAir... Radio Communications (Captain): 427, emergency! First Officer: [Sound of scream] Captain: Pull... First Officer: Oh... Captain: Pull... pull... First Officer: God... Captain: [Sound of screaming] First Officer: No... END OF TAPE. Source: http://www.planecrashinfo.com/ cvr940908.htm

■ Courtesy photo.

SANTA CLARITA VALLEY BUSINESS JOURNAL

PLANE CRASH Continued from page 9 discovered odd dips in the hydraulic ﬂow that shouldn’t have been there after poring over charts and test results. If he was reading the data right, the rudder would not have gone into a neutral position as designed, it would have reversed. In other words, a pilot could push on the right pedal, but the rudder would go left and that ﬁnding could spell disaster for the plane. Boeing needed a 737 to check their theory. So worried were the investigators, they took one right off the assembly line, before it was delivered to an airline. Landing at Boeing Field in Seattle on Oct. 29, 1996 on a typically cold, rainy day, a Boeing test

pilot climbed into the cockpit while the young engineer stood outside watching the rudder on the tail of the plane. At first the tests went smoothly, but then came a more aggressive test. The pilot stomped on the rudder pedal as fast as he could – and the rudder swung the wrong direction. The NTSB first issued 20 recommendations to the FAA, and then 10 more in March of 1999. Since the crash of flight 427, Boeing redesigned the PCU’s servo valve and retrofitted it onto all 737s. ■ This story was compiled by Jana Adkins, SCVBJ Editor, based on information contained in a 370-page NTSB report, an NTSB press release, a Smithsonian channel docudrama titled “Hidden Dangers” on the TV series “Air Disasters” and various media reports.

MAY 2016

SCV VOICES

5 Tips for Saving Money on your IT By James Deck

creating long-term issues.

CEO, JD Systems

Don’t be Afraid to Replace

aving a little on your technology can go a long way, but cutting too many corners can lead to additional problems and expensive downtime. Here are a few ways you can cut costs without

Got an older PC that’s causing you a lot of issues? Older technology is typically more expensive to run. After a while, it’s cheaper simply to buy a new desktop computer than continue pouring money into something that always seems broken. It’s a great time to buy workstations. If things are tight, you can even buy a refurbished desktop to keep costs low.

Enforce Energy Efficiency If you reduce the amount of energy your technology uses each day, your utility bill will decrease as well. Switching to LCD monitors (if you are still using old CRT dinosaurs), and enforcing company-wide policies to turn off monitors or put workstations to sleep at night can make a big difference.

Stop Dealing with Vendors You hired your employees to work, not sit on the phone with a PC manufacturer because your hard drive crashed. Businesses waste money by paying employees to go around in circles with vendor tech support all the time. IT ﬁrms like JD Systems build relationships with vendors and are able to get things done faster. This means issues get resolved quickly and your employees don’t need to deal with less-than-helpful support.

Stop Paying your Phone Bill

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Get Proactive Monitoring and Maintenance Nearly all day-to-day IT issues can be completely prevented with just a little maintenance. Traditional computer support only fixes computer issues when they arise. JD Systems provides proactive monitoring and maintenance to ensure fewer issues plague your business and downtime is reduced to keep your operation productive. ■ James Deck is the Chief Executive Officer of JD Systems and an innovator in the information technology field for nearly two decades, specializing in Managed Services, Cloud Solutions, and mobile and web application development. The content for this article is produced by Directive. James can be reached at jdeck@jdsystemsinc.com or (626) 486-9330.

MAY 2016

SANTA CLARITA VALLEY BUSINESS JOURNAL

Van Nuys Firm Relocating to Santa Clarita By Jana Adkins SCVBJ Editor

ile and stone manufacturer New Beginning Stone Inc. is relocating from Van Nuys to Santa Clarita, said the commercial broker who helped the company select Santa Clarita. Launched in 2000, the company has completed thousands of custom fabrications and installations of granite slab kitchen counters, vanity tops, tub decks, shower walls, fireplace hearths and surrounds, outdoor kitchens, and barbeques. New Beginning Stone is moving into the Saugus Industrial Center on Springbrook Ave., said Pamela Verner of SCV Commercial Real Estate Services. The firm represented both the tenant and the landlord – Saugus Industrial Center LLC. In need of larger space, the firm signed a three-year lease on the property, she said. Additional terms of the deal weren’t disclosed. “We chose the Santa Clarita Valley because we see a progressive city that is growing and growing, and we would like to be part of the growing progress,” said Owner Cesar Fernandez. The industrial center was built in 1959. New Beginning Stone is moving into a building with 17,000 square feet on the ground floor plus 10,000 square feet of mezzanine space, sitting on a piece of land with an extra 13,000 square feet of fencedin outdoor yard space. With 30 employees and a new lease, Fernandez said he would love to stay as long as possible – “meaning forever,” he said.

■ Tile and stone manufacturer, New Beginning Stone, is relocating to Santa Clarita from Van Nuys, leasing space in the Saugus Industrial Center on Springbrook Avenue. Courtesy photo.

“The history of the building is most unique,” Verner said. “And it is in one of the only industrial zoned properties in the City of Santa Clarita. It’s the only place to

ﬁnd industrial zoned buildings.” Zoned “I” for heavy industry, other industrial centers in the region are zoned only as business parks, she said. But the building

is unique for how it was constructed. “The building is not a standard tilt-up,” Verner said. “It’s a four-story metal building built in the 50s.” ■

Stevenson Ranch Plaza sold for $72.5 million

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he Stevenson Ranch Plaza in the Santa Clarita Valley was sold for $72.5 million to InvenTrust Properties Corp. of Illinois. Located at the corner of Pico Canyon and The Old Road, the retail center is anchored by Ralphs, and includes LA Fitness, PetSmart and Stein Mart as tenants. “We are excited to announce the acquisition of Stevenson Ranch Plaza, a premier retail center with a top-tier grocer in one of the largest retail markets in the U.S.,” Michael E. Podboy, Executive Vice President – CFO and CIO of InvenTrust said in a statement. “Stevenson Ranch Plaza presents an

opportunity to drive value over the long term to our investors,” Podboy said. The retail center represents a chance for the property investment company to expand its presence in Southern California, Christopher Covey, SVP of Transactions for InvenTrust said in a statement. The property has strong residential growth and high trafﬁc in an area with strong demographics, Covey added. InvenTrust owns and operates 112 multitenant retail properties. ■ The Signal newspaper originally broke in The Signal newspaper on April 20. Written by Signal Staff.

■ Signage for the Stevenson Ranch Plaza at the intersection of Pico Canyon and The Old Road. Photo by Jana Adkins.

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MAY 2016

SCV VOICES

Security in an Era of Social Engineering Attacks By Marianne Cederlind

and online social networks to obtain login credentials to businesses’ accounts, transfer funds from the accounts and steal private information are on the rise. Social engineering attacks where an attacker uses human interaction to obtain or compromise information about an organization or its computer systems are often hard to detect. An attacker may seem unassuming and respectable. They may use their social skills to claim to be a new employee, repair person, or researcher and can

he U.S. Department of Homeland Security warns to never give sensitive information to anyone unless you are sure they are who they claim to be and that they should have access to the information. It’s every business owner’s worst fear that they could be the next target. Cybercriminals target small businesses with ever-increasingly sophisticated attacks. Spoofed emails, malicious software

even offer credentials to support that false identity. By asking questions, the attacker may piece together enough information to inﬁltrate an organization’s computer network. If not enough information from one source is revealed, the attacker may contact another source within the same organization and rely on the information from the ﬁrst source to add credibility. Phishing is a form of social engineering by using email or malicious websites to solicit personal information by posing as a

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trustworthy organization. For example, an attacker may send email seemingly from a reputable credit card company or financial institution that requests account information, often suggesting that there is a problem. When users respond with the requested information, attackers can use it to gain access to the accounts. Phishing attacks may also appear to come from other types of organizations, such as charities. Attackers often take advantage of current events and certain times of the year, such as natural disasters, epidemics and health scares, economic concerns such as IRS scams, major political elections and holidays. Corporate account takeovers – a type of fraud where thieves gain access to a business’ finances to make unauthorized transactions – creates havoc and loss. Funds may be transferred from the company, new fake employees created and added to payroll, and sensitive customer information that may not be recoverable can be stolen. Because cyber-crime can devastate any small business, the best defense is a strong offense. Businesses need to start with a secure IT environment that includes up-todate anti-virus programs, anti-spyware programs, firewalls and strong passwords that are changed frequently. However, strong IT infrastructure and internal controls are not enough; employee education is key. Hackers seek weaknesses, such as unwitting employees who may fall for one of the countless social-engineering scams that are prevalent today. Employees need to understand that the company takes cyber security very seriously. By taking the necessary steps to continually educate staff members on safe Internet and email practices, a business decreases its vulnerability to cyber-crime. If you believe someone in your organization might have revealed sensitive information, report it to the appropriate people within the organization, including network administrators so they can be alert for any suspicious or unusual activity. Immediately change passwords that might have been revealed. If the same password is used for multiple resources, change it for each account and do not use that password in the future. Watch for other signs of identity theft. Combating account takeover is a shared responsibility between businesses and financial institutions. Bankers can explain the safeguards small businesses need and the numerous programs available that help ensure fund transfers, payroll requests and withdrawals are legitimate and accurate. In addition to constant internal education, Mission Valley Bank works with clients to establish and explain safeguards small businesses need to protect themselves with online activity. ■ Marianne Cederlind is the executive vice president and chief business banking officer of Mission Valley Bank, a locally-owned, full service community business bank headquartered in Sun Valley, California, with a business banking office in Santa Clarita. Marianne Cederlind was named “Most Trusted Advisor - Business Banking” in 2012 and can be reached at (818) 394-2300. For more information, visit www.MissionValleyBank.com.

MAY 2016

SANTA CLARITA VALLEY BUSINESS JOURNAL

Flextronics Building Sold to Investors By SCVBJ Staff

state of the art industrial building that houses Flextronics, a high-tech business serving the aerospace, defense, and medical device industries, has been sold to Los Angeles-based Rexford Industrial Realty L.P. Flextronics will continue to operate out of the facility.

Rexford is a publicly traded Rexford REIT. R IT And the buyers at Gateway V are large real estate investment owners as well,â&#x20AC;? said CBRE broker Craig Peters. â&#x20AC;&#x153;There is an increasing interest of institutional investors in the Santa Clarita Valley.â&#x20AC;? Located at 28454 Livingston Avenue, the industrial building is 134,287 square feet and sits on nearly 14 acres, or 13.67 acres. CBRE brokers Craig Peters and Doug Sonderegger represented both the buyer and the seller, LNR Gateway V LLC/28454 Livingston, LLC. Two members of the LLC appear to have ties to the biomedical industry. The buyer, Rexford, is an industrial real estate investment ďŹ rm. Terms of the sale were not disclosed â&#x2013;

â&#x2013; The Flextronics building located on Livingston Ave. in the Valencia Commerce Center has been sold to industrial real estate investment firm, Rexford Industrial Realty L.P. of Los Angeles. Flextronics, a high-tech business serving the aerospace; defense and medical device industries, will continue to operate out of the building. Courtesy photo.

Three Sites Sold at Gateway V By SCVBJ Staff

itting just off the Interstate 5 and along the 126 Highway at the entrance to the Valencia Commerce Center, the land known as Gateway V has been sold to an LLC comprised of AEW Capital Management and Sheridan Ebbert Development of Los Angeles. Terms of the sale were not disclosed. CBRE brokers Craig Peters and Doug Sonderegger represented both the buyer and

the seller, LNR Gateway V LLC. Situated off a new road, Hancock Parkway, this is the second industrial building in the planning for the area. Sitting on a little more than 13 acres, AEW and Sheridan Ebbert purchased three building sites, numbered 7, 8 and 9. There is one extra spot, site number 10. The buyer is expected to break ground in May on three state of the art industrial buildings ranging in size from 60,000 to 105,000 square feet. â&#x2013;

SCVEDC recognizes the leadership shaping our local economy.

Dennis King Member Board of Directors

DENNIS KING ,+0*'/0"-.-$,.$0 -)*./)0( 0 0 /)*, ,/&0 ! %,#0 ##(!.*-.*+ 0 /0 -+ ().0-.&0)-,+/&0,.0 !) -. 0-.&0$)-&!-*/&0 )(" ),$'-"0 (!.$0 ., /)+,* 0,.0 )( ( 0 *-' 0 '/)/ '/0"- ()/&0,.0-##(!.*,.$ 0 */)0$)-&!-*,(.0'/ /.*0*(0 () 0-*0 )*'!)0 .&/)+(.0 0 (" -. 0,. (+0 .$/%/+ 0 '/)/0'/0 () /&0,.0*'/0*- &/ -)*"/.*0-.&0%-*/)0*)-.+ /))/&0*(0 -.* -) -)- 0 '/)/0'/0$-,./&0 -%!- %/0/ /),/.#/ ,.0)/-%0/+*-*/0*- -*,(. 0 /..,+0*'/.0 () /&0 () /../*'0 / /.*'(%0 0 (" -. 0,.0 / ()* /-#' 0-0 ,)"0+ /#,-%, ,.$0,.0)/-%0/+*-*/0-##(!.*,.$ 0 .0 0 /..,+ /#-"/0-0 -)*./)0 ,*'0',+0 )(*'/) 0 - ,&0 ',#'0 -+0*'/0 /$,..,.$0( '-*0,+0.( 0 0 /..,+0'-+0&,+*,.$!,+'/&0',"+/% 0-+0-0 /) 0-&/ *0 ,.-.#,-%0 %-../) ()0 !+,./++0( ./)+0-.&0',$'0 /-%*'0,.&, ,&!-%+ 0 - ,.$0/ */.+, / / /),/.#/0 ,*'0/"/)$,.$0#(" -.,/+ 0'/0'-+0'/% /&0*'/"0./$(*,-*/ !+,./++0+-%/+0-.&0-# !,+,*,(.+ 0 /0-%+(0+/) /+0-+0*)!+*//0 ()0+/ /)-% *)!+*+0-.&0 )( ,&/+0 !+,./++0"-.-$/"/.*0+/) ,#/+0 ()0/.*/)*-,./)+ -.&0(*'/)+0 '(0.//&0'-.&+0(.0 ,.-.#,-%0"-.-$/"/.* .0-&&,*,(.0*(0',+0 )( /++,(.-%0%, / 0 /..,+0,+0',$'% 0,. (% /&0,. #(""!.,* 0- -,)+

Regional leadership for a regional economy.

â&#x2013; Courtesy photo.

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SANTA CLARITA VALLEY BUSINESS JOURNAL

MAY 2016

Aerospace Firm Moves to Valencia from No. Hollywood; Good Vibe By Jana Adkins SCVBJ Editor

erospace company Air Bolt Group of North Hollywood signed a 10year lease in March for an 8,500 square foot building on Avenue Crocker in the Valencia Industrial Center. NAI Capital helped broker the deal. Additional terms of the lease were not disclosed. Air Bolt manufactures latches, struts, buts and bolts for commercial aircraft. The Air Bolt Group spent the past couple of months making minor upgrades to a building which “already ﬁt their needs,” said its owner. The building’s owner, however, was installing new ﬂooring and car-

“We’re in negotiations with a company to become one of their suppliers – Aerospace Dynamics Inc. One of our largest customers, Avibank Manufacturing, is one of their customers.” Both Avibank of North Hollywood and ADI of Valencia are part of the Oregon-based Precision Castparts Corp.

Re-Focusing

Launched in 1995; Ramirez took over the company last year from his father and renamed it Air Bolt, re-branding it and changing the firm’s focus, he said. Focusing on greater profitability, he minimized the company’s second shift and hired a sales rep – something the firm didn’t have before. Marketing the company made a lot of sense to him, he said, because there are a lot of aerospace companies in Santa Clarita. “Our lease was up on our (North Hollywood) building, so we definitely had to look for space. The building was sold and the new owners wanted – Oscar Ramirez, CEO, Air Bolt Group to use the building,” Ramirez said. pets for the May 1 grand opening. And while the company did look for “We specifically wanted to be in Santa a new location in San Fernando Valley, Clarita because we’re seeing growth in Ramirez was also eyeing the aerospace marthe aerospace industries here and want to ket in Santa Clarita, and his wife Melissa be part of it,” said CEO Oscar Ramirez. – with children enrolled in private school

W spe We speciﬁcally wanted to be in SSanta Clarita because we’re seeing growth in the aerospace industries here and want to be part of it.”

Successful companies are the foundation of prosperous cities like Santa Clarita.

■ Oscar and Melissa Ramirez, of Air Bolt Group. Courtesy photo.

– had heard about the good schools in the SCV, he said. The move to Santa Clarita also means most of his 20 employees will still be able to commute to the new location. But ﬁnding a place locally required some help. “We met with Holly (Schroeder) and Jim (Brown) from the Santa Clarita Valley Economic Development Corp. They showed us the incentives available in

moving out here and put us in contact with a broker,” Ramirez said. “If it wasn’t for them, it might have been 50/50 that we have moved out here. We did meet with other organizations in the San Fernando Valley but just didn’t get the same vibe or form of help.” Schroeder said the company is probably also a candidate for an industry attraction incentive. ■

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MAY 2016

SANTA CLARITA VALLEY BUSINESS JOURNAL

Ken & Joe’s Motorcycle Dealer Relocates By Jana Adkins SCVBJ Editor

en & Joe’s, franchise dealer for Honda, Kawasaki and KTM motorcycles, is moving to a new Santa Clarita location at 21616 Golden Triangle, near Centre Pointe Parkway with two other motorcycle dealerships nearby, said Rick Hawn, broker with Realty Executives Commercial Division. Busting at the seams, finding a new location was tricky, Hawn said because the city of Santa Clarita has very strict requirements for motorcycle sales and service. But he was able to help strike a deal on the new space, allowing Ken & Joe’s to expand from 8,000 to 14,000 square feet of space. It had been operating in a smaller building on Bouquet Canyon Road. The dealership took possession Jan. 1. It used to be Santa Clarita Motorsports for about 18 to 20 years ago, but that franchise holder sold it to Rod Reim,” Hawn said. “Along with the purchase, Reim had to agree to lease the existing store for five years.” It took some two years to find a space that work for the motorcycle dealership, he said. Once they did, Ken & Joe’s signed a seven-year lease with two three-year options. Reid, who bought the business in 2011, expects to add a few more employees to the 17 or 18 he already has. But, the real kicker is – Reid gave the motorcycle business a name that doesn’t belong to him.

■ Ken & Joe’s executive team from left, Sales Manager - Mike Schell, Parts Manager - Chris LeGrande, Executive Manager - Rod Reim, Operations Manager - Nicole Young and Finance Manager - James Jaciuk at the Valencia location. Photo by Dan Watson.

Ken is his father’s name. “When I was growing up Ken & Joe’s was the name of my father’s and his father’s shop in Oklahoma,” Reid said. “I did a lot of growing up there; they were great to me and I learned a lot. I said if I ever open another

place, that’s what I’m going to call it.” The new Golden Triangle store will also place Ken & Joe’s closer to other motorcycle dealers carrying Harley-Davidson, BMW, Indian, Victory, Vespa, Moto Guzzi, Piaggio and Aprilia motorcycles,

along with the three-wheeled Polaris Slingshots. Owning all of the local motorcycle franchise rights for Honda, Kawasaki and KTM puts Ken & Joe in good company, at a more central location for motorcycle aficionados. ■

SCVEDC recognizes the leadership shaping our local economy.

Michael Alfred Member Board of Directors

MICHAEL ALFRED has been President of

Crissair Inc. since June of 2012. Crissair, an aerospace manufacturer of high quality, precision valve components for nearly every airframe manufacturer and major subcontractor in the industry, is also recognized as the global leader in the design and manufacturing of check valves. Mike has full P&L responsibility for the company as well as planning/executing multi-faceted business development campaigns designed to improve market share, gross revenue and EBIT. Mike has over 25 years of general and financial management experience working in the aerospace and industrial industries both domestically and internationally. He also has extensive background in S.E.C. compliance, M&A due diligence and general and operations management. Mike is a recipient of “TOP VALLEY CFOs” award for 2011 presented by the San Fernando Valley Business Journal. He is also a Board Member of the Santa Clarita Economic Development Corporation (SCVEDC).

Regional leadership for a regional economy.

■ Rod Reim, the owner of Ken and Joe’s, stands in the shop’s new location on Golden Triangle Road in Santa Clarita. Photo by Katharine Lotze.

www.stillgolden.org

SANTA CLARITA VALLEY BUSINESS JOURNAL

MAY 2016

SCV VOICES

Are Uber Drivers Independent Contractors or Employees? The Answer May Affect All Businesses By Cecilie E. Read

customers and drivers. Often underlying

“independent contractors” who are not

these suits is a seemingly simply question:

entitled to the same rights as bona ﬁde

are Uber drivers employees of Uber?

employees such as protections of wage

hassle of using cash. Unfortunately, due

employee or not faces companies of all

In 2014, four individuals brought ac-

to the popularity of Uber, it has also been

sizes. Often, companies try to defray over-

tion on behalf of themselves, and other

the target of numerous lawsuits, both by

head costs by categorizing individuals as

similarly situated California drivers for

any people love Uber, a phone application which customers use to hail a ride without the

While Uber is a large company, the question of whether an individual is an

and hour laws or anti-discrimination and retaliation laws.

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Uber, claiming that although Uber classified them as independent contractors, each driver was required to follow a “litany of detailed requirements imposed on them by Uber and are graded, and are subject to termination, based on their failure to adhere to these requirements…” In essence, the Plaintiffs claimed that they were not bona fide independent contractors of Uber, and therefore, entitled the rights and privileges that all California employees are entitled. Over the last several years, both through legislation and court rulings, California has been cracking down on the practice of misclassifying individuals as independent contractors. In fact, the California Labor Code starts with the presumption that an individual is an employee and places the burden upon the employer to show proper classification otherwise. There are numerous factors that a court may consider in making a classification determination, such as whether the person performing services is engaged in an occupation or business distinct from the employer’s business or whether the service rendered requires a specialized skill. However, one of the most determinative factors courts will look at is the degree of control exerted by the employer and who controls the end result to be achieved, the employer or the “independent contractor.” Of note is that simply classifying a worker as an independent contractor, even if the individual is agreeable to the designation, is not one of the factors considered. The aforementioned factors are only some that Uber has been, and will be, fighting against in the current class action. Thus far, the Plaintiffs have had some major victories including having a class certified as to the issue of whether the drivers are employees and whether they are owed gratuity paid for when they give a ride. Currently, trial in this matter is set for June 20, 2016. Unless Uber manages to delay the trial (which it already failed to do in a request to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals), we may soon know the answer to the question: are Uber drivers employees? Whatever the Court’s answers, the result will likely affect all types of businesses that utilize independent contractors, from big corporations to local mom and pop businesses. ■ Cecilie E. Read is an attorney in the labor and employment practice group at Poole & Shaffery LLP.

MAY 2016

SANTA CLARITA VALLEY BUSINESS JOURNAL

HOTEL Continued from page 1 booked to cause some hotels to become ďŹ lled; prevent local businesses from booking rooms for their clients; attract new corporate customers to some hotels; and push room rates up modestly at many of the hotels in comparison to rates recorded by the SCVBJ last year â&#x20AC;&#x201C; all during a nonpeak period. In a market already in need of more hotels â&#x20AC;&#x201C; and with at least three more planned for the future â&#x20AC;&#x201C; demand exceeded supply.

High occupancy rates A search for hotel rooms at every hotel in the region, through their own websites, showed four of the area hotels were sold out if one needed a room April 11 through 13. Rates were up from last October at nine of 12 hotels for the kind of last minutes bookings a company might make rather than a leisurely vacation traveler planning long in advance. But, the price increases at SCV hotels werenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t predatory at all â&#x20AC;&#x201C; in fact, they were rather modest and three of the hotels actually had lower prices. In all, the rates remained below the average rate for a room in a Los Angeles hotel. In general, hotel stays have been up anyway due to an improved economy,â&#x20AC;? said Evan Thomason, associate with the cityâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Economic Development division. â&#x20AC;&#x153;But, from everything Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m hearing, the non-peak stays are attributable to the Aliso Canyon Leak.â&#x20AC;? Hotels typically have their peak season in the summer when the Magic Mountain amusement park is open, he said. Nonpeak periods start in the fall and tend to run through February, he said. Instead, local hotels have deďŹ nitely been affected by the gas leak incident in that occupancy rates have been much higher than they would have been. â&#x20AC;&#x153;The impacts of Porter Ranch have been

â&#x2013; A months-long SoCalGas gas leak in Porter Ranch forced people to flee their homes and live elsewhere temporarily. AP photo.

an all-time high for taxes collected. In 2015, the city only collected $220,000 in February last year, and $224,000 in January. Those dollars were exceeded by more than $100,000 in 2016. March numbers are not yet available. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Tourism in general is on an uptick and Los Angeles is projected to receive 50 million visitors in the next few years,â&#x20AC;? Thomason said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;But, frankly weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re seeing some numbers we havenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t seen before.â&#x20AC;? As a publically traded company, a spokesperson for Southern California Gas said it could not release ďŹ gures for what the relocation efforts were costing the utility company, but the Los Angeles Times reported that an attorney for the gas company pegged it at some $2 million a day. Although regulated as a public utility, both SoCal Gas and Sempra trade shares on the stock markets. Sempra is listed with the New York Stock Exchange as SRE, and SoCal Gas â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Noel Pavia, trades on an over-theGeneral Manager, Courtyard by Marriott counter exchange under the symbol SOCGP. And as rooms ďŹ lled a sad situation for residents caught in that up, hotels were left trying to be good amsituation. Hotels have told us families are bassadors for the city and to the displaced displaced having to commute to school and residents of Porter Ranch, Thomason said. work from Santa Clarita, and living in an Hotels area theyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re not familiar with,â&#x20AC;? Thomason Hotel personnel have tried to go the exsaid. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve been trying to be reactive to tra mile to support the families, and after that and make them feel at home over here; all Thomason asked, â&#x20AC;&#x153;How much can you but the truth is, there have also been eco- sit in a hotel room?â&#x20AC;? The cityâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Tourism nomic beneďŹ ts for the city. Bureau tried to help by providing visitor And the added revenue collected from guides to families. the cityâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Transient Occupancy Tax asNoel Pavia, general manager with the sessed on hotel rooms goes into the cityâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Courtyard by Marriott, said that while his general fund. hotel had some eight families staying in

Neigh Neighbors who might not have kknown each other ordinarily are now back in their homes and have developed camaraderie and bonded while staying at the hotels. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s been a very positive effect.â&#x20AC;?

Tax revenues up Hotel taxes of $3.3 million collected by the city in 2015 were at an all-time high, Thomason reported. A typical peak-period month would be in July, in which the city collected $349,000 in taxes last year. By means of comparison, the city collected $340,000 in February this year and $304,000 in January. Contrast those ďŹ gures with the revenue collected in those same months last year â&#x20AC;&#x201C; a year which recorded

two-rooms each at the hotel at one point â&#x20AC;&#x201C; because it is located a little further from Porter Ranch than some of the other SCV hotels, he doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t believe they got the bulk of the residents who ďŹ&#x201A;ed to Santa Clarita. â&#x20AC;&#x153;It must be hard on the families. They have all been very nice. But, I feel for them because itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s been so disruptive,â&#x20AC;? Pavia â&#x20AC;&#x153;said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;At ďŹ rst it (staying in a hotel) may have been a novelty, but their stay in the hotel has been extended so many times. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s been

extended almost ďŹ ve times and itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s hard for them to plan day in or day out.â&#x20AC;?

Neighborly bonding And as of mid-April, Pavia said the crisis didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t appear to be over yet for all families. He had heard the date to return home might get pushed back to April 27, he said. He still had a few families living at his hotel as of April 18. On the ďŹ&#x201A;ip side, the Courtyard by Marriott gained new corporate customers, Pavia said. Hotel guests who couldnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t book

rooms at the hotels preferred by their companyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s stayed with them and liked the hotel, growing their corporate business. And all those families, many of them bonded at the hotels. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I heard from our sister hotels, the Residence Inn and FairďŹ eld Inn, that neighbors who might not have known each other ordinarily are now back in their homes and have developed camaraderie and bonded while staying at the hotels. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s been a very positive effect.â&#x20AC;? â&#x2013;

SCVEDC recognizes the leadership shaping our local economy.

Steven D. Lavine Member Board of Directors

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Regional leadership for a regional economy.

www.stillgolden.org

MAY 2016

SANTA CLARITA VALLEY BUSINESS JOURNAL

â&#x2013; A months-long SoCalGas gas leak in Porter Ranch forced people to flee their homes and live elsewhere temporarily. AP photo.

extended almost ďŹ ve times and itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s hard for them to plan day in or day out.â&#x20AC;?

SCVEDC recognizes the leadership shaping our local economy.

Steven D. Lavine Member Board of Directors

Regional leadership for a regional economy.

www.stillgolden.org

MAY 2016

SANTA CLARITA VALLEY BUSINESS JOURNAL

Iconic Women Serving as Godmothers to Princess Cruises’ Ships By Jana Adkins SCVBJ Editor

he roots of appointing women to serve as Godmothers to new ships go back centuries – and the tradition is no different for Princess Cruises of Santa Clarita. The historical role of a Godmother is to bestow good luck on the seagoing vessel and safe guidance for all the passengers by blessing it. Typically, the occasion is celebrated by breaking a bottle of champagne across the bow. While Princess Cruises has had many people serve as Godmothers – or Godparents – of its ships, it has also attracted some of the most iconic women in history to serve as protectors of its newly launched ships. “It’s a well anchored tradition happening in the cruise industry. Maritime traditions started long before we came along, but Princess Cruises embraced them,” said Brian O'Connor, vice president, public relations for the cruise line. “The role of Godmother for a ship is bestowed on a person who figuratively presides over it. It’s a prestigious honor for a woman to serve as Godmother.” Cruise line ships aren’t the only ones to be watched over by women, O’Connor points out. Naval ships are christened by women too, often First Ladies, he said. The most recent was First Lady Michelle Obama, who christened the USS Illinois before an audience of approximately 7,500 people in 2015. And Princess Cruises has included a few men in its lineup of ship sponsors. Ryan O’Neal and Ali McGraw christened the Ocean Princess in 2000; Ryan and Trista Sutter sponsored the Ruby Princess in 2008; and the cast of “The Brady Bunch” and “Happy Days” – Florence Henderson, Marion Ross, Erin Moran, Susan Olsen – were signed on to help safeguard the Emerald Princess in 2007. And in 1997, Princess Cruises appropriately elected to have the entire cast of “The Love

■ Audrey Hepburn. AP photo.

Boat” christen the Dawn Princess. Fitting because the TV series is credited with helping to launch the leisure cruise industry and the shows were all filmed on Princess Cruises’ ships. Last came the Duchess.

Duchess of Cambridge When it came to inviting the latest Godmother – the former Catherine (Kate) Middleton, wife of Prince William and Her Royal Highness The Duchess of Cambridge, to christen the Royal Princess in 2013, that decision was easy, O’Connor said. “It was an easy pick for us, not just because she was modern day royalty, but because this was actually the second Royal Princess. The first was launched in 1984 and Catherine’s late mother-in law, Princess Diana was the Godmother. It was an interesting connection,” he said. “Catherine and William were dating when we first started talking about planning the Royal Princess, and then she became his wife. She singularly was our only choice.” But, how does one go about asking a Duchess to become Godmother of your ship?

Her Royal Highness Nearly two years before the ship was due to be launched, conversations began with individuals from one of the cruise line companies based in England. The team prepared a very poignant story that it knew would resonate with the Duchess, O’Connor said. The team was also sensitive to the fact that Prince Williams’s mother, Princess Diana, christened the first Royal Princess. “The way in which we channeled our ‘ask’ was through Prince William,” he said. “We worked through Lord Sterling, an executive with P&O Princess Cruises in the United Kingdom for many years. He thought it was appropriate to go through Prince William and so ran the idea by him. William went to his wife and we got a ‘yes.’” ■

■ Margaret Thatcher. Courtesy photo.

■ The latest Godmother, Duchess of Cambridge, Kate Middleton. Courtesy photo.

SCVEDC recognizes the leadership shaping our local economy.

John Arvin Member Board of Directors

JOHN ARVIN, the president of Northlake

Company, has been in the residential development business for more than 25 years. During this time he has built master-planned communities throughout Southern California and Nevada, providing great places to live for nearly 30,000 families. His latest project, Northlake, is a master-planned community in the Castaic area of the beautiful Santa Clarita Valley. Northlake will feature the very latest in home designs, sustainable-living technology, and will incorporate the low impact. John holds an engineering degree from Cal Poly, Pomona and an MBA from the University of San Diego. He lives in Los Angeles with his wife and two children.

Regional leadership for a regional economy.

www.stillgolden.org ■ Martha Stewart. Courtesy photo.

■ Olivia de Havilland. Courtesy photo.

SANTA CLARITA VALLEY BUSINESS JOURNAL

MAY 2016

Appointments

Todd Stevens

Paige Heaphy

Mario Siebaldi

Michael E. Castagna

M. Lisa Odom

Currently President and CEO California Resources Corp. Appointed: Henry Mayo Newhall Hospital Board of Directors

Appointed: Vice President of Performance Management and Business Development Henry Mayo Newhall Hospital

Formerly Vice President of Guest Services and Technology Princess Cruises Appointed: Princess Cruises Senior Vice President, Guest Operations

Formerly with Amgen Inc. and Bristol-Myers Squibb Appointed: Chief Commercial Ofﬁcer, MannKind Corp.

Warren Berzack

Formerly attorney with McDowell Odom law ﬁrm Appointed: Partner, Poole & Shaffery LLP

Currently Principal of Lee & Associates-LA North/Ventura Inc. Appointed: Director, International Multifamily Advisory Group (IMAG) of Lee & Associates

Agustin (Tino) Quintero Formerly AbbVie, a global biopharmaceutical company Appointed: Vice President of Market Value, Access and Trade, MannKind Corp.

Joseph Saldanha Jane Lee

Corey Albert

Claudia J. McDowell

Mary Lee Blaylock

Erik Wexler

Formerly senior loan ofﬁcer with Bank of America Appointed: Mortgage Consultant, Union Bank, Newhall branch

Formerly owner/manager and executive chef for the Yummy Wine Bar & Bistro Appointed: Operations Manager, Visual Terrain Inc.

Formerly attorney with McDowell Odom law ﬁrm Appointed: Partner, Poole & Shaffery LLP

Formerly Vice President of Edina Realty Relocation Appointed: President and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway Home Services California Properties

Formerly Chief Executive, Tenant healthcare’s Northeast Region Appointed: Senior Vice President and Chief Executive, Providence Health & Services, Southern California

Formerly Sanoﬁ’s strategy and medical education teams, he was responsible for all hospital business; and Director of Business Development for the insulin delivery device business at Johnson and Johnson Diabetes Appointed: Vice President of Marketing, MannKind Corp.

Submit Hirings, Appointments and Promotions to scvbj@signalscv.com with “BJ Appointments” in the Subject line.

We Ad Adv vis ise Yo You Not to Advertise 0F'RQDOG·V RSHQHG LWV ÀUVW UHVWDXUDQW LQ Des Plaines, Illinois on April 15, 1955. The fast food restaurant kept diners’ eyes glued to the golden arches as the retailer steadily counted the number of hamburgers it sold until it surpassed more than 1 million in sales. In 1964, Nike revolutionized athletic shoes from its Beaverton, Oregon headquarters. Tune in to watch any NFL football game and somewhere on every uniform worn by players and coaches is the Nike logo. Apple revolutionized personal technology in 1984 with the introduction of the Macintosh computer. And it set the standard for smart SKRQHV ZKHQ LW ODXQFKHG WKH ÀUVW L3KRQH The San Cupertino, Calif. company leads the world in innovation. Today, all three companies are worldwide. worldwide And despite world dominance,, all three sti still tillll advertise. The SCVBJ is mailed directly to 7,400 owner owners, wners,, CEOs and executive managers. Don’tt miss mi your chance to have a conversation with one of them.

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MAY 2016

SANTA CLARITA VALLEY BUSINESS JOURNAL

Rams Homecoming:

The Rams Belong to Los Angeles Again A

s the Los Angeles Rams settle into their former city, the logistics of moving the team some 2,000 miles back from St. Louis, Missouri, to Los Angeles with reportedly one million pounds of equipment is no easy task for the NFL franchise. The Rams last played in Los Angeles in 1995, more than two decades ago, yet players and fans alike recall the days of the team’s playing at the L.A. Memorial Coliseum, home to the 1932 Olympics, and another in 1984. The Rams played there from 1946 to 1979 until their move to Anaheim in 1980. On April 18, the Rams got together for the first day of their official off-season workouts. But, without their own stadium, they're training and operating throughout Southern California – from Oxnard, to Irvine, to Cal Lutheran University in Thousand Oaks, to meeting at the temporary team offices in Agoura Hills, and playing in downtown Los Angeles at the Coliseum – home to the University of Southern California Trojans based on a 98-year lease which took effect in 2013. With operations spread throughout the region, defensive end Robert Quinn told the Los Angeles Times his biggest concern is navigating traffic between all the sites. But, safety T.J. McDonald is psyched up, telling the newspaper that the last time he played at the Coliseum, he thought it would be his last. He can’t wait to run through the tunnel onto the field again at the historic venue, he said. The herculean task of relocating with just months to go before the season kickoff, however, has operations staff working nearly 24/7 with plenty of sleepless nights for sure. The SFVBJ asked Bruce Warwick, director of operations, how challenging the move is for the team.

Q&A with Los Angeles Rams Bruce Warwick, Director of Operations SCVBJ: Briefly describe how big an effort it is to move an entire NFL operation to California.

■ Los Angeles Rams running back Lawrence McCutcheon (30) takes the; 1976 at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum in Los Angeles; California. (AP Photo/NFL Photos)

is communicating with staff, mail, or coordinating things between departments. So, those have been the biggest challenges. SCVBJ: Briefly, what has to be done at the Coliseum to make it game-ready for NFL games, and can you get it done in time? Warwick: The biggest challenge at the Coliseum is . . . college football and the NFL are different in a lot of ways just because of the amount of technology that’s used within NFL games, whether that’s the Surface tablets on the sidelines or injury review systems or the high definition video. There are a lot of different technologies that the NFL uses that college does not use as part of their game day.

Warwick: Our window was kind of small when the vote went through, but we have a lot of good people internally. We have great resources from Mr. Kroenke and tremendous direction from Kevin Demoff, which made it a lot easier. We have a lot of good people on our ■ This is a 2009 photo of Bruce Warwick of the St. Louis Rams staff who were able to Rams football Coaching staff. assess all of the things that (AP Photo/NFL Photos) SCVBJ: Save for building we needed. It was a very the new stadium in coordinated effort. Each department had an Inglewood, when do you expect to have input and an active role in our move across everything and everyone fully settled? the country. Warwick: Everyone will be settled here in Los SCVBJ: How challenging will it be Angeles some time during the course of the logistically to have operations spread summer. Then, once the new stadium is availout throughout Southern California? able in 2019, hopefully around that same time Warwick: That is the biggest thing that we we’ll also have our permanent facility up and have faced, is the number of locations, wheth- running too. er it is the business side or the football opera- SCVBJ: When do you expect the new tions side, just because of the multiple loca- Rams stadium to be game-ready? tions that we have to do our business. With the offseason program in Oxnard for a three Warwick: The new Rams stadium, the month period, then training camp in Orange Coliseum, will be ready for the first preseason County, and then, eventually, our football op- game against the Dallas Cowboys on August eration up in Cal Lutheran. Additionally, our 13. Then we fully expect our new stadium in business office is in Agoura Hills, which made Inglewood to be ready for the 2019 season. ■ for another challenge logistically, whether it By Jana Adkins, SCVBJ Editor

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SANTA CLARITA VALLEY BUSINESS JOURNAL

SOMETHING

Continued from page 1 not just with shareholders and associates, but also with the community where the business was based. Status Not Quo offers each of its employees up to three days of paid time-off for volunteer projects of their choice. Employees have used this time to volunteer in their children’s classrooms, volunteer time at the local food bank, or to spend their lunch hour making lunches for the homeless. The company also helps local non-profits further their missions by contributing highend consulting expertise providing the nonprofits with tools to work more efficiently and to reach a larger population of donors and recipients of their services. The company also contributes one percent of net income in direct financial support to local non-profits. And still, its revenue climbs.

Double-digit growth Still less than ten years old, the company continues to enjoy double-digit growth, remains profitable, and continues to expand. Unlike many young companies, the company has a succession plan, is internally aligned, has maintained two unique physical places to work, and prides itself on having a high performing culture because of the intelligent way it recruits, on-boards, and leads its employees. But it wasn’t always this way. To go from start-up to success required addressing several issues and making challenging decisions as the company climbed through what James Fisher wrote in his book, “Navigating the Growth Curve.” Even before the company was formally launched, the partners had the mindset that they would create a business where they would do all of the work themselves. This meant an organization where each owner had a job. This was the first strategic decision made and it was rationalized by deciding that if or when things got hectic, the overflow work would be outsourced to subcontractors. The company would remain free of employees, except for the owners. The original base of clients came to the new team from previous relationships, so there was a backlog of work waiting in the queue when the doors opened. But doing good work brings the opportunity of more work. As their clients businesses grew, so did

MAY 2016

the length and depth of assignments given Status Not Quo. At the same time, the owners were receiving referrals and had strategically started the process of prospecting for new business from new clients. So the first decision was soon negated and the green light given to address growth through the hiring of employees.

‘We, not me’ A second strategic decision made early on was that the founding partners would always sell the firm, not themselves. They did this to prevent over promising and under delivering but also to promote the concept that the buyer purchased the services of the firm, not any individual working in the company. This decision was critical because it was not always clear who would actually be doing the work for any specific client on any given day. During this first stage of growth, what Fisher calls “Start-Up,” the challenge became finding the right people to bring into this new company. Much was at stake; bringing in the wrong people could be a disaster, and bringing in the right people without giving them the authority and commiserate responsibility would only create anger and frustration – which would find its way back to the clients. The key was in hiring the right people.

Traits plus skills Hiring has almost always been the bane of small companies. Most owners will say they were lucky to land good people to rely on and held onto some who should never have been hired for so long. Status Not Quo went in a different direction and made a third strategic decision that remains in place after almost ten years. They sought out people who were mature, responsible and trustworthy. They wanted people who would see the quality vision of the client and could recognize and accept that there were different ways to achieve it. To address the hit and miss luck that goes with small business hiring, the company addressed this third decision by hiring for fit first, instead of primarily focusing on technical expertise. A candidate’s core skills and experience is certainly important, but the company sought out candidates who fit into the culture first and foremost, with emphasis on having strong potential to learn and grow. Through the first stage of growth and now into the second, this decision has resulted in

■ Status Not Quo President Scott Capistrano, left, meets with team members in the conference room . Photo by Dan Watson.

the creation of a team of high performing individuals working for their own long-term success as well as that of the company. All but a few live in the Santa Clarita Valley. But, then came the flood of business.

Flood zone As the client base grew with a resulting increase in assignments, it faced what Fisher calls a “Flood Zone.” This is where the quantity of work begins to impact the entire organization. Client projects overwhelm, deadlines are missed, and people get burned out as a result of working long hours. The potential for mistakes increases. This usually takes place at a time when a company has seven to nine employees. Fisher states that when approaching, or when in, a flood zone, leadership needs to look at new ways to address the volume of work in the firm. The initial temptation is to hire more people to address the situation. Instead, this should be avoided and the mandate should be established such that, instead of throwing more people at the problems, focus rather on using existing staff more wisely and allow those closest to the situation to address the challenges. At this juncture, a fourth strategic decision was made. The founding partners understood that they needed to let go, to stand by and behind their carefully selected associates, and to coach them through the flood zone and beyond. In order to do this, some of the many hats being worn by ownership had to be passed to others to wear.

Building the team

■ Status Not Quo lounge with movie posters, pool table, fooball and video games. Photo by Dan Watson.

Many business owners have trouble giving up responsibility, but even more of them fear letting someone else have authority. At Status Not Quo, the decision was made from the first employee hired that if the company was going to grow, the owners would need to understand that if everyone was in agreement with the goal to be achieved, they had to rely on others to determine the best way to achieve it and to get out of the way to allow them to make it happen. Having a strong hiring process made a difference as the owners let go. With this foundation in place, the company successfully addressed the flood zone issues and moved into the second stage of growth, “Ramp Up,” where it is now. The challenge facing the company today is something all growing organizations face: how to improve operating margins.

Operating margins The easy answer is, of course, to reduce expenses and to raise prices. But in a professional services firm, there is only so much to cut and clients are also scrutinizing invoices from business partners to improve their own margins. The firm decided to focus on improving efficiencies, defined as measuring billable hours. In this manner, Status Not Quo is no different from either a law firm or a CPA practice. Attorneys and accountants measure time spent on clients, administration, and marketing. But what matters most are billable hours. The preliminary results of this exercise indicate that there has been some improvement in billable hours and in improved efficiencies of administrative and marketing work. This in turn has improved focus on the importance of tracking time, and where it is spent impacts cash flow and profitability. The company, like all growing organizations, is a work in progress. But the unique physical work environment is a strategic and sustainable competitive advantage in the hiring and retention of quality employees when top talent is being fiercely fought over.

Culture built on a vision The culture is not for everyone. The owners have made it clear that they want people who will respond to the opportunity of not living to work; they want individuals who have interesting personal lives and want to do interesting work for interesting clients. This comes down from the company vision, which was to create an exceptional work environment and to provide all employees with the best career they could ever have and a company that they would not want to leave. Many owners may say these things; but at Status Not Quo, they took the thoughts and words and turned them into reality. ■ Ken Keller, owner of Strategic Advisory Boards, periodically conducts interviews with Santa Clarita Valley CEOs, business owners and entrepreneurs. The purpose of these discussions is to learn the factors underlying the growth and success of locally-based enterprises. In this edition, he interviewed the CEO of Status Not Quo for the Santa Clarita Valley Business Journal.

MAY 2016

SANTA CLARITA VALLEY BUSINESS JOURNAL

Mall Morphing into Social Interaction Center By Jana Adkins SCVBJ Editor

p to 7,000 square feet of parking lot space at the Westﬁeld Valencia Town Center is being set aside to build a restaurant pad at the corner of Citrus Street and Magic Mountain Pkwy. Once built, the space can accommodate one to three restaurants, said a spokesperson with the mall. The number of eateries to be located at the space depends on which tenants sign ground leases, and how much space they want.

We don’t We do consider ourselves l a mall at all. While we’re a shopping center where retail exists, we’re also curating a social interaction component.” – Stacie House, spokesperson, Westﬁeld Valencia Town Center “The mall would work in tandem with the tenants,” said Stacie House on behalf of the Valencia mall. “We’re willing to work with the interested parties to see what they look and feel like they

■ Photo by Jana Adkins.

would want.” As for how much lot space would be consumed by the tenants, House said that would depend on approvals from the City of Santa Clarita to build within a certain footprint to allow for the correct parking ratios. The latest restaurant development reflects a growing presence of restaurant options at the shopping center, which includes the Patios, the stand alone drive-through Chick-fil-A. Saddle

Ranch Chop House, with its rustic ranch style “Rock Meets Western” serving urban diners, plans to go into the spot formerly occupied by TGI Friday’s, and reportedly the long awaited Cheesecake Factory is making plans to open at the mall. The changing landscape is a trend at retail malls with the advent of the sharply rising number of Internet shoppers. “We don’t consider ourselves a mall at all,” House said. “While we’re a

shopping center where retail exists, we’re also curating a social interaction component, something with entertainment value to socially connect friends and family with all the various events we host.” Those social interaction opportunities ultimately help translate into shoppers for the retailers at the mall. “Guest experience is really paramount,” House said. “It helps draw foot traffic to the stores.” ■

Please Join

SUPERVISOR MICHAEL D. ANTONOVICH For his annual state of the county luncheon, as he reflects with THE HONOR ABLE BARRY GOLDWATER, JR .

on his 36 years of service to the santa clarita valley WEDNESDAY, M AY 18, 2016

–

11:30 AM

HYATT REGENCY VALENCIA 24500 TOWN CENTER DR, SANTA CLARITA

CONTACT: THE SANTA CLARITA VALLEY CHAMBER OF COMMERCE FOR TICKETS AND FURTHER DETAILS (661) 702-6977 – INFO@SCVCHAMBER.COM WWW.SCVCHAMBER.COM

SANTA CLARITA VALLEY BUSINESS JOURNAL

MAY 2016

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THE LIST Rank

Largest Commercial Brokers - SCV

Brokerage

# Brokers (SCV/LA)

Total Value of Deals in 2015

$22 Million

CBRE Group, Inc.

34/223

NAI Capital

15/122

DAUM Commercial Real Estate Services

10/90

Colliers

8/160

illi Commercial Real Estate

4/35

$763,860,000

$67,010,230

HIGH

SCV Sales /Deals

SCV Leases /Deals

Profile (HQ, year founded)

Lic.# 462231

(Ranked by number of local brokers)

Top Local Executive

Contact

$1,080,236,029 / 113

$962,568,101 / 747

Los Angeles, 1906

Craig Peters, Doug Sonderegger, Richard Ramirez and Matt Dierkman

234 S. Brand Boulevard Glendale, CA 91204 818-502-6700 www.cbre.com

$848,250,824 / 343

$677,558,176 / 1,684

Encino, 1979

Yair Haimoff, Branch Manager

27451 Tourney Road, Suite 220 Santa Clarita, CA 91355 (661) 705-3550 www.naicapital.com

$20,100,000 / 6

$9,600,000 / 47

Los Angeles, 1904

Chad Jacobson, COO

28494 Westinghouse Pl., Ste. 203 Valencia, CA 91355 (818) 449-1626 www.daumcommercial.com

$7,901,005 / 6

$49,027,224 / 131

Seattle, 1976

Kevin Fenenbock, Sr. VP

27200 Tourney Road #300 Valencia, CA 91355 (661) 259-9200 www.colliers.com

Encino, 2007

Todd Nathanson, President

17547 Ventura Blvd., Ste. 304, Encino, CA 91316 (818) 501-2212 www.illicre.com

N/A

$2,110,500 / 5

MAY 2016

SANTA CLARITA VALLEY BUSINESS JOURNAL

THE LIST Rank

SCV Private Schools

Private school

Trinity Classical Academy

Santa Clarita Christian School

Legacy Christian Academy

Our Lady of Perpetual Help School

C.A.R.E. Learning Academy

# of Students 2015-16

Grades taught

Transitional K-12

K-12

555

450

K-8

427

K-8

241

Transitional K-11

# Teachers

# Nonteaching staff

# Teachers

# Nonteaching staff

(Ranked by Students) Year est. in SCV

Top executive

Contact info

Revenue

2001

Liz Caddow, Head of School Wally Caddow, Managing Director

28310 Kelly Johnson Pkwy. Valencia, CA 91380 661-296-2601, ext 162 www.trinityclassicalacademy.com

DND

1982

Kirk Huckabone, Administrator

27249 Luther Dr. Santa Clarita, CA 91351 661-252-7371 http://sccs.cc

$3.2M

1995

Timothy W. Borruel, Founder/ Superintendent, Dr. Matt Northrop, principal

27680 Dickason Dr. Santa Clarita, CA 91355 661-257-7377 www.legacy-christian.com

$4.9M

1962

Sharon Krahl, Principal

23225 Lyons Ave. Newhall, CA 91321 661-259-1141 (press 5) www.olphsc.org

$2.5M

2012

Addie Burroughs, Owner

26883 Ruether Ave. Santa Clarita, CA 91351 661-255-2223 carelearningacademy.com

DND

VALLEY INDUSTRY & COMMERCE ASSOCIATION VICA

Stuart Waldman

SCVBJ

s a business organization constantly striving to protect our members and improve the quality of life for the region, the Valley Industry and Commerce Association (VICA) was deeply troubled by the minimum wage deal. California raised the minimum wage to $15 per hour by the year 2022, the most aggressive minimum wage law in the country. There are numerous problems with the new minimum wage, not the least of which is that it was done without any input from the business community, which is responsible for paying for this reckless wage hike. 1. This was an issue that merited discussion, and there was no legitimate attempt at discussion. This measure was signed into law as though it were an overwhelming mandate from the people, after less than a full day of debate. This was the same law, Senate Bill 3, that last year was so unpopular it didn’t even make it to the ﬂoor for a vote. And yet, only a few months later, Gov. Jerry Brown announced his intent and pushed the minimum wage hike through both houses in the Legislature in fewer than 10 days. The only thing more irresponsible than the Legislature passing a wage hike that will have amounted to a 100-percent increase in the minimum wage between 2007 ($7.50/ hourly) and 2022 ($15) is the speed with which it was ﬁnalized. 2. This deal makes California much less competitive. Imagine if you’re a business owner considering the location of your new manufacturing facility on the West Coast. Why would you pay your workers $15 an hour, when the minimum wage in Washington is $9.47 per hour; Oregon is $9.25 per hour. In Arizona, the rate is $8.05 per

5 of the Biggest Problems with the Minimum Wage Hike hour; in New Mexico; it’s $7.50 for the foreseeable future. The city of Los Angeles, as well as Los Angeles County, watched numerous businesses decide to not renew their lease, or actively seek alternate locations, after a pair of wage hikes to $15 an hour were announced last year. We only expect to continue as business owners watch their wage costs increase by 50 percent. 3. This is already resulting in fewer available jobs, and we know there will be even less in the years to come as business owners learn to embrace technology as they never have before. Restaurants and other service-related industries won’t be able to relocate to Arizona, Oregon or New Mexico, despite a drastically lower cost of doing business. However, many of those jobs, such as taking an order at a drive-through window, will become a thing of the past for humans. The novelty of a person-less ordering machine at restaurants such as Chili’s Express is virtually guaranteed to become industry standard by the time this new wage takes effect. This will make workforce entry much more difﬁcult as these jobs disappear. 4. Even Gov. Brown acknowledged the numbers don’t pencil out – in announcing the wage deal, he spoke words for which the business community will have to suffer for some time: “Economically, minimum wages may not make sense. But morally, socially, and

politically they make every sense because it binds the community together to make sure parents can take care of their kids.” Well, this is one of the most startling statements ever uttered by a politician, but you have to credit Brown for being candid. Yes, this ﬁscal policy makes zero economic sense. In most regions, that would end the conversation. But he misses a big part of this. The parents who lose their jobs or have their hours reduced will have a harder time taking care of their families. 5. Raising the minimum wage also raises the cost of doing business, which will also raise the cost of goods and services and make the purchasing power of the new wage less. This means the new wage will do little to

actually lift anyone out of poverty, which was the stated intent. Instead this will just make the cost of living in California, which is already among the highest in the nation due to ﬁscal policies such as these and other policies, more expensive. VICA is hopeful the Legislature will at some point engage the business community, and seek meaningful policy solutions to address wage gaps, the regional housing crisis and poverty, but the minimum wage hike will do little to solve these problems. ■ The mission of the Valley Industry & Commerce Association (VICA) is to enhance the economic vitality of the greater San Fernando Valley region by advocating for a better business climate and quality of life. Visit www. vica.com for more information.

SANTA CLARITA VALLEY BUSINESS JOURNAL

MAY 2016

VIA by Any Other Name is Still VIA

hirty-ﬁve years ago, a group of 20 companies in the Valencia Industrial Center banded together to advocate for transportation improvements. At that time, only a single road led in and out of the center. Employees were virtually trapped in the park during emergency situations as the road was reserved for emergency vehicles only. This group worked for change, and an extension of Avenue Scott was built providing a secondary route for ingress and egress. Following that success, the Valencia Manufacturers Association was created conquering other important issues of the day, such as the establishment of daycare centers in the Industrial Park, operation of three emergency preparedness centers complete with ham radio equipment and operators, and the introduction of the Emergency Preparedness Expo. Concurrent to many of its early initiatives, the organization changed its name to the Valencia Industrial Association. Next, the group changed its name to Valley Industrial Association of Santa Clarita in 2004 to align the organization with the needs of the industrial communities valley wide. A realignment of purpose reﬁned the name even further to its current Valley Industry Association of Santa Clarita in 2010.

VIA Luncheon Planning Calendar 2016

Business Leaders Spoke; VIA Listened In 1995, VIA sponsored its ﬁrst CEO Forum, bringing together chief executives, community leaders and educators to discuss the business community’s training needs and workforce plans. At that gathering, CEOs emphasized the need to re-engineer and re-tool the local workforce if they were to be successful in diversifying from defense to commercial manufacturing, and in expanding to new markets. In response, VIA and College of the Canyons Employee Training Institute began working together to fund a “retraining” initiative in the SCV. An Employment Training Panel project was developed and through that partnership, nearly three million dollars in training funds to support skill upgrade training has been provided to more than 13,000 employees in the SCV. A few years later, a similar group met to focus on key skills for success in the rapidly changing economy. Top priorities identiﬁed at that forum included communication, problem-solving and team skills. VIA’s third CEO Forum was held in 2002. An overwhelming need emerged for entry level employees to have basic business conduct skills. Students entering the workforce needed to be better equipped with fundamental skills and

work ethics. VIA set out to build a program based on curriculum provided by Junior Achievement, which resulted in VIA’s signature education program, Connecting to Success. Today the program trains more than 2,500 local high school students annually.

VIA Initiative Highlights Since 1981, VIA has been the voice of business and industry in the Santa Clarita Valley and on the cutting edge of solutionsbased problem solving. While many worthwhile programs have come to fruition and successfully concluded or changed hands to evolve into their present day form, some have transcended the passage of time and continue to impact the business environment of today. Valencia Learning Center. In conjunction with College of the Canyons, this center opened in 1995 offering training and re-training to the existing workforce based on funding available from Employment Training Panel funds. Today the Valencia Learning Center is known as the COC Employee Training Institute. VIA BASH. First debuted in 1999, the VIA BASH celebrates and showcases the businesses of Santa Clarita with the presentation of the VIA Awards.

This year’s event will be held Friday, October 28, 2016 at the Hyatt Regency Valencia. VIA B2B Industry Show. The VIA B2B Industry Show opened in 2002 and later evolved into the VIA Regional Executive Summit. After a brief hiatus the industry show returned in 2009 taking the signature event to the next level in 2012 by introducing Earvin “Magic” Johnson as the keynote speaker for the luncheon address. The show returns in 2017. Connecting to Success. Offering important workplace readiness skills to high school students, this signature program now trains more than 2,500 high school juniors annually from all area high schools. VIA Foundation. VIA’s community education programs were transferred to the VIA Foundation, a nonproﬁt 501(c)3 organization, with its formation in 2007. The purpose of the VIA Foundation is to promote the advancement of education programs and opportunities for the workforce and emerging workforce in the Santa Clarita Valley. It has its own Board of Directors, separate and distinct from the VIA Board of Directors.

SPEAKER SERIES Luncheons begin at 11:45 a.m. at the Valencia Country Club, 27330 North Tourney Road in Valencia unless otherwise noted. Business professionals interested in attending should plan to reserve their seat well in advance. Reservations and payment can be made at www.VIA.org/Calendar or by contacting the VIA ofﬁce at (661) 294-8088.

Tuesday, May 17 To be announced

Sproule Joins VIA Board

ith 20 years C-Level experience at pre-IPO startups, turnarounds, emerging growth businesses and Fortune 500 companies, Signal Multimedia’s Gary Sproule, chief operating officer and chief financial officer for the Santa Clarita Valley Signal, stepped into the role of member on VIA’s board of directors last month. The combination of financial and operational experience makes Sproule a valuable asset for companies and/or investors looking to significantly improve shareholder value in turnaround, restructuring or strategic scaling situations. With VIA’s

strong presence in the business community coupled with many successful initiatives in place, Sproule’s expertise and experience will contribute to the work of the industry group. “We are honored to have Gary aboard and know he brings a wealth of experience with him,” said Kathy Norris, CEO and president of VIA. VIA’s Board of Directors is comprised of 23 members with staggered terms. The organization strives to achieve complete skill sets on the Board to ensure members are able to bring skills in the areas of ﬁnance, organization, operations,

marketing, and fundraising, among others. Diversity among industries and the type of position members hold in their organizations is also considered.

MAY 2016

SANTA CLARITA VALLEY BUSINESS JOURNAL

Economic Development Corporation Santa Clarita Valley

Content provided by

26455 Rockwell Canyon Road | UCEN 263 | Santa Clarita, CA 91355 | (661) 288-4400 | www.scvedc.org

Turning Jobs into Career Pathways By Holly Schroeder

President & CEO, Santa Clarita Valley Economic Development Corporation As president and CEO of SCVEDC, I interact with business leaders, city and county officials as well as job seekers on a daily basis. If they share one thing in common, it is the importance they attach to jobs. Judging from the unemployment rate, we are almost at full employment in the Santa Clarita Valley. While many employers here are having difficulty filling positions that require experience and skills, many job seekers and employees are searching ways to move up the career ladder. We all agree that we need a new type of workforce to stay competitive, but how do we get there? As a member of the Los Angeles County Workforce Development Board, I recently attended the 2016 Forum hosted by the National Association of Workforce Board. The three-day event was a great opportunity to get up to speed on the latest trends from subject experts, share best practices with other Workforce Development members and interact with legislators and agency officials on the Capital Hill. The recent changes to the public workforce system were initiated by the almost unanimous passage of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act in 2014. By linking job training to actual needs of employers in in-demand industry sectors, the Act has also driven the inclusion within the local Workforce Development Boards of board members who have backgrounds in the private industry. One key takeaway from attending the 2016 Forum on Workforce Board is that we should be proud of the model we are currently pursuing at the Santa Clarita Valley. By anchoring job placement, job training, small business development and economic development at the College of

Canyons, we are already collaborating on all job-related issues that face small businesses or large companies alike. This leads to my second takeaway, which is that local businesses have a big role to play in shaping the public workforce development program. For example, the LA County Workforce Board, of which I’m a member, serves a population of 4 million with an annual budget ranging from $33 to $66 million. To develop effective programs that meet the changing needs of local businesses, I am proposing the creation of a forum where local companies can share their needs, requirements and suggestions directly with members of the County Workforce Development Board. Finally, we can benefit greatly from bringing the spirit of innovation into workforce development. For example, can we consider inviting hiring companies to be part of the curriculum design to ensure seamless transition from classroom to shop floor? Also, for highly sophisticated manufacturing jobs such as CNC machinists, why can’t we bring

area employers and training institutions together to design an apprentice program – so that the trainees gain both knowledge and experience and have a promising career after landing their first job? Moving forward, I will be listening, engaging and collaborating with local companies, and share their suggestions with educational institutions such as the College of the Canyons and relevant agencies in job training and job placement. Whether you operate your own business or run a large company, I want to hear from you on how we can work together to achieve focus, alignment, efficiency and deliver results in the Workforce Development programs that result in successful careers for our job seekers.

Santa Clarita Valley at a Glance • By end of 2015, the Santa Clarita Valley had 283,422 residents, of which 213,231 lived in the City of Santa Clarita • The median household income in the Santa Clarita Valley was $92,363 compared to $61,023 in the San Fernando Valley • Among population age 25 and

Econo Watch Santa Clarita Valley

Source: Santa Clarita Valley Economic Development Corporation

Q1 ’16

Q4 ’15

Q1 ’16 Sq Ft

Commercial Vacancy Rates Office Space

11.50%

10.20%

558,147

Industrial Space

3.80%

2.70%

761,189

Retail Space

5.20%

5.60%

650,319

Total Marked Sq. Ft. Vacancy Percentage Office Space - as a % of Vacancy

28.34%

19.00%

N/A

Industrial Space - as a % of Vacancy

38.65%

50.90%

N/A

Retail Space - as a % of Vacancy

33.02%

30.11%

N/A

Mar ‘16

Feb ‘15

Mar ’15

Commercial/Industrial Building Permits

Residential Building Permits

Building Permits

above, more than 70% have some college or more advanced degrees • The population is expected to grow by 1.8 percent per year through 2021, resulting in an additional 32,700 residents. • Non-farm employment increased by 3.2 percent in 2015, outpacing statewide growth. • Total employment in the Santa Clarita Valley is expected to grow by 2.7% in 2016 and 2.0% in 2017; • Earnings per worker are expected to rise substantially, growing by 3.7% in 2016 and 5.0% in 2017 • In 2015, the median price for existing homes was &447K, and the median price for new house sold was $586K. • In 2016, home prices will rise by 8%. By 2018, the forecast calls for a new peak in SCV home values. • For commercial real estate, lower vacancy rates will put upward pressure on rental and lease rates for office and industrial market in 2016. To download the complete 2016 Outlook report, please visit http://www. scvedc.org/main/info-center/. ■

Local Company Stock Prices Bank of Santa Clarita (BSCA) Mannkind (MNKD) California Resources Corp California United Bank Carnival Corp. (CCL) Mission Valley Bank (MVLY) Six Flags * (SIX) Woodward (WWD) Lennar (LEN)

Mar ‘16 9.06 1.61 1.03 21.17 52.77 8.17 55.48 52.02 48.37

Feb ’16 9.05 1.03 0.56 21.88 47.96 8 50.86 46.95 41.74

% Change 1.05% 56.31% 83.93% -3.24% 10.03% 2.13% 9.08% 10.80% 15.88%

Unemployment Rates* Santa Clarita Palmdale Lancaster Glendale LA County State

Mar‘16 Feb ’16 % Change 4.6% 5.0% -8.00% 6.8% 7.4% -8.11% 5.6% 6.2% -9.68% 4.9% 5.3% -7.55% 5.0% 5.5% -9.09% 5.6% 5.7% -1.75%

SANTA CLARITA VALLEY BUSINESS JOURNAL

MAY 2016

Business Friendly Bills

our Santa Clarita Valley Chamber wants to keep you up-to-date with all bills being submitted in Sacramento. While many of the bills you see or hear about are often determined to be business “killers,” the above are deemed by the Cal Chamber to be business friendly. We will review these bills for a position and will advocate for you and your business accordingly. The following is a list of job-creator bills released by the California Chamber of Commerce, which has said the 12 bills will improve the state’s job climate and stimulate the economy. Job creating legislation promotes the following policies: • Keeping taxes on new investment and business operations low, fair, stable and predictable. • Reducing regulatory and litigation costs of operating a business— especially when hiring and keeping employees. • Reducing the cost and improving the certainty and stability of investing in new or expanded plants, equipment and technology. • Investing in public and private works that are the backbone for economic growth. • Ensuring the availability of high-quality skilled employees. CalChamber may add more bills to

the list in the coming weeks as legislation is amended.

The list of 2016 job creator bills follows: Reducing Meritless Litigation AB 1948 (Wagner; R-Irvine) Meal and Rest Period Penalty — Reduces unnecessary litigation by specifying that the one-hour premium pay penalty for a missed meal or rest period is the sole remedy for the violation. AB 2461 (Grove; R-Bakersfield) Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA) Reform — Protects against meritless litigation by focusing a representative action under PAGA to four Labor Code sections instead of the entire Labor Code. AB 2462 (Grove; R-Bakersfield) Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA) Reform — Reduces meritless litigation costs by allowing an employer 33 days to cure any alleged Labor Code violation before a civil action may be filed. AB 2463 (Grove; R-Bakersfield) Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA) Reform — Reduces meritless litigation costs by capping the penalties an employee may receive under PAGA at $1,000 per aggrieved employee. AB 2464 (Grove; R-Bakersfield) Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA)

Ribbon Cuttings

Reform — Reduces meritless litigation costs by providing the court with discretion to dismiss a PAGA case if the court determines the employee did not suffer any physical or economic harm. AB 2465 (Grove; R-Bakersfield) Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA) Reform — Reduces meritless litigation costs by requiring the Labor and Workforce Development Agency to investigate and review all notices filed pursuant to PAGA and issue a determination as to whether there is a reasonable basis for a civil action within 120 days of receiving the notice. AB 2827 (Levine; D-San Rafael) Product Labels — Limits frivolous litigation against businesses that include “Made in the U.S.A.” or “Made in California” on labels by providing such businesses with a limited right to cure any alleged minor violation. SB 269 (Roth; D-Riverside) Incentivizing Disability Access and Education — Seeks to limit frivolous litigation and claims regarding construction-related accessibility violations by providing businesses that have proactively sought to become ADA compliant with an opportunity to resolve any identified violations. SB 1142 (Moorlach; R-Costa Mesa) ADA Reform — Reduces meritless litigation costs while protecting disability

access by providing a business with 120 days to cure any alleged violation in a demand letter before a civil action may be filed. SB 1306 (J. Stone; R-Temecula) Consumer Legal Remedies Act — Creates fairness in the application of this law as applied to the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) by amending it to allow a “prevailing party” to recover attorney’s fees instead of allowing only a defendant to recover attorney’s fees when the action was filed in bad faith.

Economic Growth Incentives

AB 2664 (Irwin; D-Thousand Oaks) Increased Innovation and Entrepreneurship — Makes it easier to establish a business by providing 3 years of funding to allow the University of California (UC) and Berkeley National Laboratory to expand their capacity and increase access to their innovation and entrepreneurship centers, which provide incubator space, legal services, entrepreneur training and more for researchers and other individuals looking to develop innovative solutions. SB 936 (Hertzberg; D-Van Nuys) Loan Access — Encourages creation of small business by expanding their access to loans, which helps them grow. ■

MAY 2016

SANTA CLARITA VALLEY BUSINESS JOURNAL

Commercial, Industrial & Retail Real Estate Retail Buildings

Sq. Ft. Sale/Lease

23154 Valencia Boulevard

10,300

Lease

Valencia Mart

25830-25848 McBean Parkway

1,999 - 2,800

Lease

Granary Square

21515 Soledad Canyon Road

1,200

Lease

Golden Oak Plaza

26477-26557 Golden Valley Road

900 - 2,600

Lease

Centre Pointe Marketplace

18597 – 18607 Soledad Canyon Road

2,250 - 3,500

Lease

Canyon Square

19923 – 19931 Golden Point

1,479 – 2,074 Lease

The Plaza Golden Valley

27737 Bouquet Canyon Road

1,020 – 2,191 Lease

Sutter Point Plaza

25379 Wayne Mills Place

1,062

Lease

Priceee $1.25 SF/MO/NNN $2.50-$3.00 SF/MO/NNN $1.25 SF/MO/NNN $2.50 SF/MO/NNN $2.00 SF/MO/NNN $2.75 SF/MO/NNN $1.85 SF/MO/NNN $3.00 SF/MO/NNN

The Shops at Tourney Patti Kutschko (Daum Commercial) 661-670-2003

24254 – 24409 Main Street 24406 Main Street - Mixed Use Project 22520 Lyons Ave - Laemmle Theater Project 24271 Main Street

500 – 6,000 800-20,000 1,000 - 2,200 2,160, 3,000

Lease Lease Lease Lease

Old Town Newhall Properties

23120 – 23130 Lyons Avenue

900 – 3,250

Lease

Wayman Court

25067 Peachland Ave 25065 Peachland Ave 23638 Newhall Avenue

1,830 1,005 1,000

Lease Lease Lease

San Fernando Plaza

26865 – 26889 Sierra Highway

1,350 – 1,907 Lease

Riverview Plaza

25269 The Old Road

1,300 – 2,442 Lease

Sunset Pointe Plaza

24003 Newhall Ranch Road

3,053

Sub-Lease

$1.10 - $1.60 SF/MO/NNN $1.95 SF/MO/MG $1.95 SF/MO/MG $1.25 SF/MO/Gross $2.35 SF/MO/NNN $1.50 SF/MO/NNN $3.35 SF/MO/NNN

600 - 2,362

Lease

Plaza Posada Matt Sreden (NAI Capital) 661-755-6654 and Cameron Gray (NAI Capital)

28207- 313 Newhall Ranch Rd.

1,275 - 8,090 Lease

Gateway Village

28112 - 36 Newhall Ranch Rd.

1,195 - 1,825 Lease

Highridge Crossing

27923 – 59 Seco Canyon Rd.

1,500 - 1,600 Lease

Seco Canyon Village

27095 McBean Parkway

54,000

Lease

The Promenade

24125 Baywood Lane

1,051

Lease

$2.75 SF/M0/NNN $2.50 SF/M0/NNN Negotiable $3.25 SF/MO/NNN

Baywood at Bridgeport John Cserkuti (NAI Capital) 661-705-3551

23542-23560 Lyons Avenue

600 - 2,362

Lease

Plaza Posada

19045 Golden Valley Road, Unit #115

4,040

Sub-Lease

25322 Rye Canyon Road 25230 Avenue Stanford 26320 Diamond Place #110 26320 Diamond Place #170 26320 Diamond Place #200 26330 Diamond Place #190

$2.00 SF/MO/NNN

22620 Market Street

23542 - 23560 Lyons Avenue 28486 Westinghouse Place Unit #110

27630 The Old Road 24300 – 24305 Town Center Drive 24510 Town Center Drive

1,700 – 7,000 Lease 997 – 8,565 Lease 660 – 2,337 Lease

Negotiable $2.20 -$3.50 SF/MO/NNN $3.00 SF/MO/NNN

27430 Golden Valley

4,040

Lease

1,195

Lease

Summerhill Village

27560 Newhall Ranch Road

1,000

Lease

Valencia Village

27544 Newhall Ranch Road

2,900

Lease

Plaza Del Rancho

24021 Newhall Ranch Road

1,512

Lease

9,870

Sale/Lease

1,005 - 1,830

Lease

$3.50 SF/MO/NNN

28494 Westinghouse Place

20605 Soledad Canyon Road 28005 Smyth Drive

Sq. Ft. Sale/Lease 1,500 8,946

1,790

736 - 2,208

Priceeee

Sale/Lease $825,000; $2.00 SF/MO/NNN Sale TBD

Kevin Tamura (Daum Commercial) 661-670-2001 • Ron Berndt (Daum Commercial) 661-670-2000 • Patti Kutschko (Daum Commercial) 661-670-2003

$1.15 SF/MO/MG

Lease

27200 Tourney Rd.

1, 758 - 22,919 Lease

$2.15 SF/MO/MG $2.20-$2.55 SF/MO/FSG

Tourney Pointe

25129 The Old Road

552 - 4,275

Lease

$2.35 SF/MO/FSG

Sunset Pointe Plaza

23822 Valencia Blvd.

776 - 6,130

Lease

$2.25 SF/MO/FSG

Valencia Oaks

23929 Valencia Blvd.

767

Lease

$2.35 SF/MO/FSG

Bank of America Tower Kevin Fenenbock (Colliers Int.) 661-253-5204

1,425 - 29,028 Lease

$2.15 SF/MO/FSG

Summit at Valencia Kevin Fenenbock (Colliers Int.) 661-253-5204 • John Erickson (Colliers Int.) 661-253-5202

990 - 4,281

Lease

$1.05-$1.75 SF/MO/FSG

Paragon Business Center John Erickson (Colliers Int.) 661-253-5202

24501 Town Center Drive, Suite 103

2,810

Lease

$2.50 SF/MO/NNN

Craig Peters (CBRE) 818-907-4616 • Sam Glendon (CBRE) 818-502-6745

27413 Tourney Road

1,290 - 3,243 Lease

Tourney Business Park

26650 The Old Road

915- 5,206

Lease

$2.55 SF/M0/FSG $2.65 - $2.80 SF/M0/FSG

Westridge Executive Plaza Richard Ramirez (CBRE) 661-907-4639

1,187 - 20,000 Lease

The Commons at Valencia Gateway

25350 - 25360 Magic Mountain Parkway

1,500 - 8,000 Lease

Gateway Plaza

1,300 - 6,000 Lease

$2.75 SF/MO/FSG $2.85 SF/MO/FSG $2.25 SF/MO/NNN

VTC IV David Solomon (CBRE) 818-907-4628

1,532 - 3,917

Lease

Valencia Executive Plaza

23030 Lyons Avenue, Suite 202 23030 Lyons Avenue, Suite 205

680 920

Lease Lease

$2.35 SF/MO/FSG $2.57 SF $2.50 SF

Neiditch Building Branson Brinton (SCV Commercial) 818-414-7657

25161 Rye Canyon Road Mann Biomedical Park

$1.35 SF/M0/NNN $1.35 SF/M0/NNN

Craig Peters (CRRE) 818-907-4616 • Doug Sonderegger (CBRE) 818-907-4607

612 - 13,427

Lease

Valencia Park Executive Center

1,230 – 8,474 Lease

$1.75-$1.85 SF/MO/FSG $2.65 SF/MO/FSG

Valencia Corporate Plaza Craig Peters (CBRE) 818-907-4616 • Richard Ramirez (CBRE) 818-907-4639 • Robert Valenziano (CBRE) 818-907-4663

23734 Valencia Boulevard

1,523 -1,860

Lease

Valencia Financial Center

988-2,674

Lease

Atrium Medical Building

$1.95 SF/MO/MG

$1.65 SF/MO/NNN

Sub-lease

Valencia Atrium

23838 Valencia Boulevard $2.5M; $1.25 SF/MO/MG

$1.25 SF/M0/MG

Lease

28470, 28480, 28490 Ave. Stanford

Tim Crissman (Crissman Commercial Services) 661-295-3300

Office/Commercial Buildings

420 - 1,637

$2.75 SF/MO/NNN $1.75 SF/MO/NNN

$1.75 - $2.00 SF/MO/MG

Lease

25115 Avenue Stanford

Paul Bellgraph (NAI Capital) 661-705-3555

25065 - 25067 Peachland

5,600

$2.85 SF/MO/NNN

Bridgeport Marketplace John Cserkuti (NAI Capital) 661-705-3556

26081 Bouquet Canyon Road

Lease

$2.25 SF/MO/NNN

Yair Haimoff (NAI Capital) 818-742-1659

23922 Summerhill Lane

1,685

Building #1 14,292 Lease Building #2 1,814 Lease Build-to-Suits also available

Cody Chiarella (CBRE) 818-502-6730

$6.8M $1.45 SF/MO/MG $1.10 SF/MO/NNN $1.15 SF/MO/NNN $1.55 SF/MO/NNN $1.15 SF/MO/NNN

Yair Haimoff (NAI Capital) 818-742-1659, Matt Sreden (NAI Capital) 661-705-3552 and Cameron Gray (NAI Capital)

27201 Tourney Road

Sarkis Ghazaryan (NAI Capital) 661-705-3550

Sale Lease Lease Lease Lease Lease

Plaza Posada

27530 Newhall Ranch Road 20655 Soledad Canyon Road 23323 Aqua Dulce Road 19971 Soledad Canyon Road 18517 Soledad Canyon Road

$139,000 $139,000 $139,000 $65,000 $129,000

25,200 5,000 2,332 2,332 5,562 3,460

Doug Sonderegger (CBRE) 818-907-4607 • Sam Glendon (CBRE) 818-502-6745

24200 Magic Mountain Parkway

Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale

$1.50 SF/MO/FSG $1.50 SF/MO/FSG $1.50 SF/MO/FSG

Tim Crissman (Crissman Commercial Services) 661-295-9300

The Plaza at Golden Valley Yair Haimoff (NAI Capital) 818-742-1659, Matt Sreden (NAI Commercial) 661-705-3552 and Randy Cude (NAI Commercial) 661-414-2004

2,200 2,200 2,200 1,150 1,100

Lease Lease Lease

Yair Haimoff (NAI Capital) 818-742-1659

25152 - 25154 Springfield Court $1.65 SF/MO/NNN

18,074 1,170 902

Richard Ramirez (CBRE) 661- 907-4639 • Robert Valenziano (CBRE) 818- 907-4663 • Craig Peters (CBRE) 661- 907-4616

25020 - 25061 Avenue Stanford $1.95 - $12.90 SF/MO/NNN

Priceeeee

Rexford Valencia Business Center

Unit 200 Unit 224 Unit 226

27202, 27220 & 27240 Turnberry $1.65 SF/MO/NNN

Sq. Ft. Sale/Lease

28159 Avenue Stanford

28455 Livingston Avenue $1.65 SF/MO/MG $2.25 SF/MO/MNN $2.25 SF/MO/MNN $1.73 SF/MO/MNN

Bridgeport Village Tim Crissman (Crissman Commercial Services) 661-295-9300

23542-23560 Lyons Avenue

Office/Commercial Buildings (Cont.)

25078 Peachland Avenue

1,000

Lease

Peachland Medical Arts

23502- 23504 Lyons Avenue

1,205 - 8,944 Lease

Lyons Plaza

23542- 23560 Lyons Avenue

420 - 4,000

Lease

$1.95 SF/MO/FSG + J $2.50 SF/MO/NNN $1.95 SF/MO/MG + E + J $1.45 SF/MO/FSG + J $1.10 SF/MO/NNN

Plaza Posada Cameron Gray (NAI Capital) 661-705-3569

24405 Chestnut Street

540

Lease

The Chestnut Building Jeff Lui (SCV Commercial Real Estate Services) 661-478-5227

$2.00 SF/MO/MG

SANTA CLARITA VALLEY BUSINESS JOURNAL

MAY 2016

Commercial, Industrial & Retail Real Estate Office/Commercial Buildings (Cont.) 22800 Lyons Avenue

Sq. Ft. Sale/Lease 720

Priceeeee

Lease

$2.00 SF/MO/MG

The Tanner Building

24303 Walnut Street

375 - 965

Lease

$2.00 SF/MO/MG

Tim Crissman (Crissman Commercial Services) 661-295-9300

27502 Avenue Scott 28546 Constellation Road 27413 Tourney Road

3,893 5,734 1,290

Lease Lease Lease

$1.85 SF/MO/FSG $0.99 SF/MO/NNN $2.55 SF/MO/FSG

Craig Peters (CBRE) 661-907-4716 • Richard Ramirez (CBRE) 661-907-4639

24840 Avenue Stanford, #300

6,187

Lease

Negotiable

Richard Ramirez (CBRE) 661-907-4639

22777 Lyons Ave

150 - 1,700

Lease

Negotiable

Yair Haimoff (NAI Capital) 818-742-1659 and Andrew Ghassemi (NAI Capital) 661-705-3039

Office/ Medical Buildings 25775 McBean Parkway 25880 Tournament Road

Sq. Ft. Sale/Lease

Priceeee

1,201 – 6,682 Lease 1,043 – 4,559 Lease

$2.76 SF/MO/NNN Negotiable

Cody Chiarella (CBRE) 818-502-6730 • Troy Pollet (CBRE) 818-907-4620

24355 Lyons Avenue

1,262 - 5,320

Lease

$2.25 SF/MO/NNN

Lyons Professional Building

23929 McBean Parkway

2,326 - 5,900

Lease

$3.25 SF/MO/NNN

Henry Mayo Hospital Campus Peter Lund (NAI Capital) 310-440-8500, Scott Crane (NAI Capital) 310-440-8500 and Randy Cude (NAI Capital) 661-705-3553

25050 Peachland Avenue

800 - 4,000

Lease

$2.20 SF/MO/NNN

Plaza Posada Medical Center Yair Haimoff (NAI Capital) 818-742-1659, Matt Sreden (NAI Capital) 661-705-3552 and Cameron Gray (NAI Capital)

Land (Commercial, Industrial & Retail) Acres Sale SWC Golden Valley Rd./Centre Pt. Pkwy.

1.5

Sale

Priceeee $27.17 SF ($2.3M)

Nigel Stout (JLL) 818-531-9685

15112 Sierra Highway

149.0 (Com.)

Sale

$0.61 SF ($3.9M)

Randy Cude (NAI) 661-705-3553

SEC Newhall Ranch Rd. & Rye Canyon Rd.

1.7 ac.

Sale

$22.50 SF

Craig Peters (CBRE) 818-907-4616 • Doug Sonderegger (CBRE) 818-907-4607

SWC Copperhill Drive & Rio Norte

8.65

Sale

$22.00 SF

West Creek John Z. Cserkuti (NAI Capital) 661-705-3551

Placerita Canyon Road

9.9

Sale

$7.42 SF/$3.2M

Randy Cude (NAI Capital) 661-414-2004

Placerita Canyon/Sierra Canyon 15112 Placertia Canyon Bouquet Canyon/Vasquez Canyon 14825 Sierra Highway 24605 Railroad Avenue

38.26 148.75 14.5 38.3 10,743

Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale

$2.11 SF/$3.5M $0.60 SF/$3.9M $3.48 SF/$2.2M $0.37 SF/$629,000 $55.75 SF/$599,000

Yair Haimoff (NAI Capital) 818-742-1659

SWC Soledad Canyon Rd/Golden Valley Rd Valley Business Center Valley Business Center Valley Business Center Valley Business Center Valley Business Center Valley Business Center

1.19 1.9 2.29 2.67 3.86 4.96 6.15

Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale Sale

$21.00 SF/$1.1M $23.00 SF/$1.9M $21.00 SF/$2.1M $21.00 SF/$2.5M $21.00 SF/$3.5M $21.00 SF/$4.5M $21.00 SF/$5.6M

Kevin Tamura (Daum Commercial) 661-670 -2001 • Ron Berndt (Daum Commercial) 661-670-2000

Industrial Buildings 28159 Avenue Stanford, Unit 175

Sq. Ft. Sale/Lease 8,098

Lease

Industrial Buildings (Cont.) 28406 Constellation 28368 Constellation Road, Bldg C, Unit 360 26074 Avenue Hall, Unit #5 Unit #12 Unit #21 28334 Industry Drive 28210 N. Avenue Stanford 25060 Avenue Tibbitts

Sale Lease Lease Lease

$825,000 $1.05 SF/MO/IG $0.95 SF/MO/IG $1.05 SF/MO/IG

35,310

Lease

$0.59 SF/MO/NNN

116,143 21,147

Lease Sale

$0.58 SF/MO/NNN $135.00 SF

Craig Peters (CBRE) 818-907-4616

25158 Avenue Stanford 26308 Spirit Court

44,548 44,944

Sale/Lease Sale

$111.47 SF $115.00 SF

Craig Peters (CBRE) 818-907-4616 • Doug Sonderegger (CBRE) 818-907-4607

28358 Constellation Road, Unit B

84,984

Lease

$0.65 SF/MO/NNN

James Ebanks (Realty Advisory Group, Inc.) 661-702-8880 x12 and Lauren Ebanks (Realty Advisory Group, Inc.) 661-702-8882 x18

24971 Avenue Stanford

20,415

Sale

$135 SF

Mark Sokolowski (NDKF) 310-491-2075, 818-497-8815 • Sean O’Leary (NDKF) 310-491-2010

25159 Avenue Stanford

79,701

Sale

$115.00 SF

Todd Lorber (NAI Capital) 818-933-2376

28381 Constellation Road 28446 Constellation Road 27955 Smyth Drive, Suite 107 27955 Smyth Drive, Suite 109

21,650 3,480 850 800

Lease Sale Lease Lease

$0.79 SF/MO/NNN $210.00 SF $1.90 SF/MO/FSG $2.00 SF/MO/FSG

Randy Cude (NAI Capital) 661-705-3553

28159 Avenue Stanford, Unit 175

8,098

Lease

Rexford Valencia Business Center

28620 Livingston Avenue

34,330

Lease

$0.82 SF/MG $0.65 SF/MO/NNN

Robert Valenziano (CBRE) 818-907-4663 • Richard Ramirez (CBRE) 661-907-4639 • Craig Peters (CBRE) 661-907-4616

24922 Anza Drive, Unit F

11,600

Lease

$0.80 SF/MNO/IG

Nigel Stout (JLL) 818-531-9685

28903 Avenue Paine 146,000 Sale 54,060 Lease 28308 Industry Drive 25161 Rye Canyon Loop Mann Biomedical Park Building #61 10,000 - 38,465 Lease

$142 SF + 1.8 ac. Land $0.64 SF/M0/NNN $0.60 SF/MO/NNN

Craig Peters (CBRE) 818-907-4616 • Doug Sonderegger (CBRE) 818-907-4607

28650 Braxton

52,260

Lease

$0.65 SF/MO/NNN

John Erickson (Colliers Int.) 661- 253-5202 • Chris Erickson (Colliers Int.) 661- 253-5207

25371 Rye Canyon

81,190

Sale

TBD

Bill Pentz (DAUM Commerical R/E) 818-449-1625 and Kevin Tamura (DAUM Commercial R/E) 818-449-1631

26858 Ruether Avenue 26372 Ruether Ave

2,132 5,764

Lease Lease

$1.05 SF/MO/MG $1.00 SF/MG

Tim Crissman (Crissman Commercial Services) 661-295-9300

28034 Industry Drive. Unit A

9,973

Lease

$0.79 SF/MO/Gross

Doug Sonderegger (CBRE) 818-907-4607

20711 Centre Pointe Parkway

Priceeee $0.82 SF/MO/MG

27420 Avenue Scott Unit C &D

10,180

Lease

$0.75 SF/MO/NNN

$0.65 SF/MO/NNN $1,050,000; $216 SF

68,592

Lease

$0.53 SF/MO/NNN

Craig Peters (CRRE) 661-907-4615 • Doug Sonderegger (CBRE) 661-907-4607

27756 Avenue Hopikins 28348 Constellation Road 20732 Soledad Street, Unit G

Sale

4,017 3,131 3,082 3,177

Craig Peters (CBRE) 661-907- 4616 • Sam Glendon (CBRE) 818-502-6745

Doug Sonderegger (CBRE) 661- 907-4607

4,857

Negotiable

Matt Dierckman (CBRE) 818-502-6752

28620 Livingston Avenue 28348 Constellation Road

Priceeee

Lease

John Erickson (Colliers Int.) 661-253-5202 • Chris Erickson (Colliers Int.) 661-253-5207

21515 Centre Pointe Parkway

Lease

3,107

Yair Haimoff (NAI Capital) 818-742-1659 and Matt Sreden (NAI Capital) 661-705-3552

Rexford Valencia Business Center Robert Valenziano (CBRE) 818-907-4663 • Richard Ramirez (CBRE) 661-907-4639 • Craig Peters (CBRE) 661-907-4616

34,330

Sq. Ft. Sale/Lease

16,773

Sale

$215 SF/$3.6M

Chris Jackson (NAI Capital) 818-933-2368 • Todd Lorber 818-933- 2376 • Matt Ehrlich 818-933- 2364

21,884 4,857 1,606

Lease Sale Lease

$0.64 SF/M0/NNN $1,050,000; $216 SF $0.89 SF/MO/G

Michael Corbin (DAUM Commerical R/E) 661-670-2004 and Kevin Tamura (DAUM Commercial R/E/) 818-449-1631

Kevin Tamura (DAUM Commercial R/E) and Ron Berndt (DAUM Commercial R/E) 818-333-2207

21804 Witherspoon Parkway

Future Industrial Projects

42,440

Lease

$0.65 SF/MO/NNN

Doug Sonderegger (CBRE) 661- 907-4607

28305 Industry Drive 28311 Industry Drive

5,224 2,786

Lease Lease

$0.99 SF/MO/G $1.05 SF/MO/G

Sam Glendon (CBRE) 818-502-6745

28312 Constellation Road

5,404

Sale

$215 SF/$1.1M

Matt Sreden (NAI Capital) 661-755-6654

25334 Avenue Stanford 28338 Constellation Road 28452 Constellation Road 28506 Constellation Road 26340 Diamond Place

17,775 3,320 3,180 4,595 2,154

Sale Lease Lease Lease Lease

$123 SF ($2.2M) $0.90 to $1.15 SF/MO/NNN $0.85 SF/MO/NNN $0.89 SF/MO/NNN $1.50 SF/MO/NNN

Yair Haimoff (NAI Capital) 818-742-1659

24820 Avenue Tibbitts

13,045

Lease

$0.75 SF/MO/NNN

Tim Crissman (Crissman Commercial Services) 661-295-9300

27936 Lost Canyon Road

150 - 990

Lease

Negotiable

Pamela Verner (SCV Commercial) 661-714-5271

27525 Newhall Ranch Rd., Unit 9

7,584

Lease

$0.70 SF/MO/NNN

Nigel Stout (JLL) 818-531-9685

27524 The Old Road 28368 Constellation Road, Unit #340 28368 Constellation Road, Unit #340

9,487 3,770 3,770

Sale Sale Lease

$4,083,000/$430 SF $848,250/$225 SF $0.99 SF/MO/NNN

Sq. Ft. Sale/Lease

Price/Availabilityl

West of I-5/SR 126/Commerce Center Drive Gateway V (Phase 1) 60,923 - 105,407 Sale /Lease IAC Commerce Center (Phase 1) 93,500 - 250,000 Lease Sierra Highway/Newhall Avenue/14 Freeway Needham Ranch (Phase 1) 16,000 - 223,530 Sale /Lease

TBD;1Q 2016 TBD; 3Q 2016 TBD; 1Q 2017

Craig Peters (CBRE) 818-907-4616 • Doug Sonderegger (CBRE) 818-907-4607 • Richard Ramirez (CBRE) 818907-4639

28608 Hasley Canyon Road

20,499 - 44,162 Lease

TBD

Avalon Business Center James Ebanks (RealtyAdvisoryGroupInc.) 661-702-8880x12 • Lauren Ebanks (RealtyAdvisoryGroupInc.) 661702-8882x18

28528 Industry Drive

42,159

Sale

$134 SF/TBD

Gateway Industrial Doug Sonderegger (CBRE) 818-907-4607 • Craig Peters (CBRE) 818-907-4616

Future Office Projects

Sq. Ft. Sale/Lease

27750 North Entertainment Drive

100,000

Lease

Priceeee TBD

Entrada Gateway Center Dan Sanchez (JLL) 818-531-9682 • Jim Lindvall (JLL) 818-531-9678 Note: Parties interested in properties should contact listing broker or agent for more information. To list here:

James E. Brown, Manager Business Attraction, SCVEDC, 661-288-4413, JimBrown@scvedc.org

MAY 2016

SANTA CLARITA VALLEY BUSINESS JOURNAL

Residential Real Estate Housing Stats - Santa Clarita Valley

SCV Median Home Value SCV Median Condo Value SCV Home Sales SCV Condo Sales SCV Avg. # of Days on Market (SF) SCV Single Family Home Inventory

Mar ‘16

Feb ’16

Mar ’15

520,000 330,000 203 83 75 449

530,000 335,000 136 55 84 443

520,000 305,000 209 69 71 680

Source: Santa Clarita Valley Economic Development Corporation.

February Sales

Acton New Listings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .14 Total Active Listings . . . . . . . . .44 New Escrows Closed. . . . . . . . .12 Median Sale Price . . . . . $465,000

Newhall New Listings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .48 Total Active Listings . . . . . . . . .50 New Escrows Closed. . . . . . . . .33 Median Sale Price . . . . . $358,000

Agua Dulce New Listings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .11 Total Active Listings . . . . . . . . .28 New Escrows Closed. . . . . . . . . .4 Median Sale Price . . . . . $375,000

Saugus New Listings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .78 Total Active Listings . . . . . . . . .75 New Escrows Closed. . . . . . . . .67 Median Sale Price . . . . . $476,500

Canyon Country New Listings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .84 Total Active Listings . . . . . . . .100 New Escrows Closed. . . . . . . . .65 Median Sale Price . . . . . $425,000

Stevenson Ranch New Listings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20 Total Active Listings . . . . . . . . . 19 New Escrows Closed. . . . . . . . . 15 Median Sale Price . . . . . $635,000

Castaic New Listings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .41 Total Active Listings . . . . . . . . .43 New Escrows Closed. . . . . . . . .19 Median Sale Price . . . . . $500,000

Valencia New Listings . . . . . . . . . . . . . .140 Total Active Listings . . . . . . . .155 New Escrows Closed. . . . . . . . .71 Median Sale Price . . . . . .$455500 Source: Southland Regional Association of Realtors. March 1 - 31, 2016

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