Over $6 million could be paid to purchase area off Main Street.

The City of Santa Clarita will be eying the future Tuesday night as they discuss and potentially approve two moves that hope to generate more tourism and activities in Santa Clarita.

About 1.7 acres in downtown Newhall could be purchased by the City if a negotiated agreement is approved by Council members. The area is bounded by Lyons Avenue, Main Street, Railroad Avenue, and 9th Street, and it is currently rented by businesses that include Insurance Auto Collision, Wanjon Auto and Automotive Technology.

The original asking price for the properties topped $6.5 million; however City staff has come to an agreement to purchase the properties for a combined total of about $6.2 million. That is roughly $500,000 more than the property was independently appraised at, although City staff is recommending the price for several reasons including the seller’s lack of motivation and time sensibilities.

Another item pending approval by the City is a study into the need and/or feasibility of additional banquet and conference facilities in Santa Clarita. The study arose from an embattled project trying to make its way through Council approval. The project proposes building a Sheraton hotel at the corner of Valencia Blvd and McBean Parkway, where the Greens Bar is currently located. While the project has not been approved and is under an appeal requested by a community group, the discussion did expose a desire by many to see more conference and banquet space in town.

According to the City, several parties came together to discuss the need for these additional amenities. They included Newhall Land, the Hyatt Regency, Westfield Valencia Town Center, JSB Development and the city of Santa Clarita. The Packard Companies, developers of the proposed Sheraton project, were also a part of the coalition.

It was reportedly agreed upon that the first step in identifying a plan for the future is to commission a study which measures the need of such banquet and conference facilities.

If the City Council approves the study it will to be conducted by PKF Consulting, and paid for by the City ($10,000) and Packard Companies ($10,000). If the initial study finds that a banquet and conference center is feasible, then the City and their interested coalition of developers could initiate a second phase of the study at additional cost.