A medical office is expected to take the place of the former Albert Einstein Academy in Newhall, despite rumors of a residential condo complex circulating on social media, officials said Thursday.

The new project on Orchard Village Road consists of a 41,244-square-foot, two-story medical office building and 210 parking spaces to be built on the location which formerly housed Albert Einstein Academy and Pinecrest Academy, according to City of Santa Clarita officials.

Currently, the parcel of land consists of two land parcels, 25421 and 25423 Orchard Village Road, according to Jason Crawford, planning and economic development manager for the City.

On June 18, the Planning Commission is scheduled to consider merging the two existing parcels into a single parcel, creating 30 airspace “condominium” units within the approved building to be utilized for medical office uses, according to Crawford.

The labeling of these units as “condominiums” raised some concern among community members on social media recently, but Crawford asserts that the project is not intended for residential use.

“No additional construction is proposed with this project and no residential uses are included,” said Crawford.

If the parcel merge is approved, the applicant is then allowed to move forward with the final approval of said parcel map by the Santa Clarita City Council and recordation of the parcel map with the Los Angeles County Recorder’s Office.

Initially approved by City officials in Feb. 2019, the project has made steady progress, as the existing building has been demolished and the site is in the process of having any construction debris removed from the site, according to officials.

In addition to the building itself, the project is expected to reduce the number of driveways on Orchard Village Road from four to two, while also adding a secondary driveway on Wiley Canyon Road, according to Crawford.

The project is also expected to preserve the existing sycamore trees that front the project site along Orchard Village Road.

The project is expected to be completed by Feb. 1, 2020.

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