Lancaster Outlines Program to Boost Jobs, Fill Space

A new program by the City of Lancaster will make it easier for businesses to locate there, create jobs and fill vacant industrial and commercial space. In other words, when the economy improves the city wants to be ready. Dubbed “Positioning for Prosperity,” the city’s effort combines innovative thinking with duplicating what has already worked. It is not meant to be a quick fix but expected to be rolled out gradually over the next few years. Mayor R. Rex Parris and other city officials see Lancaster – indeed, the northern end of Los Angeles County – as the place where business will come to for space to grow and workers to hire. “We are the next frontier that companies will keep expanding into,” said Vern Lawson, the economic development/redevelopment director. The prosperity program is a three-pronged approach to expand the tax base, create jobs and take new approaches that will make Lancaster a desirable place for businesses to locate. The city, however, doesn’t plan on going it alone to achieve its goals. Real estate brokerage CB Richard Ellis has been hired to perform an economic and demographic analysis of the city; identify its strengths and weaknesses; and target industrial and retail users, developers and projects. The Small Business Development Center at College of the Canyons will give assistance to entrepreneurs. Area chambers, the Antelope Valley Board of Trade and the Greater Antelope Valley Economic Alliance will also play roles. Developing and implementing the program is a continuation and refinement of the response the city has shown during the recession, starting with last year’s stimulus plan giving incentives for shopping at local merchants. New focus Just as the city made public safety a priority and saw a reduction in crime, so it is now putting a focus on economic development, Parris said. A broader business mix results in a better standard of living, he said. “What I want to do is for the city to give services unheard of in other places and do it without raising taxes,” Parris said. Nowhere is the city’s approach more visible than in downtown along Lancaster Boulevard. New restaurants, façade improvements and a $10 million streetscaping project are transforming downtown into a gathering place. Under the prosperity program, the city encourages owner-occupied storefronts with products or services not found in shopping malls. The revitalization of downtown opens the city up to positioning itself to attract boutique restaurants, apparel and clothing stores, said Vincent Roche, a senior vice president with the CB Richard Ellis office in Bakersfield. Developing industry clusters is a key component of the prosperity plan and that includes retail as well. Retailers look at the Antelope Valley as one overall market and would likely open multiple stores, Roche said. “Now is a good time to study where the right properties are and to process the entitlements so they are ready when the market recovers and retailers start to expand again,” Roche said. The city also looks to the downtown to replicate the success of its small business incubator at the Lancaster Business Park. At the incubator, start-ups get office space at a reduced rate, workshops and counseling from the SBDC, and the camaraderie of fellow entrepreneurs. The business park incubator is geared toward professional services and light industrial companies while the one downtown would be retail and restaurant oriented. Business parks Adding to the city’s business parks is another part of the plan. The Lancaster Business Park, for instance, has more than 100 tenants that employ more than 4,000 workers. Tenants include Lance Campers and a Bank of America call center. The prosperity plan timetable calls for the site selection of a new business park to be completed in 2011.