DEVELOPER LEADS AREA RECOVERY.

Byline: Teresa Jimenez Daily News Staff Writer

Construction seems to crop up just about everywhere in Valencia: from the Avignon luxury townhomes advertised along Magic Mountain Parkway to the Hyatt Valencia Hotel around the corner on McBean Parkway.

And The Newhall Land and Farming Company usually has something to do with it.

The firm already is anticipating the construction of The Woodlands at Valencia on land the company sold to builder Taylor Woodrow. The gated community of upscale homes will overlook the Valencia Country Club.

That transaction is just one that contributed to Newhall Land's announcement Thursday that it has sold a record number of residential lots in its master-planned Valencia community, a sure sign to company officials that economic recovery finally has reached the Santa Clarita Valley.

``The environment, in terms of seeing home prices and lot prices improve, is a good indication that the overall economy is improving,'' said Marlee Lauffer, spokeswoman for Newhall Land. ``We've got a lot of activity in all three areas - commercial, residential and retail development. We're meeting our strategic goals.''

Newhall Land posted a net income of $12.5 million for the third quarter of 1997 ending on Sept. 30. For the same period in 1996, it posted a net income of $4.2 million, according to a statement from the company.

Residential lot sales also increased considerably compared with last year, and set a quarterly record for Valencia. Developers closed escrow on 617 residential lots during the third quarter in the community.

And for the first nine months of 1997, developers bought 711 residential lots, compared with 318 for all of 1996, the statement said.

The rush to develop has led to increased home sales in Valencia, Lauffer said.

``We captured 15 percent of the market share of all new home sales in L.A. County,'' Lauffer said. ``That's a record high for Valencia. And it's the most new homes sold in a quarter for Valencia.''

For all of 1989, at the peak of the 1980s home-buying boom, Newhall Land sold 812 lots and homes in Valencia. The company didn't separate the categories then.

The company's success did not surprise Mary Jennings, an analyst with Lark Research Inc. Newhall Land is unique in that it oversees all aspects of development in the community, from living areas to shopping centers, she said.

``They are extremely well-positioned to go forward,'' said Jennings, who studied the company as recently as last August. ``They are literally connected to everything in the town that they're developing, and they are achieving their plans. They have survived the economic doldrums and are doing very well.''

The construction boom extends to other areas of development, Lauffer said. Sixty acres of industrial land will be sold or developed in 1997, compared with 20 acres in 1996, she said. In addition, the price for industrial land has increased since the early 1990s by $2 per square foot, to $9.50.

``The significant thing there is that it means there will be 1.1 million square feet of new building space,'' Lauffer said. ``That means 2,000 new jobs.''

Newhall Land weathered the recession by making conservative business decisions and changing approaches to development, Lauffer said.

The company, which generally sells property to builders, offered a ``build to suit'' program rather than wait for developers to find limited funding, Lauffer said. The move helped Newhall Land lure companies such as ITT to Santa Clarita, she said.

Because of the improved economy and increased lot sales, the company will participate less in joint ventures with builders. In joint ventures, such as the Avignon townhouse development, Newhall Land provides the property for the project in a situation where builders cannot immediately secure financing, Lauffer said.

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Photo

Photo: (color) Dugo Bito, left, and Presente Garcia work Thursday on the front gate of The Newhall Land and Farming Company's Avignon development in Valencia.

John Lazar/Special to the Daily News