Talks on Eastside COC Progressing

College of the Canyons students who live on the east side of the Santa Clarita Valley could be attending classes in a new Canyon Country satellite campus as early as next summer if negotiations for the land stay on track.

The talks are taking place behind closed doors, but agreements have been signed for about threequarters of the roughly 70 acres needed, an official said last week.

“I’m optimistic we will be able to complete the negotiations within a month,” said Bob Kellar, a co-owner of KellarDavis Real Estate, one of the negotiators. Kellar is also a Santa Clarita city councilman.

General education courses would be taught at the Canyon Country Education Center, in some six buildings on the location, said Jim Schrage, the college’s director of facilities. A fitness center is planned.

The campus would be located within the city limits on the east side of Sierra Highway, north of Soledad Canyon Road. It would be bounded by the Sunset Heights housing development and a neighborhood along Sand Canyon Road.

Kellar would not discuss the names of the sellers or the amount they would be paid but said he is working with about seven owners to sew up deals for 11 contiguous parcels.

About 50 of the 70 acres are usable for classrooms and teaching facilities.

“The (purpose of the facility) is to bring education closer to the people who are asking for it,” Schrage said.

The approximately 300,000-square-foot education center would be developed in stages. It is expected to provide parking spaces for 1,800 vehicles.

If the land deals are concluded shortly, the builders could break ground sometime around October or November. The first classrooms could be opened in August 2006 “with an extremely aggressive schedule,” Schrage said.