Pool firm to open in downtown Newhall
If all goes well with tenant improvements, a pool supply company hopes to move into the 6,600 square foot storefront in Old Town Newhall by October.
Mac’s Pool & Spa Supply purchased the former Tresierras Supermarket on Main Street, with plans to move from their current space on Bouquet Canyon Road, said owner Don Mackenzie.
Terms of the deal were not disclosed but the property had been listed for $1.645 million. Bob Loner and Jim Mangassarian of Realty Executives represented the seller and the buyer. The building has been sitting empty since January 2014 when the market closed.
Snag
Although the deal closed on Jan. 29, the buyer ran into a problem with the city of Santa Clarita which had intended for new businesses to fit into the arts and entertainment specific plan for the area.
“The owner had to go before the city council to become grandfathered into the area,” Mangassarian said. “But no one else will get approved for that type of retail use anymore.”
The problem for Mackenzie began, he said, when he had visited the city’s planning department in December and told them he was thinking of buying the building in downtown Newhall. Specifically he inquired as to whether he would need to adhere to any architectural requirements and said he was told ‘No.” So Mackenzie went through with the purchase.
However, after closing on the purchase of the property and bringing his plans to the city, Mackenzie said he was then told he would need to do an architectural review.
Newhall plans
By March, he said he was told his business couldn’t locate in downtown Newhall because of the designated arts and entertainment zone.
The city then placed an “urgency ordinance” on the agenda for the April 26 city council agenda calling for a 45-day moratorium prohibiting businesses from developing on Old Town Newhall’s Main Street, if they do not align with the newly created arts and entertainment district, according to a report in The Signal.
The action was taken to clarify the vision for Old Town Newhall, especially as it relates to the urban center zone of the Old Town Newhall specific plan, said Tom Cole, director of Community Development for the city, at the time.
Mackenzie appeared before that city council meeting and presented his plea that he had not been advised earlier, and therefore went ahead with his purchase, he said.
Fortunately, the city grandfathered his business into the district, Mangassarian said.
Moratorium extended
The city granted the exemption because Mac’s Pool & Spa Supply already had paperwork on file with the city for their relocation prior to the moratorium being put in place, said an official with the planning department.
The moratorium was later extended at the May 24 City Council meeting, expanding it to an additional 10 months and 15 days from the original expiration date of June 10. It will now expire on April 25, 2017.
The extension gives the city time to examine the specific uses that support the envisioned arts and entertainment District, said Jason Crawford, economic development manager for the city.
So why go to all of the trouble of buying a building and making an appeal with the city? With a growing business and 11 employees — including Mackenzie and his wife Connie — Mackenzie said he needed more space for his growing business.
“Buying is a good investment for the company to own a building,” Mackenzie said. “It’s a family business so it’s good for us and it’s good for the family.”