Fall 2010 LEDR Update

Fall 2010
Lancaster Economic Development/Redevelopment
City Revs Up Destination Lancaster
Program with an Even Bigger
Streets of Lancaster Grand Prix
SCHEDULE
2nd annual event now spans three
days of racing – October 8-10!
Friday, October 8
Practice, publicity and fighting Polio
are the themes of the day as media
personalities and VIPs vie for
bragging rights. Competitors test the
new Streets course and run a race
against Polio.
6-9 a.m.
9 a.m.
12 p.m.
2 p.m.
5 p.m.
Media race
Pro racer practice
VIP practice
Pro racer practice
Race Against Polio and
other VIP events
6-10 p.m. Entertainment by
“Runaway Train”
Saturday, October 9
Hours of fun and excitement are
yours to enjoy as Streets festivities
run from morning to night – a full
day of racing, muscle car show,
delicious BBQ and a spectacular
block party along The BLVD!
8 a.m.
10 a.m.
Pro qualifying
Opening ceremony
Mayor’s Gold Cup race
VIP races
12 p.m. Car show begins
4 p.m.
Pro races
6-10 p.m. BLVD Block Party!
Entertainment by
“BullFrogg Blues Band”
Sunday, October 10
Two days of practice and qualifying
come to a head as pro racers and
VIPs compete for podium honors and
prizes. The street fair continues all
afternoon.
8 a.m.
12 p.m.
4 p.m.
Pro races
Harley-Davidson BLVD
Cruise-In
VIP community race
Closing ceremony
The BLVD and adjoining downtown streets will soon be transformed into a motor racing circuit as
the Streets of Lancaster Grand Prix returns to town for its second running.
Newly expanded to encompass three full days, the Grand Prix includes much more than thrilling
go-kart competitions. There will be festive food, including a KC BBQ competition, outstanding
entertainment from great local bands, a lively street fair, car show, bike cruise-in, vintage and kid
kart races, plus an amazing trick kart demonstration by This Side Up
Entertainment. The entire family will find loads of fun and lots of action.
“We’re pleased to bring this wonderful race back to Lancaster,”
said Steve Gocke, Senior Project Manager for Lancaster’s Economic
Development/Redevelopment Department (LEDR). “Thanks to Lancaster
Honda and our other generous sponsors, we’ve created an even more
exciting event in 2010.”
2009
crystal eagle
award winner
Special Events & Promotions
California Downtown
Association
Lancaster’s competition is the only street course go-kart race west of the Mississippi and is
coordinated by Tri-C Karters. Professional drivers seek speeds of up to 100 mph as they attempt
to weave their way through the streets of Lancaster. The contest draws competitors and fans
from throughout the west.
“Events like this have a profound economic impact on our community,” noted Vern Lawson,
Director of LEDR. “Thousands of visitors will come to enjoy the Grand Prix. When they patronize
our restaurants and hotels, shop in our stores and fill up at our gas stations, they bring added
wealth to the community to the benefit of all. As a bonus, those of us who reside in Lancaster
enjoy a great time, too!”
For more information on the Streets of Lancaster weekend and for a complete list of our
sponsors, please visit www.streetsoflancastergrandprix.com.
Streets of Lancaster Grand Prix
Premium Sponsor
Lancaster Honda
Winner’s Circle Sponsors
Adelman Broadcasting
Andy Gump
Clear Channel Communications, Inc.
Submarina
Time Warner Cable
Pole Position Sponsors
Antelope Valley Press
Waste Management
Positioning for
Prosperity
Public/Private partnership
COMMERCE
INDUSTRY
INNOVATION
While others anxiously await the return of good times, Lancaster
is already hard at work to ensure the City is prepared to take full
advantage of the upturn around the corner.
“We’ve been through these business cycles before,” noted City
Manager Mark V. Bozigian. “We know there will be light at the
end of the tunnel and we want to be sure the City emerges from
these difficult times stronger and ready to meet the demands of
future growth.”
The City’s Economic Development/Redevelopment Department
has created a comprehensive, multi-year strategy to create new
jobs and wealth for all facets of the community. Working across
departmental boundaries, all of City Hall is getting involved in
this new effort to improve the local economy.
The innovative economic strategy concentrates on three primary
categories – commerce, industry and innovation. Each offers a
specific focus on wealth and job creation.
“We know there will be light at the end of
the tunnel and we want to be sure the City
emerges from these difficult times stronger
and ready to meet the demands of future
growth.”
Mark V. Bozigian
Lancaster City Manager
COMMERCE
The commerce initiatives
target helping local
merchants to reach out
to their customers and
encourage them to
shop within Lancaster.
Consumer spending is
the lifeblood of our
nation’s economy,
making up nearly twothirds of all dollars in
Kelly Kurian and Cathy Wade, owners of
Simply Spoiled, recently relocated their
circulation. By making
stylish maternity, baby and kids boutique to
it easier and more
711 Lancaster Boulevard.
desirable to shop in
town, Lancaster helps capture more of this spending locally,
thereby allowing merchants to hire more workers and buy the
goods and services they need to keep their businesses running.
The City and its residents also benefit from its share of the sales
tax generated from local purchases, as most City services are
funded from these revenues.
Through its infrastructure investments downtown, the City has
gone a long way towards transforming The BLVD into an exciting
new destination. The next step is to assist store and restaurant
owners in successfully marketing and merchandising their
offerings through a merchant’s association.
Citywide, local government is partnering with the private sector
to help with facade improvements, marketing programs and new
e-commerce ventures which will enable residents to enjoy the
convenience of online shopping while still patronizing local
merchants.
Working hand-in-hand with noted real estate experts from
CB Richard Ellis (CBRE), the City is developing innovative
approaches for attracting new tenants to existing retail
space and finding prime opportunities for adding fresh
shopping experiences throughout Lancaster.
The City is also working hard to bring additional choices
to the Lancaster Auto Mall. Two new dealerships are
slated to open soon, making shopping locally for a
new car or truck easier than ever.
In a move designed to attract more weekend
visitors (and their dollars) to Lancaster, the
City is working with the local hospitality
sector to create special events,
promotions and packages
through the “Destination
Lancaster” visitors
bureau.
INNOVATION
INDUSTRY
The focus of the City’s industrial push is job creation. By setting
the wheels in motion today, we will have the infrastructure and
processes in place to accommodate the growth needs of
industry tomorrow.
The catalyst for all these changes is a rethinking of the role of
local government in regards to business. For many, local
government is seen only as a regulator, duty-bound to see that
business strictly toes the line. In Lancaster it is different. We
believe government should act as a facilitator, helping good
businesses by removing road blocks. By assisting businesses to
thrive we help everyone with new jobs and new wealth in the
community. Toward this end, all City departments constantly
work together to find new ways to streamline processes and
reduce review and approval times.
Bringing more good paying jobs to the Antelope Valley is critical
to sustaining our great quality of life. The need for increased
local employment is obvious for those who have lost their jobs
or seen their hours cut back during the ongoing recession. But
job creation goes even deeper than this. When people work
closer to home, they have more time and energy to get involved
with friends, family and the community. Children have a more
supportive environment, so grades tend to improve. Clearly
everyone benefits when there are enough jobs to go around.
The first step in this process is to help would-be entrepreneurs
gain the skills and knowledge required to successfully launch
and sustain a new business. Working with the region’s Small
Business Development Corporation (SBDC), Lancaster is holding
a series of workshops along with one-on-one counseling to help
those starting and growing small businesses. The City has also
applied for a federal grant to establish a new incubator program
downtown which would provide a supportive environment where
fledgling firms could flourish.
To attract larger, more established firms, the City is partnering
with CBRE to define techniques to fill existing industrial space
and identify opportunities to create new sites for major growth
industries.
Lancaster is looking beyond California and the western U.S.
to find its next round of dynamic growth opportunities. In
cooperation with the Los Angeles County Economic Development
Corporation and the World Trade Center Association Los AngelesLong Beach, the City has sent trade delegations to China. This,
coupled with the formation of a new California Green Regional
Center, will allow us to attract more international investment.
The City is also working with its regional partners to extend
its valued Enterprise Zone designation. The Zone provides
significant tax advantages to companies hiring new workers,
purchasing equipment and investing within the community.
To date, the Antelope Valley Enterprise Zone has helped nearly
1,300 businesses create approximately 14,000 local jobs in the
community with a tax benefit in excess of $440 million. The
current Zone designation expires in 2012. The new application
aims to extend these benefits for another 15 years.
The City is also seeking the advice
of several outside experts to
leverage their expertise
and identify best practices
which will better serve the
business community.
Hand-in-hand with these innovations comes the need to
reevaluate the methods utilized to measure success. No longer
will it suffice to simply count the number of rules and regulations
generated or the citations issued. The City needs to start judging
the ways in which it is helping to encourage economic growth
through local business formation, job creation and improvements
in quality of life.
By helping create jobs and bringing new wealth into
the community, the City and its residents will be in a
position to enjoy and take advantage of the new
prosperity which lies ahead.
ledr
Lancaster Economic Development/
Redevelopment Department
Chairman R. Rex Parris
Vice Chairman Ronald D. Smith
Directors Marvin E. Crist, Ken Mann, Sherry Marquez
Executive Director Mark V. Bozigian
LANCASTER
ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT/
REDEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT
44933 Fern Avenue
Lancaster, CA 93534
To learn more about LEDR, please call 661-723-6128
or visit us on the web at: www.ledr.org
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SolarCity Opens Offices in Lancaster’s Incubator
Firm makes alternative energy affordable
SolarCity, a California-based innovator of photovoltaic systems
for residential and commercial use has opened a new office in the
Lancaster Business Park at Avenue K-4 and Division Street.
The office will serve the growing number of local residents and
businesses who have elected to join the City’s “Solar Lancaster”
program. Under the program, residents can acquire a home solar
system with no up front costs and a monthly lease payment lower
than their existing electric bill. It is a great way to “go green” without
spending a bundle.
Similar programs are available to the City’s business customers. They
can lock in low solar rates including all maintenance and monitoring
for less than their current electric rates.
SolarCity professional installation team installs solar panels on the
roof of Lancaster residence.
The City has scheduled six municipal sites, including Clear Channel Stadium and City Hall for installation of these solar systems.
A number of residential and commercial properties have also recently signed up.
For more information on SolarCity programs, visit www.solarlancaster.org or call 877-858-SOLAR.
City Partners with Business Community in Unique Communications Opportunities
Lancaster has come up with an innovative way to help fund civic programs and services by capitalizing on the broad reach and
interest their award-winning publications receive.
“Survey results have shown our City publications are very well-regarded and well-read,” said City Communications Manager
Joe Cabral. “With our Community Partners program, we’re providing businesses with new opportunities to build stronger ties with their
customers.”
The program offers the private sector the opportunity to help underwrite the costs of public programs and services. These firms are
offered space in the City’s Outlook magazine and LEDR Update which are distributed to households and businesses citywide. They
may also appear in Lancaster eNews and other electronic media used by the City. Each sponsorship program is tailored to the needs
of the respective sponsoring organization. To ensure the integrity of the publications and the overall impact of partner messages, only
a limited number of sponsorships are being accepted.
The City of Lancaster appreciates the generous underwriting of programs and services by our City Partners. Please extend your
thanks and patronage to all our City Partners.
www.avhonda.com
High Desert Medical Group
Heritage Health Care
For more information on
the program, please
contact Melissa Varela at
661-723-6070.