Blog Archives

New State-of-the-Art $12 Million Library

7/31/2015

Swinerton Builders, Griffin Structures, and SVA Architecture Break Ground on Quartz Hill Public Library

Monday, Swinerton Builders, Griffin Structures, and the County of Los Angeles held a ground-breaking ceremony to celebrate the start of construction on the new state-of-the-art Quartz Hill Public Library.

The Quartz Hill community is usually referred to as a part of Lancaster, however, it is an unincorporated city that is governed by Los Angeles County. Supervisor and Los Angeles County Mayor, Michael D. Antonovich joined the ground-breaking at the 1.7 acre project site.

The Quartz Hill Library Project is a public-private partnership (commonly referred to as P3), where the library is being built at no cost to taxpayers by private developers, the County retains control and the developers cannot sell or privatize the library, and the library will be leased to the County of Los Angeles for 3 years with an option to buy.

The one-story, 12,514 square foot library will be set in a campus-like environment complete with adult, teen, and children reading areas, a homework center, an early childhood/family area, a 100-seat community meeting room with audio/visual system, public access computers, WiFi, and much more. The $12 million library (or $7 million per acre) will include many sustainable features such as rooftop solar, bioswales, controlled lighting, drought-tolerant landscaping, and will be built to achieve a minimum certification of LEED® Silver with the possibility of earning LEED® Gold.

This library is just one of many developments contributing to the overall growth of the Antelope Valley. There are literally $100s of millions, even billions of dollars, being thrusted into this area. NOW is the time to learn how you can wisely position yourself to reap the rewards of high growth!

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Antelope Valley and LA Transportation Receive over $100M

7/8/2015

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Last week, on June 30th, the California State Transportation Agency announced the 14 recipients of this year’s $224 million in competitive grants that support reduction in greenhouse gas (GHG) emmissions and high-quality public transportation. The funds are a part of the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund that come from the state’s cap-and-trade proceeds [a program that caps the pollutants allowed by companies and penalizes companies that exceed their emission allowance; the cap is lowered over time to ensure less global warming pollution each year].

Among the 14 award recipients were AVTA, Metro, and Metrolink. Here is a brief overview of just those three awards:

1.) Antelope Valley Transit Authority (AVTA)
Awarded $24.4 million with nearly $15 million in matching funds for a total of nearly $40 million.

AVTA was the first to receive the 40-foot BYD electric bus (American-made in BYD’s Lancaster, CA factory)

The goal is to reduce GHG emissions and increase ridership through developing a major Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) route in Lancaster and Palmdale with a major commitment to all electric buses and supporting infrastructure. The new BRT will launch at least two routes to the San Fernando Valley and Downtown Los Angeles providing a first-ever major demonstration of long-distance electric bus technology. AVTA is to purchase 29 all-electric buses, develop hard wired charging stations for up to 80 buses, build 4 wireless charging stations, and pour $1.4 million over 3 years into research and development of a more powerful wireless charging system. It is expected that the all-electric buses will be purchased from BYD as AVTA already has two BYD buses and the AVTA board of directors, with a unanimous vote in February, have already authorized the purchase of more buses from BYD.

2.) Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (METRO)
Awarded $38.5 million with over $108 million in matching funds for a total of nearly $147 million.

The goal is to reduce GHG emissions and prepare for increased ridership on Metro’s oldest and most heavily used light rail line and one of the busiest in the nation, the Blue Line, by improving the Blue Line stations and supporting infrastructure. This will result in greater reliability and increased frequency to a major transfer station. This will help prepare the Blue Line for future increased demand to Downtown Los Angeles’ Union Station (Metrolink, Amtrak, and future High Speed Rail connections), Expo, and Gold Line stations once the Regional Interconnector project is complete. The funds will also be used to revitalize and significantly improve the Willowbrook/Rosa Parks Blue Line Station which links to the Green Line/LAX Airport.

An artist’s rendering of the proposed improvements including a civic plaza gateway to the Willowbrook/Rosa Parks Station.

3.) Southern California Regional Rail Authority (Metrolink)
Awarded $41.2 million with nearly $17 million in matching funds for a total of over $58 million

General Electric (GE) Tier 4 Locomotive

Metrolink is Southern California’s regional commuter rail service operating over seven routes through six counties and is the third largest commuter rail in the United States based on their 512 route-mile network. Their award will help provide cleaner, safer, more reliable and faster travel throughout the entire Metrolink service by purchasing nine new, low-emission, Tier 4 locomotives. Metrolink is the first commuter rail system in the country to acquire the new highly efficient, 50% greater horsepower (compared to Tier 0), Electro-Motive Diesel (EMD) Tier 4 locomotives. Seven of the nine locomotives will be used to replace existing locomotives while two locomotives will be used to increase service on the Antelope Valley and Ventura County lines within Los Angeles County both of which provide connectivity to current Amtrak and future High Speed Rail services. The nine new Tier 4 locomotives are in addition to 20 new Tier 4 locomotives Metrolink ordered last year which will begin operation in late 2016.

So here is the takeaway…Southern California is getting really serious about environmentally friendly public transportation. From all-electric buses to low emission locomotives, the time for investors to invest near transportation hubs is NOW. New businesses, restaurants, offices, and other developments will boom around transportation hubs as tens if not hundreds of millions of dollars pour in to enhance and revitalize the stations and infrastructures. Consider the surge in population growth as ridership increases!

Those invested near BYD, good job. Those invested near high-speed rail stations, good job. Those of you who haven’t invested yet…what are you waiting for? Don’t wait until the proverbial train has left the station to get serious about investing. If you’re a procrastinator and love waiting to the last minute, then pat yourself on the back because this is truly the VERY LAST MINUTE TO GET IN. Carefully investing over the next few months could set you up for life. Learn right NOW how you can benefit by getting a piece of the Public Transportation BOOM pie!

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The Oasis, $200 Million First-Ever Wellness Village

7/6/2015

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On July 1st, 2015, Thomas Partners Properties (TPP) announced a first of its kind development, the Oasis, a comprehensive wellness and health community.

With a focus on better health, healthcare, and wellness, the Oasis, will provide a variety of public amenities and infrastructure improvements which will include a public pavilion, park, pedestrian areas, hospitality, housing, wellness retail and dining, spa-like environments for visitors to relax, décor, and landscaping. The Oasis will serve as a national model for complete wellness and health delivery. “The Oasis is going to change the game in the healthcare industry,” said Michael Kim, principal at HKS architects and lead designer of the Oasis.

"The Oasis is
going to change
the game in the healthcare industry."

“This is the future of health care in America. The Oasis Wellness Village brings together the world’s finest physicians with everything from imaging and physical therapy to yoga and farmers markets…a true integration of health and wellness,” said John Thomas, President of TPP.

The Oasis is a 420,000 square foot development that will be built on 17.5 acres at a cost of over $200 million ($12 million per acre). It will be located in Palmdale adjacent to the Palmdale Regional Medical Center. Groundbreaking is expected in June of 2016.

The Oasis project is just one of many projects that are contributing to the billions of dollars in new developments in the Antelope Valley.

When investing in real estate one has to analyze the area and determine if all of the factors are in place to make the investment an excellent one. For example, wouldn't you agree that the traffic flow and population in the area will increase once the Oasis is complete? If so, the mixture of more traffic and population [increasing demand] along with a declining amount of development-ready land (the Oasis is taking up a large 17.5 acres), will result in the remaining properties in the area going up in value. Why not buy one of the few remaining development-ready pieces of land in the area before this value increase occurs?

We all love to visit and experience new and exciting places, why not take it a step further by actually benefiting from new and exciting developments such as the Oasis? Learn how we and countless others have benefited from massive new developments and how you can do it too.

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Author

Christopher Meza, a Los Angeles native, has over 15 years of investment experience. With a Bachelors of Science in Computer Science and Electrical Engineering, he has worked for Fortune 100 companies like IBM and The Boeing Company. Due to his remarkable investment savvy he has retired at a young age and now spends his time investing and teaching others how to achieve financial security.

Christopher Meza is a nationally recognized speaker and Land Banker. He was chosen as one of the world’s leading experts in land investing to keynote the “Success In The New Economy” conference with Steve Forbes, Chairman and Editor-in-Chief of Forbes Magazine. Christopher is also a co-author of the Best-Selling book “SuccessOnomics” with Steve Forbes.

Christopher Meza has also been interviewed on the Brian Tracy Show hosted by the legendary Brian Tracy. Christopher's feature interview can be seen on ABC, NBC, CBS, and FOX affiliates across the country.