In 1996 the City of Lancaster created the Fox Field Industrial Corridor Specific Plan, in order to encourage the development of major distribution centers in Lancaster. In 1997 Michael's Stores built a $19,000,000, 432,000 square foot west coast distribution center in the Fox Field Industrial Area. The construction of the Michael's Distribution Center was just the beginning. The Lancaster Redevelopment Agency was able to secure the $60 million, 1,000,000 square foot Rite Aid Distribution Center to Fox Field. In addition, the Antelope Valley Fairgrounds built its new facility at Fox Field, offering a turf club, concerts and more. Rite Aid, Michael's and the AV Fairgrounds are all located at Ave. H and the 14 Freeway. Fox Field continues to attract industry. According to the Antelope Valley Journal, May 28, 2004, Lancaster city officials announced that Regent Aerospace would be another manufacturing company to set up shop in the Fox Field Industrial Corridor. Regent is the world's largest independent company that specializes in the refurbishing of commercial aircraft seats. Regent will build up to 6 plants at the corner of Ave. G and 50th Street West. Initially Regent will occupy a 75,000-square-foot facility. Additional high-end office park buildings ranging from 250,000 square feet to 275,000- square-foot will be built to accommodate Regent's future growth and will be available for lease or sale to other companies. Regent will initially employ 300 people at the Fox Field facility. To add icing to the cake, Larwin Commercial has plans to build 210,000 square feet of speculative buildings, ranging in size from 7,000 square feet to 18,000 square feet at the northwest corner of Ave. G and 45th Street West. According the Larwin's Vice-President, Greg St. Clair: "Our major commitment to more than 20 new buildings in Fox Field is a testament to our confidence in the community." Any jobs we create in the Antelope Valley are good, but these high-paying manufacturing jobs at Fox Field are excellent," said Lancaster City Councilman, Ed Sileo. The growth of industry in the Fox Field area is also good news for nearby Rosamond. It is obvious that Rosamond's close proximity and affordable home prices would be very attractive to employees who work at the Fox Field Industrial Corridor in Lancaster.

According to the L.A. Daily News, June 1, 2005, Antelope Valley home prices are skyrocketing. For example, in Palmdale, typical sale prices on homes have climbed above $300,000. Going up twice as fast sale prices of homes in Los Angeles County as a whole, the median for new and resale homes in Palmdale hit a record $310,000 in April 2005, up 33 percent from the same month a year ago and up from $305,000 in March 2005, according to the California Association of Realtors. In Lancaster, home prices were up 33.7 percent over the year - to a record $274,000 in April 2005. In March 2005, the median price was $267,500 in Lancaster. In nearby Rosamond, the median sales price in April 2005 was $231,000, up 37.4 percent from April 2004.

Rosamond is located 11 miles north of Lancaster in Kern County, just north of Ave A, the Los Angeles-Kern County border. It is a community with some impressive residential and commercial developments. The Town of Rosamond experiences all 4 seasons.

According to the Antelope Valley Press, October 30, 2005, experts say Rosamond's population is going to double in the next 10 years. With that in mind, members of the Rosamond Community Services District (“RCSD”) decided they needed to come up with a long-term plan for the development of parks in the area. In August 2005, the RCSD hired a consulting firm. Then they put together a committee of community members to work on the project. They posed some hypothetical questions: What kind of parks do they want? Baseball fields? What equipment do they want in the parks?

This plan is important because Rosamond has some catching up to do, said Roy Imai, a senior project manager for Foothill Associates, the consulting firm that the RCSD hired a couple months ago. After mapping out the community's resources, Imai said Rosamond's population could be 40,000 by 2015. The community needs a master plan, Imai said, to work with developers to accommodate that population boom.

The master plan could help Rosamond get park funding from another source as well. Once it has been adopted by the RCSD, the organization will present the plan to Kern County along with a budget request. For example, to prepare for development, land needs to be acquired and set aside for parks and recreation facilities. After the plan is adopted, developers will have to adhere to building standards outlined in the plan. They may also have to pay an "impact fee" to help offset the cost of park construction in the area.

High profile homebuilders, such as Barratt Homes and Kaufman & Broad, have built impressive homes in Rosamond. Kaufman & Broad developed Westpark, which is a master planned community of about 600 homes on 7000 square foot lots. Westpark has a junior high school and a park, and is located on 40th St West; south of Rosamond Blvd. Homes in Westpark sell in the $200,000 range.

Rosamond also has the Tropico housing development and custom homes in the central area of town; west of town, and estate sized country homes on large acreage parcels. Skypark is one of the most interesting housing developments in Rosamond. Rosamond Skypark was developed in 1986 as a fly-in community with upscale homes on half-acre lots, featuring backyard airplane hangars and taxiway connections to the Rosamond Airport. Homes in Skypark sell for about $500,000. Rosamond Airport has a surfaced 3,600-foot runway with a self-service gas station for airplanes.

According to the Antelope Valley Press, May 10, 2004, the largest housing development ever to hit Rosamond should soon be under way. The 1,201-unit Copa de Oro, which will span more than 600 acres between Avenue A and Gaskell Road and between 110th and 120th streets west, was approved unanimously by the Kern County Board of Supervisors on April 27, 2004. An 18-hole golf course, part of the Copa de Oro community, was the focus of much of the concern over how much water would be required to maintain it. After working with developer R.L. Abbott, the two parties came to an agreement last fall that a mitigated negative declaration would be sufficient to determine the impact on present and future water supply as growth continues in the district, DeLano said. The development will have its own service district, treating its own sewage and providing its own water or purchasing it from the Delta near Sacramento. Although the district has just begun the Local Agency Formation Commission process to extend its boundaries to 110th Street West, it still covers about 33 square-miles, extending to 60th Street West. At completion, the project would reinforce the Rosamond area's position as Southeast Kern's most populous community. Lancaster is located approximately 11 miles south of Rosamond and already has a population today of over 120,000 and growing. Lancaster can grow to the east and to the west, but Rosamond can’t grow too far to the east, because that’s where Edward’ s Air Force Base begins. According to this article, the Copa de Oro development is expected to increase the Rosamond area's population from about 18,000 residents to about 22,500, which would be a 25% increase. With the strong demand for affordable housing in the Antelope Valley, what could Rosamond’s population grow to in the next 10 years?

This explosive residential growth has spurred commercial development. In the early 1990's Albertson's Market agreed to be the anchor tenant in a new shopping center, just west of the 14 Freeway. Since that time, Rite Aid and Radio Shack have opened locations also. Antelope Valley Bank has also located in Rosamond. As more and more affordable housing developments come to Rosamond, the need for expanded retail and commercial development may be seen in Rosamond.

Rosamond is often referred to as the Gateway to Edward's Air Force Base. This close proximity to Edward’s has resulted in some service men living off base in Rosamond. This has generated new housing construction. Edward’s hosts an annual Air Show that attracts about 200,000 to 300,000 people annually. During the base closures of the 1990's, Edward’s Air Force Base actually grew in population from absorbing other base closures. Edward’s Air Force Base has an approximate civilian and military daytime work force of 20,600 that has a combined annual payroll of about $500 million, making it one of the largest employers in the High Desert. Due to its enormous 530 square mile size, location, weather (360 flying days per year), and accessibility to aerospace contractors (in Palmdale), EAFB is a vital link in the testing of the nation's next generation of aircraft and weapon systems. The Jet Propulsion Lab, now called the Astronautics Lab, is located in the southeastern corner of EAFB. Edward's Air Force Base is where the Space Shuttle has been launched, and the home of NASA and a myriad of private companies and industries. Edward’s encompasses portions of San Bernardino, Los Angeles and Kern Counties. No doubt that the proximity of Rosamond to such a Goliath as Edward’s Air Force Base could only help the growth of this town in the 21st Century.

There are currently four schools in the Rosamond area that include 2 elementary schools, one middle school and one high school. Rosamond takes great pride in its Rosamond High School that is a modern School that can boast about having a first rate athletic field. These schools in the Rosamond area are part of the Southern Kern Unified School District. Rosamond’s College Students can attend the Antelope Valley College that is located about 11 miles away in Lancaster, and now provides some 4-year courses of study through Cal State University Bakersfield. The Antelope Valley College has a student enrollment of over 12,000. These schools can be a catalyst for new home construction for many families that are interested in locating in the Rosamond area. Rosamond has two public parks, one with a pool, and another that provides fields for sports activities. The parks include play equipment for children and picnic areas. The Rosamond Library shown above is also important for new families with school age children.

Rosamond is also famous for its Willow Springs International Raceway that is located to the north of Rosamond Blvd on Raceway Lane that is located between 70th St. West and 80th St. West. It holds all types of races, including various types of stock cars; formula cars and can attract about 25,000 people in a weekend. The Raceway has four tracks that would permit 4 different events to occur at the same time.

The Antelope Valley East Kern Water Agency (AVEK) gets its water from the California Aqueduct. The California Aqueduct was built at a cost of $3.7 billion. The Aqueduct provides supplemental water to approximately 20 million Californians and about 660,000 acres of irrigated farmland, according to the California Department of Water Resources. Twenty-two State Water Projects (SWP) dams and reservoirs are used to capture and store run-off from Northern California Mountains and Valleys. The bulk of the water imported by AVEK is treated and distributed to customers throughout its service area through the Domestic-Agricultural Water Network (DAWN) Project facilities. A $71 million bond issue has been completely repaid, which financed the development of the DAWN Project. The Dawn Project consists of more than 100 miles of water distribution pipelines; four Water Treatment Plants; and four 8 million gallon water storage reservoirs near Rosamond and Mojave. According to the Antelope Valley-East Kern Water Agency Website, the Rosamond Water Treatment Plant was established to support the needs of consumers in southeastern Kern County, an area that includes Rosamond and Mojave.

Mojave is located about 13 miles to the north of Rosamond and 24 miles to the north of Lancaster. It is situated at the junction of California Highways 14 and 58 that already have a large traffic count. Mojave is considered a gateway to the fertile San Joaquin Valley, the popular ski resorts of Mammoth, the Eastern Sierras, Las Vegas and the Los Angeles Basin. Mojave is also home to the Mojave Airport. The Mojave Airport is home to 140 companies that employ over 1300 people, making it one of southeastern Kern County’s largest employment centers. The Mojave Airport offers cutting edge aviation, high-tech manufacturing and light industrial enterprises at one of Southern California's best transportation hubs. Mojave is well located for industry, offering both the Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway and the Union Pacific Railway that serve the rail transportation requirements of companies and mining operations located in the Mojave area.

Avtel Services, Inc. Scaled Composites Mojo Jets National Test Pilot School Flight Research XCOR Progress Rail Services HPE Flight Control Systems HPE High Plains Engineering Derringer Aircraft Company Mercy Air Scroggins Aviation Interorbital Space Systems Translunar Research Fiberset ASB Avionics Tellair International Space Launch Corporation Pocket Rocket Society Derringer Aircraft Company EVA Mellor Printing BAE Systems

According to the Los Angeles Daily News, April 26, 2004, BAE Systems has reached a tentative agreement with one of its Mojave Airport neighbors to acquire a large hangar to accommodate future growth. BAE Systems Integrated Defense Solutions plans to acquire from Avtel Services Inc. a complex that includes a 73,000-square-foot hangar and several adjacent buildings. Under the proposed agreement, Avtel Services, an aircraft maintenance and aircraft storage company, will lease one of BAE Systems' hangars to continue its current operations at Mojave Airport. Bob Swanson, BAE Systems' IDS president, said the sale was undertaken to facilitate the growth of the Mojave operations by providing the facilities to perform a wider range of aircraft modifications. "We believe this facility promotes expansion of our business and allows us to pursue new opportunities we have not been able to accommodate in our current facilities," Swanson said. BAE Systems, which employs about 180 people, anticipates 10 percent annual growth at the Mojave Airport. "The airline industry has suffered the past few years, and we are optimistic that it is on the upswing," said Paul Nafziger, vice president and general manager of the Mojave operations, in the announcement. "Mojave is the ideal location for our customers -- we have the people, weather and facilities to service their needs." The Mojave plant's main source of business now is the conversion of Vietnam-era F-4 jet fighters into target drones for the U.S. military. On April 12, the Pentagon announced the awarding of a $17.1 million contract to provide 13 QF-4 aerial target drones and associated technical support. The new target drone contract runs through July 2006. The company is also a subcontractor on the F-35 joint strike fighter program. The company is modifying a Boeing 737 jetliner for Lockheed Martin to serve as a test bed for electronic equipment for that program. BAE Systems is an international company with major operations across five continents and customers in some 130 countries. The company employs more than 90,000 people and generates annual sales of more than $20 billion through its wholly owned and joint-venture operations. BAE Systems' Integrated Defense Solutions unit, headquartered in Austin, Texas, employs more than 1,000 people.

According to Desert News, June 26, 2004, the FAA approved the Mojave Airport as the first inland commercial spaceport in the U.S.A. This approval grants the Mojave Airport the right to support "suborbital reusable launch vehicle" missions to take-off and land at Mojave Airport like the flight of SpaceShipOne. Joann Painter, President of the East Kern Airport District, said the Spaceport offers great economic benefits to East Kern County. "I really believe this is the beginning of a new era - civilian space travel is going to open-up opportunities for new businesses and jobs, and I think the whole community, East Kern, and the Antelope Valley will benefit from this," Painter said. "We have seven rocket companies at the Mojave Airport- you have an inland spaceport — we have a bid right here on my desk from a company that wants to build a spaceport and wants to do a $100 million project at Mojave this year. This will open up the spaceport frontier to the commercial sector.” FAA spokesman Hank Price said the Mojave’s Spaceport License gives the Airport the ability to conduct space flights by companies holding current launch licenses. Scaled Composites and XCOR currently hold such launch licenses. XCOR's license differs somewhat from the first license issued to Scaled Composites in that it authorizes a rocket vehicle take-off from the ground. Scaled Composites' SpaceShipOne, in contrast, is air-launched from a carrier aircraft. Announcement of these licenses at the Mojave Airport has drawn interest in these Companies and their efforts from around the world. The FAA has issued five other spaceport licenses. Mojave’s license is the first for a commercial spaceport located away from a coast, and the first that is not located on a federal government site. The other three commercial spaceports licensed by FAA are at Vandenberg Air Force Base, Cape Canaveral, Wallops Island, Virginia, and on Kodiak Island, Alaska.

According to the Los Angeles Daily News, 5-1-04, Burt Rutan's financial backer for SpaceShipOne is Microsoft's Co-Founder, Paul Allen. Aerospace observers estimate that Paul Allen will invest between $20 million to $30 million in the project. In the international competition to win the $10 million X Prize for the first privately financed and reusable spaceship, eyes are turned toward Mojave's famed aircraft designer Burt Rutan. Rutan's company, Scaled Composites, appears to be the X Prize space race front-runner. On SpaceShipOne's latest flight test, on April 8, it hit a top speed of about 1,000 mph and climbed to over 105,000 feet. SpaceShipOne is a 25-foot-long rocket-powered craft that can accommodate three people. Scaled Composites received the nation’s first space license issued to a private company. To win the $10 million X Prize, a spacecraft must make two suborbital flights within two weeks. During each flight, the spacecraft has to reach an altitude of 100 kilometers -- 62 miles above Earth. Mojave Airport officials are developing plans to accommodate visitors for the launch and the X Prize Foundation is planning to conduct a Webcast of the flight. "It's a big deal for the nation, a big deal for California, and a big deal for Mojave," said Mojave Airport Manager, Stu Witt.

According to the Antelope Valley Press, 2-11-04, the U.S. Department of Commerce has approved the Mojave Airport as a foreign trade zone. A foreign trade zone allows goods to be imported without the typical federal excise taxes and custom duties. This is a major edge for international trade. Foreign goods can be admitted without dealing with any formal customs entry or duties till the assembled goods leave the foreign trade zone. It's possible for carriers to transport from one foreign trade zone to another or to a foreign country and save a lot of money. There are 230 foreign trade zones in the 50 states with goods valued at $175 billion annually. These foreign trade zones support over 365,000 jobs throughout the United States. Mojave Airport's approval as a foreign trade zone could prove to be a major benefit to existing businesses and new businesses that locate at the Airport. A significant benefit will be in fuel sales to customers. For example, to save as much as 30 cents per gallon in taxes, airline companies previously would send 747 jetliners and other planes maintained at Mojave Airport elsewhere to fill up. In the long run, the foreign trade zone could prove to be a major incentive for many more new businesses to locate at the Mojave Airport. This puts the Mojave Airport in a position to be the next economic driver for the Antelope Valley and East Kern County.

The city of Ridgecrest is in the Kern County portion of the Antelope Valley, and has a population of about 27,000 residents. It encompasses about 21 square miles. It is situated about 40 miles north of California City, about 80 miles north of Lancaster, and about 125 miles northeast of Bakersfield. Traveling to all of these nearby urban centers from Ridgecrest is easy, because of the proximity of U.S. Highway 395, Highway 178 and the 14 Freeway.



The Inyokern Airport serves Ridgecrest, and lies about 8 miles to the west. In a strong indication of the city’s residential growth in recent years, Home Depot arrived in late 2003. Other major retail companies are keeping a close eye on Ridgecrest, and the city’s industrial base continues to expand. Also opening is a new business and technology park to accommodate the city’s growing number of locally grown businesses and defense contractors. The China Lake Naval Air Weapons Division at China Lake further serves Ridgecrest with a large number of armed service personnel who contribute to the consumer base of the city. China Lake is also important to the country’s national defense.





The city of Ridgecrest can also take pride in its Ridgecrest Regional Hospital that is a state of the art hospital with plans for major expansion, which include a new cafeteria, a new entrance and lobby, a new Outpatient Services Center, and a 3-story tower that will contain a new surgery suite, ICU/CCU, inpatient beds, and pediatric beds.

The answer is prohibitive government regulations and expensive land costs in the larger cities are pushing companies and new residents to the Eastern Kern County region of the Antelope Valley.

In Los Angeles, Orange and San Diego Counties, businesses have to deal with all the requirements of the South Coast Air Quality Management Agency (SCAQMD) and other agencies, where it could take up to 2 years to get a permit to begin development. In Eastern Kern County, businesses can expand with the friendly, cooperative Kern County Air Pollution Control District (APCD) and other government agencies that have a reputation for being very, very pro-business.

In Los Angeles, San Diego and Orange Counties, the median priced home has soared to an average of about $600,000. In Eastern Kern County, the median comparable new home sells for about $200,000. With homes being offered in Lancaster and Palmdale at prices over $300,000, the communities in Eastern Kern County offer a more affordable housing option. In Los Angeles, San Diego and Orange Counties, undeveloped commercially zoned land parcels sell from about $20.00 to $60.00 per square foot, which is about $870,000 to $2.6 million per acre. Even in Lancaster and Palmdale, undeveloped land prices have already become expensive. Commercially zoned vacant land in Lancaster and Palmdale may be priced from about $7 to $20 per square foot or about $305,000 to $870,000 per acre, and many residentially zoned vacant land parcels in these cities have already gone through the roof. On the other hand, the communities of Eastern Kern County offer reasonably priced property in a dynamic growing region.

Professional Land Corporation specializes in choice, close in land parcels in prime locations in the Eastern Kern County Region of the Antelope Valley. Many of these properties are zoned residential, industrial or commercial. Prime acreage parcels can be purchased with affordable long term financing.