Case Study: Pacific Coast Land Design achieves a pedestrian-oriented, water-efficient revitalization of Old Town Newhall with VectorWorks

A New Start for an Old Town

Pacific Coast Land Design (PCLD), a six‑person regional landscape architecture firm, was commissioned to revive Newhall’s historic Main Street—a once‑busy but declining downtown corridor. The City tasked PCLD with transforming the vehicular thoroughfare into a mixed‑use, pedestrian‑oriented village that honored the town’s western heritage, improved connections to the nearby Metrolink station, and addressed water‑use and business community concerns.

PCLD delivered a six‑block streetscape featuring brick sidewalks, gas‑lamp–style lighting, preserved Western Walk of Stars plaques, native and regionally adapted plantings, permeable paving, planters that retain 60% of sidewalk runoff, and efficient subsurface irrigation; the team used Vectorworks BIM and CameraMatch renderings for stakeholder engagement. Completed in 2014, the revitalization is anchored by a park and new library, has increased pedestrian activity, weekly markets and events, attracted new businesses, and earned broad community support.

Pacific Coast Land Design

Chris Roberts

Principal