Saturday, December 13, 2025

Santa Cruz Changes 144: Changes in Scotts Valley


Compared to Santa Cruz, Scotts Valley changes have come at a much slower pace in the last few years. For example, it wasn't until September of this year that the city's first "affordable" housing project broke ground, near City Hall on Scotts Valley Drive.

The other main road in the L-shaped city is Mt. Hermon Road. A major change there has been the redevelopment of the old Skypark airport, which closed in 1983. The land is now mostly a city park.

Nextdoor to Skypark on Mt. Hermon Road is the King's Village shopping center. The city's Town Center plan, which has been kicking around since 2008, is a modest re-imagining of the shopping center area that includes adding housing. A more-ambitious example of this kind of effort might be the transformation of Aptos Village that has been underway for many years.

The Scotts Valley website has a page devoted to the Town Center plan