In this work, an economical, high-titer method for the production of 4-hydroxyvalerate (4HV), 3-hydroxyvalerate (3HV), and 4-valerolactone (4VL) from the inexpensive and renewable carbon source levulinic acid was developed.  Titers of 4HV and 3HV in shake flask cultures both reached multi-gram-per-liter scale in both minimal and rich media.  To achieve these titers, we tested two strains of P. putida and examined two enzyme systems for removing CoA acyl carriers from intracellular hydroxyvaleryl-CoA intermediates: the ptb/buk system and tesB.  Once a suitable strain and enzyme system was found, the process was optimized at the shake flask scale in minimal and rich media for the high-titer production of both 4HV and 3HV.  To produce 4VL from 4HV, a pH-dependent equilibrium between 4HV and 4VL had to be overcome.  Because intracellular pH was found to be too high for the appreciable production of 4VL, we employed a membrane-bound, extracytosolic lactonase to perform the lactonization reaction in acidic culture medium and achieved multi-gram-per-liter production of 4VL.  To our knowledge, this work represents the first time that these hydroxyvalerates and 4-valerolactone have been produced from a feasible feedstock in shake flasks at the multi-gram-per-liter scale.