Developement in Eastvale
Once an area of intense development pressures, our community saw hundreds of building permits per month being issued, houses being built at break neck speed and shopping centers and parks following soon after; no wonder Eastvale became a destination for growing families escaping the overcrowded lifestyle of Orange and Los Angeles counties.
It’s clearly evident that development in Eastvale has slowed from previous conditions, but unlike most areas of Riverside County, Eastvale still enjoys a moderate pace of development and is still attracting all types of developers and builders that see Eastvale as a golden opportunity.
The most obvious of these developments is Eastvale Gateway South, just south of Limonite, between Hamner Avenue and the 15 freeway. Eastvale South, which is being developed by the same developer of the Eastvale Gateway, Lewis Retail, is comprised of over 70,000 square feet of retail space. Some highlights will include several sit-down restaurants, a drug store, gas station with car wash, and a variety of retail shops. This center is currently under construction and will be open by late summer of this year.
Other projects of interest include a new residential development by MBK Homes located on Archibald Avenue across from the Albertsons retail center. This development was approved some years ago and has just jumped back to life with 20 permits being issued by the County of Riverside in late 2009. According to Julie DeRossi, Director of Marketing for MBK Homes (an Irvine based company), model homes will be open this summer at a median price of $400,000. MBK plans on building more homes pending the success of their first phase of construction.
These new homes will provide a great complement to the new retail center located at the southwest corner of Schliesman and Archibald. Approved by the County in 2005, this center has been scaled back to meet the existing market needs and has replaced the grocery store with a multi-tenant office building. According to Rick Manners with Lewis Retail, the first phase of development will consist of a CVS drugstore, two fast food restaurants, and a day care center totaling 38,000 square feet. This center will begin construction in late March and should be open by the year’s end.
Lastly, at the far western side of Eastvale are two job-creating industrial centers, the Birtcher Development which is bordered by Archibald and Limonite and The Ranch at Eastvale, which is sandwiched between the Cucamonga Creek and Eastvale’s border with Chino. Together, these projects will provide approximately 2.9 million square feet of mixed-use retail and industrial development with the potential to create several hundred jobs over their life spans. Each project is in its final stages of approval with the Riverside County Board of Supervisors, but no construction plans have been finalized by the developers. However, the principal and development manager of The Ranch at Eastvale, Ward Mace, updated the residents at the January 26th Town Hall meeting to bringing Eastvale residents up to speed on their development plans (see Townhall update).