March 3, 2017 • www.myvalleynews.com • Valley News
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Lake Elsinore is exploding with growth, Part 1; overview and infrastructure Paul Bandong PBANDONG@REEDERMEDIA.COM
Editor’s note; Lake Elsinore is one of the fastest-growing cities in California and the nation. The first in a three-part series detailing the explosive growth planned for Lake Elsinore, Part One is an overview and covers growth infrastructure project. “Welcome to the Action Sports Capital of the World,” Lake Elsinore Mayor Bob Magee said at a recent broker and developer meeting with the Lake Elsinore Valley Chamber of Commerce. Magee began to list city highlights, including 8,000 homes with a projected growth of another 1,100 in five years, 3 million square feet of industrial and commercial development in process or planning, including a 520,000 square-foot indoor sports complex, stocking the lake with 100,000 pounds of fish, Lucas Oil Off-Road Racing March 24-25, hosting the San Diego Padres at Storm Stadium March 31, Fox Sport West’s “Angler Chronicles” filming episodes on Lake Elsinore and the 49th running of the Lake Elsinore Grand Prix “Return to the Streets” Nov. 10-12. “A partnership with the Lake District and 30 years of planning and work has positioned us for an amazing growth spurt and lots of opportunity,” he said. The city is updating its East Lake Specific Plan and its Downtown Master Plan. It has recently also completed a new Drainage Master Plan, Facilities Master Plan, Nexus studies and an Alignment study. According to Michael Bracken, managing partner and chief econo-
mist of Development Management Group, Lake Elsinore has a compelling story to tell. The city – which had 3,530 residents in 1970 – currently has a population of 62,000 and grows by 2,000 residents per year. The population has grown 126 percent since 1990; California’s population grew 27 percent in that same period. Median household income is approaching $75,000 per year. Median age is 31. Housing is affordable with a median home price below $300,000. Property values rose 12.5 percent between 2014 and 2015. Lake Elsinore is averaging 600 new homes annually and is one of the fastest-growing cities in the United States. Retail sales within a five-mile radius average $1.09 billion annually. Sales tax revenue rose 9.2 percent last year. Revenues from property taxes rose 4.5 percent; revenues from Transit Occupancy tax grew 40 percent. The city touts many advantages for businesses, including free technology-based analyses and reports and a fast-track program. Lake Elsinore’s industrial parks are located within designated HUBZones that provide federal contracting preferences to small businesses. The city is also finalizing its Foreign Trade Zone designation to allow duty-free treatment of U.S. plants engaged in international trade. Infrastructure advantages include state–of-the-art Verizon FIOS fiber optic network, a non-reclaimable wastewater line and no utility use tax for electric, telephone, cellular, gas and water. Lake Elsinore is centrally located on the Interstate 15 corridor with an
extensive transportation network that includes five international airports, three local commuter airports, two deep water ports, rail transport and major trucking companies. Lake Elsinore is 68 miles to San Diego, 74 miles to Los Angeles, 60 miles to Orange County and 30 miles to Riverside. Lake Elsinore has more than 15,000 acres of undeveloped land; 1,250 acres are freeway frontage and currently over 23,000 planned units are yet to be built. “The desire for a balanced economy of residential, commercial, industrial, office/flex and tourism make this area attractive for development and growth,” Bracken said. Lake Elsinore’s Capital Improvement Projects budget is $76.4 million to support the projected growth and 60 active projects currently. The Cal Trans project to redesign the five Lake Elsinore I-15 on-ramps and off-ramps to accommodate projected traffic flow is still being studied; one option being discussed is European-style “roundabouts.” City engineer Brad Fagrell described $26 million in infrastructure projects slated for the next 18 months. The relinquishment of state Route 74 from the county to the city should be done by April 2017. The affected section is from I-15 to the east city limit. Installing 96-inch concrete drains on 3rd Street will be completed July 2017 at a cost of $3.9 million. Major roadwork projects include the Camino del Norte extension and realignment with Canyon Estates Drive to be completed September 2017 at a combined cost of $4 mil-
Michael Bracken, managing partner of Development Management Group, presents a compelling picture of growth for brokers and developers at a local chamber of commerce presentation. Paul Bandong photo
lion; the widening of Railroad Canyon Road at a cost of $2,750,000 is also slated for September 2017 completion and intersection safety work at Gunnerson Street and state Route 74 will cost $2.5 million and be completed January 2018. The city will be coordinating with the water district on pavement projects at Country Club Heights, Illinois Street and Strickland Avenue and Pottery Street. All are scheduled for completion by the end of March 2017; also to be completed by the end of March 2017 is the pavement rehab at Gunnerson Street and the Community Development Block Grant curb, gutter and sidewalk rehab. The Elm Grove Beach parking lot will be done fall of 2017. These projects total $1,791,000. Signal lights will be installed at
Diamond Drive and Malaga Road January 2017, Diamond Drive and Village Parkway March 2017, Mission Trail and Campbell Street April 2017 and Lakeshore and Terra Cotta December 2017. Total cost is $875,000. Phase 2A of Serenity Park, which includes a BMX course, dog park and parking lot, is slated for spring 2017 completion at a cost of $800,000. Phase One of Summerly Community Park will cost $10 million and be completed in winter 2017. These infrastructure projects pave the way for the exploding growth of the city of Lake Elsinore. Part two of this series will describe planned commercial development for the city of Lake Elsinore.
Balloon & Wine Festival wins Calfest awards RENO, Nev. – The Temecula Valley Balloon & Wine Festival gained two more first place Celebration Awards Jan. 20 at the 2016 California/Nevada Festivals and Events Association Convention. The annual Temecula event won first place for Best Digital Marketing Campaign and Best Press Kit. Celebration Awards are given each year to events for outstanding
accomplishments in a variety of areas. Over 200 members belong to the organization including cities, chambers of commerce and fairs. Collectively, the organization represents more than 4,000 events in California and Nevada. The Temecula Valley Balloon & Wine Festival competes against events like the Gilroy Garlic Festival and the Sausalito Art Festival.
Andrea Jacobson, the festival’s executive director, presented a workshop on event websites during the Calfest convention. Utilizing her experience in the design process of the new 2016 festival website and citing website trends, she outlined specific needs for an effective and user-friendly event website. The festival’s new website won a Silver Pinnacle award
CarMax opens Murrieta store and production facility MURRIETA – CarMax, the nation’s largest retailer of used cars, celebrated the grand opening of its Murrieta store and the company’s largest multi-purpose location on the West Coast. CarMax Murrieta will serve as a reconditioning hub that will feed inventory to several of the company’s stores in Southern California. The location will also house CarMax’s first and largest, four-lane auction facility on the West Coast. In addition to production and auction services, the 35-acre property has a separate building for selling used cars to the general public with the stress free, no-haggle buying experience CarMax is known for. The facility is located at 25560 Madison Avenue and has the capacity to stock up to 400 vehicles at a given time. The opening of this new location has brought more than 250 jobs to Murrieta. “The CarMax Auctions business is continuing to grow, and we have been holding two auctions per week at some of our CarMax locations in the Los Angeles region in order to keep up with demand,” Carlos Raygoza, auction services location general manager of CarMax Murrieta, said. “The new four-lane auction facility in Murrieta will greatly support our continued growth, as we look forward to serving as many as 500 local dealers attending the auction on a weekly basis.” The Murrieta location is one of two new stores that opened this month in the Los Angeles area. CarMax also opened a store in Palmdale. Together, the Murrieta and Palmdale stores have brought more than 300 jobs to the Los Angeles region. In celebration of the Murrieta store opening, CarMax donated $5,000 to Michelle’s Place Breast Cancer Resource Center, a local nonprofit organization that supports women and their families with cancer care. CarMax associates recently volunteered with Michelle’s Place and nominated the organization to receive the donation. CarMax also announced that The CarMax Foundation will be providing a $10,000 grant to the Boys & Girls Club in Murrieta to support 100 local underserved youth. CarMax is also awarding a $10,000 grant to the Special Olympics Southern California to help fund sports
at the International Festivals and Events Association annual awards luncheon. Melody’s Ad Works created the winning press kit and digital marketing campaign. Established in 1989, the firm has been promoting the festival since 2001. The festival’s press kit also earned a
2016 Gold Pinnacle Award from the IFEA and a Polaris Award from the Public Relations Society of America. A yearlong production, the 2017 Temecula Valley Balloon & Wine Festival is held June 2-4, at Lake Skinner in California. For more information, visit www.tvbwf.com.
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CarMax in Murrieta has opened its doors for business.
equipment, coaching materials and transportation of youth athletes. CarMax associates nominated the Boys & Girls Club in Murrieta and Special Olympics Southern California to receive these grants. “Our Murrieta associates have been so excited about the volunteer activities we’ve been doing with these wonderful organizations in the area,” Christian Petersen, location general manager at CarMax Murrieta, said. “CarMax encourages associates to get involved and give back to our local communities, and we are pleased to continue making a positive impact in Murrieta.” The CarMax Foundation will also be donating an Imagination Playground valued at more than $15,000 to the Boys & Girls Club of Perris through its partnership with national nonprofit KaBOOM! to make play more accessible to children and families. Imagination Playgrounds are innovative, loose-parts playgrounds that engage children in creative play that is physically challenging and collaborative. The Boys & Girls Club of Perris partners with 13 local elementary schools and plans to incorporate the Imagination Playground in educational programming at each of these schools on a rotating basis. CarMax was founded more than 20 years ago to fundamentally change the way car buying is done. CarMax customers can shop for nearly every make and model at our stores or online at www.carmax.com.The CarMax Foundation has granted more than $35 million on behalf of associates across the country since 2003.
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CarMax is the nation’s largest retailer of used cars and operates more than 170 stores in 39 states nationwide. CarMax revolutionized the auto industry by delivering the honest, transparent and high-integrity car buying experience customers want and deserve. For more than 20 years, CarMax has made car buying more ethical, fair and stress-free by offering a no-haggle, no-hassle experience and a large selection of vehicles. For more information, access the CarMax website at www. carmax.com.
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