San Bernardino property zoned for commercial use gets developer

The former Carousel Mall site isn’t the only large commercial property in San Bernardino the city wants to turn into a destination location.

The city council recently selected a developer for a smaller project officials believe has the potential to become a major revenue generator.

Upland-based Panorama Development, builder of Day Creek Square in Rancho Cucamonga and the Shops at Jurupa Valley, will develop the 17.6-acre Arden-Guthrie site near Highland Avenue and the Interstate 210 Freeway.

The property, now open space, is bordered by 20th Street, Arden Avenue and Guthrie Street.  The city council unanimously approved the proposed project Aug. 19.

“San Bernardino is open for business and is ready to move forward with this project,” said Mayor Pro Tem Kim Knaus in a statement. “It is always exciting when development comes to San Bernardino.”

In addition to its freeway access, the city-owned property is near Yaamava’ Resort & Casino, and the San Bernardino Soccer Complex, which hosts tournaments and attracts hundreds of thousands of fans annually, according to the statement.

“I can’t put a number on it, but I can say that that side of town could use a shot in the arm,” said Jeff Kraus, San Bernardino spokesman. “Being so close to Yaamava’, the soccer fields, and the freeways, it’s a prime location for commercial development. It has a lot of potential, but we have to make sure it’s done right.”

The city’s goal is to make the site – a regional destination like Yaamava’ and the soccer complex, where people from outside of San Bernardino come for an event and spend their money.

Those entities draw approximately 14 million and 700,000 patrons a year, respectively, according to Kraus said.

“The Arden-Guthrie property is the second-largest developable property in San Bernardino that is under the city’s control,” Kraus said. “Only the Carousel Mall site (42 downtown acres next to Interstate 215) is larger. Arden-Guthrie a major opportunity. In baseball terms, it’s a home run.”

San Bernardino’s now-defunct redevelopment agency bought the Arden-Guthrie property in 2006, with a loan it received from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. The property took three years to clear and has been vacant ever since.

The city tried to develop the site in 2010 and 2014 – Target reportedly considered putting a store there – but poor market conditions prevented anything from being built.

One year ago, San Bernardino’s Economic Development Department solicited requests for proposals regarding the Arden-Guthrie site, Panorama Development was one of two development companies to submit a proposal.

Potential businesses include retail, grocery, restaurants, office, daycare, lodging, and entertainment, according to a staff report.

The site is zoned for commercial use, but zoning designations can be changed, and San Bernardino officials are open to other possibilities, provided they generate revenue and improve the eastern/northeastern part of the city.

“If (Panorama Development ) comes to us with a market study and says, ‘we need a hotel’ we’d consider it,” Kraus said, “If they said ‘we need an office or housing’ we’d consider that, too. We’re not closing out any options.”

By the end of this month, the city and the developer expect to enter into an exclusive negotiating agreement, a short-term arrangement that will allow both parties to work out the fine points of a development agreement.

At least for now, the city appears to be looking for a basic commercial-retail development and Panorama Development’s track record indicates it can deliver such a project.

“Look at their portfolio and the retail centers they’ve built,” Kraus said. “That will give you a good idea of what we’re looking for.”

Panorama Development officials have said they will soon begin trying to attract businesses to the Arden-Guthrie property. Also, negotiations between the city, the developer and the California Department of Transportation regarding the possible construction of an off-ramp on the Foothill Freeway near the property site will continue.

Developing the property could take three to five years, according to Wes Fifield, Panorama Development’s founder and owner.

During its 26 years in business, Panorama Development has built projects that included several major retailers, including Target, CVS, Walgreens, Aldi, Ross, Burlington, Fitness 19, Starbucks, and In-N-Out Burger.

“We’ve done this kind of project many times,” Fifield told the council.  “The Target project we just built in Jurupa Valley is one of the largest Target-anchored shopping centers in California. We know how to deal with tenants, which is what developing this kind of project is all about.”

People who live in the Inland Empire want to see more retail projects like the ones in Los Angeles and Orange counties, Fifield told the council.

“Yes, people shop on the internet, but they still want to go to the mall and shop,” Fifield said. “What you’re trying to create is a gathering place, where people go to socialize, not just shop. That’s true of any quality retail development.”

The Arden-Guthrie property has sat vacant for years, but that should not make it less attractive to potential tenants, even large ones more likely to generate a lot of sales tax revenue, which San Bernardino desperately needs.

“We’re planning on talking to the big retailers like Home Depot,” Fairfield said. They’ve looked at the property before and passed, but maybe they’ll say yes this time.”

Developing the Arden-Guthrie property would be a major coup for the city, Councilman Fred Shorett said.

“For as long as I’ve been on the council we’ve been dealing with this piece of property,” Shorett said.  “I’ve been here for 17 years, and it’s been vacant for all 17 of those years. We’ve had people say they’re going to bring someone, but no one has been able to pull the trigger.”

The council selected Panorama Development over Schneider Commercial Development in Redlands, which has built multiple projects in the Inland Empire. Schneider Commercial’s portfolio includes the Walmart Neighborhood Market at 2045 E. Highland Ave. in San Bernardino, which opened in 2012.

“It (was) a difficult choice between two qualified developers,” Shorett said.