ADELANTO – The Adelanto City Council has diligently in recent years to secure the cities finances while building the city up in order to provide for the needs of their residents. On Wednesday, October 24, 2018, the City Council received a presentation from developer Gary Miller about a development project to create a downtown hub for the City of Adelanto. The name this project was presented under was “Rancho Adelanto City Center”. This project is to include a new civic center complex and urban park, as well as mixed uses including private office space, retail, hospitality, health services, and residential.
These proposed changes will be an upgrade to the now much small City Hall building and park, the proposed project is set to more than quadruple the size of the current area which houses the City Hall, Richardson Park, Community Center, Senior Center, and Dog Park. “This project has been in the works for the past two-and-a-half years, it’s great to see that property has been secured and the plans are moving forward,” said Mayor Richard Kerr. “This is no longer just a pipe dream, this project will become a reality and we’ll have an area we can all be proud of,” Kerr added.
In order to complete this project, a new signal will be needed at Highway 395 and Cortez Avenue, an area that at this time does not yet intersect. “We would like this to be the entry point into the project and have a feel like the main street of the city, like Disneyland’s main street—only better,” said Miller. “A signal at this intersection is critical because we can’t attract national brands without it,” said Miller. “That’s what they need to get traffic to slow down and enter into the complex.” Miller and partners have met with CalTrans and a traffic study has been completed which concluded that the signal is feasible, acceptable, and safe for traffic. He is currently working with CalTrans to modify and modernize the plan for Highway 395. Mayor Kerr indicated that not only will this project take advantage of the tremendous development.
“Rancho Adelanto Center” will be able to capture tax revenue from folks stopping to eat, get gas or visit either of the proposed retail establishments,” said Kerr. “These folks from L.A. County would normally take I-210 to I-15 then on to Vegas and bypass Adelanto…now they’ll have a direct link through Adelanto,” Kerr said that the center will include walkable shopping and dining and will include upscale market-rate housing and a medical corridor that will include a medical center, assisted living, skilled nursing, and a health retreat. “When this project moves forward all the surrounding land will start to see additional development,” said Kerr. A land survey is expected to be completed next week, while other permits and environmental studies are pending. “We’ve developed the plans we have thus far based on conversations with Council and staff, but we welcome and will be soliciting public input as we move forward,” said Miller.
