1988
Riverside International Raceway closed in August.
1990
City of Moreno Valley population reaches a
population of 118,779, and the community makes news as the fastest growing city
in the country.
1992
Moreno Valley Mall at Towngate
opened at the old raceway site, just about the time
the economy took a major dump.
Throughout Southern California cities and towns were badly hurt by the
crash. Most economists called it a
recession, but in the Southern California region many folks considered it a
depression. Call it what you may, but it
lasted for several years.
1995-1999
March Air Force Base de-commissioned to a reserve
base. City offices relocated into the
first city-owned “City Hall” building on Frederick Street, just south of
Alessandro Blvd. The boom of the late
1980s and early 1990s subsided and the city economy slowed, with layoffs
occurring in both the city employees and the school districts. In 1995 the official estimate of population
was 139,300 people, making it California’s 25th largest city.
2000-2005
The
major “recession” of the 1990s finally ended with a major increase in growth
bringing a large number of residential developments. In
the 2000 Census, 142,381 folks were counted, making it the state’s 29th
largest city. Commercial and
industrial projects began sprouting throughout the city, including a new LOWE’S
Home improvement store, and WALGREEN’s new 750,000 square foot warehouse,
housing their Southwestern US distribution center (Opened Jan 2004). Other large projects included new office
buildings for WASTE MANAGEMENT, BUREAU OF LAND MANAGEMENT (BLM) which relocated
from Riverside to a spot across from City Hall and a new SOCIAL SECURITY
OFFICE, also across from City Hall.
The
90’s recession was forgotten as major growth began. Population estimates in 2003 placed Moreno
Valley’s population at nearly 151,000.
Some
of the major projects that were built in this time period include:
·
WASHINGTON
MUTUAL BANK, built a larger facility in Towngate Center.
·
5
NEW PARKS
·
SENIOR
CITIZEN’s Apartment building on Eucalyptus Ave, just east of Heacock.
·
SUPER
WALMART built just west of the Auto Mall.
·
CIRCUIT
CITY, WENDY’S, MIMIS, APPLEBEES and BAKER’S BURGERS restaurants opened south of
LOWE’s on Day Street.
·
HYUNDAI: A new dealership located at auto mall.
·
HOME
DEPOT: A second Moreno Valley store at
the northwest corner of Perris Blvd and Iris Ave. opened in January 2004.
·
LAKESIDE
PLAZA: a new shopping center anchored by a Stater
Brothers grocery store opened at the northwest corner of Lasselle/Iris,
while the northeast corner shopping center was anchored by a LONG’S DRUG
STORES.
Numerous other commercial
developments popped up, while industrial construction included a dozen or so
“Big Box” warehouses built on spec. Some
of these were quickly leased out as distribution centers for national chains
such as LOWES and ROSS DRESS FOR LESS.
In
2003 the city issued over 5600 building permits, the largest number since 1989.
Beginning in 2001 sales prices on existing home increased 20% or greater per
year, while new home prices pushed into and quickly exceeded the mid-$200,000
range. Both new and existing homes were selling very well and there was also
much commercial and industrial expansion.
The City ventured into the electrical utility business.
2005-2009
One
of the trends that was not foreseen was building
permit activity beginning to slide ever-so slightly in 2004 and 2005. During the summer of 2006, the housing market
peaked in with existing home sales prices routinely exceeding $400,000. New tract home sales increased in fervor,
with some of the largest tract homes seeing prices approaching $750,000. By the
end of summer in 2006, the housing bubble burst and house prices began to slip
slightly. Commercial and industrial growth continued to catch up to existing
rooftops, but the pendulum had begun to swing the other way.
Construction
began on the city’s largest shopping center (outside of the mall) and anchored by
California’s 1st SUPER TARGET.
The Stoneridge Town Center is located south of
the 60 freeway between Nason and Moreno Beach, west
of the Super Walmart and also includes a VISTERRA
CREDIT UNION branch, JACK IN THE BOX, ROUND TABLE PIZZA, KOHL’S, BEST BUY and
other businesses. Located just to the
east, the city’s second CIRCUIT CITY, a STAPLES and a
PETSMART were in process of construction.
Further south another new shopping center was anchored by a STATER
BROTHERS MARKET. Unfortunately Petsmart and Staples never opened; victims to the crashing
economy. Circuit City no sooner opened
than it was on the corporate hit-list for closing.
More
restaurants and a pair of large hotels were completed in the Towngate area in the western end of town adjacent to the
mall. In mid 2007, the Moreno Valley
Mall at Towngate began renovations and shifting of
existing tenants, while wooing new national chains including one of the first
HARKIN’S THEATERS in California on the mall pad once designed for Bullock’s,
which company filed bankruptcy in the early 1990s.
By
the end of the year, sales of existing and new homes had dropped dramatically
and showed signs of crashing far lower than what they were at the peak in the
summer of 2006. Because of the lenient lending requirements of various
financial institutions, thousands of homes, both older and brand new, were
foreclosed upon. Many of those residents
quickly found themselves owing way more than the house was worth. Some
remained, but many bailed, leaving empty homes, many of which were nearly brand
new.
One
of the most controversial issues that occurred in the city of Moreno Valley
happened in February 2007 when the eastern portion of the city was unofficially
renamed Rancho Belago by the City Council at
the behest of a large developer. This
was claimed to have been done to aid in marketing the more rural eastern side
of town, AND as an incentive to attract “upscale” development. Some folks
decried the renaming, while others embraced it.
The signs were similar to those of Beverly Hills, and actually attracted
legal action from that affluent city, which resulted in a slight design change
AND lots of publicity. Forgotten in this
divisive fray was the fact that the City of Moreno Valley is in itself a name
that was only 24 years old. In 1984, the
city was incorporated from the three smaller communities: Moreno, Sunnymead
and Edgemont. Proponents of the change pushed the agenda of it being a
“neighborhood name” - despite the fact it consisted of about half the city’s
area - everything east of Lasselle Street from the
northern to the southern city limits, all the way to the eastern limit. The Anti-Belagoites
(you heard that term here first!) contended it would divide the city and
insisted that the proponents were pushing to secede from the City of Moreno
Valley and form their own city.
The
truth probably lies between those two extremes.
My own take is: Why do away with
a name that has been in existence since 1890 – MORENO. Especially since the old community of Moreno
lies in the heart of the Rancho Belago name.
In November 2008, three of the 5 city council seats
were up for re-election. As the seated council members remained unchanged for
about 12 years, it was interesting to see where the city would head with new District
1 and 3 members outpolling the incumbents. The District 5 incumbent council
member was re-elected for another term.
At this time and through early 2009, the widely touted national
recession slammed into Moreno Valley hard. As mentioned above, housing prices
had begun dipping, and by mid 2009, bottomed out at around 40% of where they
were just four years previously.
However, if there was to be a silver-lining to this recession; that was
the fact that many of the foreclosed homes were finally being purchased. With multiple bids on some of the homes,
prices finally showed signs of stabilization.
The other issue that plagued the city was the
bankruptcy and downsizing of major national retailers, which radically changed
the marketplace. Due to the recession
and newness of many of the stores for the surviving companies, when the
corporate mavens looked at the bottom lines, they’d find that the stores in
Moreno Valley weren’t performing up to “their standards”. As a result, many of the stores that closed
had only been open a short time, as they didn’t have an “official” track record
to fall back on. Some of the victims of
the recession included corporate failures such as Circuit City, Mervyns, as
well as many other smaller independents, and scads of Mom ‘n Pops. However, the economic downturn didn’t just
affect the housing and business sectors.
It also affected falling government revenue and cost of operation. To keep the budget balanced, the City itself
faced massive layoffs. It offered
long-time employees a “Golden Handshake,” encouraging them to retire. Dozens of long-termers took the offer,
affecting employment and service levels at City Hall. Those retirements, and their associated cost
savings coupled with other austerity measures enabled the city to prevent
itself from failing financially.
Despite the doom and gloom during this time frame, a
bright spot on Moreno Valley’s map was the complete revitalization of Sunnymead Blvd. This
major commercial thoroughfare is the closest thing this spread-out city has to
a Main Street and extends a tad over two miles from the eastbound State Highway
60 Pigeon Pass/Frederick Street offramp to Kitching Street, a half-mile east of Perris Blvd. Running parallel to, and just south of the
freeway, it is lined with numerous businesses and small shopping centers, many
of which are housed in old buildings that date back to the pre-freeway days
when Sunnymead Blvd was US Highway 60. This was the main road through the tiny
community of Sunnymead, leading traffic to and from
Los Angeles from the Coachella Valley and points east. Many in today’s community complained about
this “multi-million boondoggle” in a crashed economy, but most were unaware
that the monies budgeted for the project came from state and federal funds, and
were to be applied only to that specific project. The road has been completely reconstructed
and new medians, west-end entry signage, sidewalks, crosswalks and streetlights
were all installed above replacement underground utilities.
2010 ->
As the economic slump continued to drag on, the 2010
Census showed that the city was still growing, albeit slowly, with a recorded
population of 193,365. What did change,
and is changing the entire face of Southern California is the fact that the demographics
of the city are changing. Housing starts remained minimal, as was most all new
construction. Many new businesses opened.
Many closed. Some shopping
centers remained nearly vacant, while others adapted to the changing face of
the city and thrived. Despite all that,
housing prices began to advance slightly.
In November 2010, district 2 & 4 Council seats
came up for election, and those seats were hotly contested. When the dust settled, another long-time
member was gone, shifting the power in the council to two veterans and three
newcomers.
At the far east end of town
construction began on the massive Skecher’s
distribution center but the general economic malaise still had the city (AND
most of Southern California) still in its grip. The warehouse was completed and
is now serving the community and all of Southern California.
By 2012, the economy appeared to be in the process
of recovering. Over the past year, the
city has been feeling a small wave of optimism and looks to a brighter
future. At the time of this writing
(September 20) the election campaign posters are again plastered across every
available vertical surface and others are sprouting like weeds on every street
corner and patch of dirt soft enough to pound a stake into. This election will feature fierce battles in
Districts 1, 3 and 5, and will result in at least one new member on
council. In District 2 & 4, the
council seats are not up for grabs, leaving the District 2 member (and current
mayor) as the last of the “old timers.”
This is because the District 5 member is not running for reelection
because he is taking a shot at the State Assembly. In Council Districts 1 and 3,
the current council members are gearing up for their first reelection campaign
against an increasingly incumbent-hostile electorate.
(Updates coming soon)
The FUTURE
All in all, the city is still hurting from the
half-decade “recession” of the 2006-2012 period, but not
as bad as many other cities across the county, state and country. With the diverse workforce, job availability
and reasonably stable financial outlook, the City of Moreno Valley is beginning
to emerge from the worst economic “recession” since the 1930s, in pretty good
shape. Once we shake off the
sensationalized news of political issues, the city should stabilize. Granted, what the future holds is still
uncertain, but the light at the end of the tunnel is getting brighter, and I
don’t think it’s a train coming.
Actually it might be. As of
February 2015, there is actual work in progree on
upgrading the rail line at the west end of town to Metrolink
(LA Area commuter Light Rail) standards.
Also, check out the Facebook page for folks interested
in the history of Moreno
Valley.
Visit the City of Moreno
Valley’s AWARD-WINNING Website!
***
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FIRST
POSTED: May 20, 2001
LAST
UPDATED: February 24, 2015
***
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