Residents of the San Gabriel Valley are being asked to conserve 20 percent of their household water use and limit outdoor watering to two days a week under an unprecedented action taken by the Board of Directors for the Upper San Gabriel Valley Municipal Water District (Upper District).
The Emergency Water Conservation Program, applies to the 18 cities and 22 water retailers in the San Gabriel Valley. This action follows Metropolitan Water District’s declaration of a Water Shortage Emergency for the State Water Project (SWP) dependent areas which requires SWP dependent areas to immediately cut water use by June 1, 2022.
Under the Emergency Water Conservation Program, the General Manager will continue to work with Metropolitan to implement the volumetric option for Upper District’s service area. Additionally, the Program will reinforce the actions under Upper District’s Water Shortage Contingency Plan – Level 2 and require robust conservation efforts for the region. The resolution calls for a 20 percent water use reduction and limits outdoor irrigation to two days per week for all Upper District’s retail water agencies.
Imported water supplies from the SWP help replenish the Main San Gabriel Groundwater Basin which accounts for 20 percent of the region’s local water resources. Imported water is delivered from the State Water Project, which the Department of Water Resources announced an allocation cut from 15 percent to 5 percent on March 18, 2022.
Additionally, under the Emergency Water Conservation Program, Upper District will expand its public outreach and education activities in the region to increase water conservation awareness and preserve the water storage levels of the groundwater basin. Upper District will implement a district-wide drought communications plan to support water use reductions and urges all local water suppliers and city councils to help their customers and constituents meet the 20 percent reduction.
Upper District’s mission is to provide a reliable, sustainable, diversified, and affordable portfolio of high-quality water supplies to the San Gabriel Valley; including water conservation, recycled water, storm water capture, storage, water transfers and imported water. Upper District services nearly 900,000 residents in its 144 square mile service territory.
Upper District serves all or parts of the following cities: Arcadia, Azusa, Baldwin Park, Bradbury, City of Industry, Covina, El Monte, Glendora, Duarte, Irwindale, La Puente, Monrovia, Rosemead, San Gabriel, South El Monte, South Pasadena, Temple City, and West Covina. Governed by a five-member elected board of directors, Upper District is a member agency of the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California. Annually, more than 78 billion gallons of water is used in Upper District’s service area.
For more information about Upper District, please call 626-443-2297.
George Smith Partners, a Los Angeles-based commercial real estate capital advisory firm, arranged $47 million in construction financing for Lumia, a 127+ unit ground-up multifamily project in Azusa, CA.
The Transit Orientated Development Mixed Use project broke ground in early 2022. Lumia will be a 5-story building with one level of subterranean parking consisting of 127 apartment units and approximately 10,000 SF of commercial, retail, restaurant space which can be divided into 6 separate units. There will be 176 parking spaces, 43 of those will be designed as EV stalls.
According to the developer, the Lumia development is poised to become a premiere option for future residents as they contend with rising housing costs and the inflationary pressures consumers face. Lumia will be one of the lowest price point options for a Class A apartment building in the San Gabriel Valley. Coupled with the Gold Line mere steps away, future residents will be able to take world class public transportation to employment and entertainment options giving them better control over their transportation costs and adding to their household bottom line.
The developer is the Serrano Development Group and they are excited to be working in Downtown Azusa. Lumia marks their second major investment in the City and is a reflection of the confidence in the ongoing renaissance of Downtown Azusa. Residents will enjoy thoughtfully appointed units with an emphasis on technology, making Lumia a premier housing option in the San Gabriel Valley.
Lumia is located directly across from the Azusa Downtown Metro L (Gold) Line station, a new bus station, Target and Smart & Final. This project will provide housing and retail opportunities for healthcare professionals at the City of Hope and Kaiser Permanente. The address is 800 N. Azusa Avenue, Azusa, CA.
The City of Baldwin Park has received two Proposition 68 Statewide Park Development and Community Revitalization Program grants from OGALS totaling $6,375,000.
The first award of $3,285,000 will be used to green the paved road along the Big Dalton Wash with a bike trail, lighting, and four pocket parks on Garvey Avenue, Dalewood Street, and Francisquito Avenue.
The second award of $3,090,000 will go to develop the recently acquired 0.16-acre lot next to Barnes Park and an existing 0.18-acre area of the park. Upon completion, the park will have a universal-access playground featuring shade structures, two basketball courts, a futsal court/mini-pitch soccer field, a picnic area, and public art as well as an expanded parking lot, ornamental safety fencing and lighting, and landscaping.
Newmark has arranged the sale of Country Fair Shopping Center, a multi-tenant neighborhood shopping center in Chino. The Santa Ana based Red Mountain Group acquired the 168,264 sq foot multi-tenant shopping center from a publicly traded REIT based in New York for $42.2 million.
Located at 11901-12089 Central Ave., Country Fair Shopping Center is 92 percent occupied. Current tenants include PetSmart, Rite Aid, Dollar Tree, Harbor Freight Tools, America’s Tires, Kaiser Permanente and Sherwin-Williams.
Although Chino Hills trash customers submitted 6,680 protest ballots against trash rate hikes, the number fell short of the 11,390 needed to defeat the increases.
Scott Koppel, the city’s Prop. 218 consultant, announced during Tuesday’s city council meeting that of the 6,680 ballots returned by customers, 858 could not be counted because they were not filled out correctly as they were either not signed or not properly marked.
California voters in 1996 approved a statewide ballot measure called Prop. 218, drafted by the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers’ Association, that prohibits cities to impose certain taxes or fees without a notice sent to the customers, or property owners. A Prop. 218 vote has never passed in the city’s history.
On July 1, residents will see an increase on their trash bill from $25.02 per month to $26.25 per month the first year.
The rates would increase every year for the next five years, up to a maximum of five percent per year, but could be less.
Waste Management will start its contract with the city on July 1.
Residents will receive a bill directly from Waste Management but there might be a slight overlap with the City of Chino Hills utility bill covering the end of June, said city officials.
The City of Claremont is reminding residents and businesses that the use of gasoline-powered leaf blowers is strictly prohibited in Claremont. Electric or battery-powered leaf blowers may be used and operated between the hours of 8 a.m. and 6 p.m. seven days a week and gasoline-powered vacuums are permitted.
According to the City no leaves or other debris shall be blown into the street, sidewalk or beyond the [resident’s] property line. Noise associated with the maintenance of property such as mowing, edging, and trimming can take place between the hours of 7 a.m. and 8 p.m. Monday through Saturday and between 9 a.m. and 8 p.m. on Sundays.”
For more information, contact the community improvement division at (909) 399-5467.
Fulgent Genetics, Inc., a technology-based genetic testing company focused on patient care in oncology, infectious and rare diseases, and reproductive health, announced the opening of its new state-of-the-art oncology laboratory in El Monte. The location is near the Company’s global headquarters in Temple City. This new CLIA-certified lab will enable Fulgent to expand its capabilities in somatic molecular diagnostics and cancer testing and more efficiently serve oncology clients on the West Coast of the United States.
Fulgent’s new 25,000 square foot state-of-the art facility will supplement its next-generation sequencing ("NGS") capabilities with testing across immunohistochemistry, flow cytometry, cytogenetic analysis, fluorescence in-situ hybridization ("FISH") and molecular genetics.
Fulgent has made significant cash investments in the build-out of the new facility in El Monte and plans to make ongoing investments in sales and support infrastructure to further scale the operations of the lab on the West Coast. The facility is located at: 4401 Santa Anita Avenue, El Monte, CA 91731-1611
Clearwater Living®, a real estate and property management company dedicated to the ownership, operation and development of high-quality senior living communities, has opened a sales office for Clearwater at Glendora, a 117-unit, luxury assisted living and memory support community currently under development in Glendora.
Construction on Clearwater at Glendora began in spring of 2021. The two-story, approximately 117,000-square-foot property is being built on nearly three acres just off the Foothill Freeway at 333 W. Dawson Avenue. When it is completed later this year, the senior living community will feature 88 assisted living and 29 memory support apartments with studio, companion and one- and two-bedroom layouts.
The sales office is located at 123 W. Route 66 and is open Monday through Friday and by appointment on weekends to provide interested residents and their families with an opportunity to preview the array of amenities and services that will be available at the community.
Residents can look forward to artisanal chef-prepared food in multiple dining venues, club rooms, fitness center, a full salon, and several indoor and outdoor common areas. Additionally, assisted living and memory care residents will have 24/7 access to well-trained nurses and caregivers who will support the residents' daily activities.
Clearwater at Glendora is the company's sixth community in California and Nevada, with plans for additional developments in the pipeline. To learn more about Clearwater Living, visit ClearwaterLiving.com.
Amazon opened a new Amazon Fresh grocery store in La Verne on April 28th.
The store offers Just Walk Out shopping, a cashierless experience that Amazon recently launched at Houston’s Minute Maid Park baseball stadium and at a Whole Foods in Washington, D.C.
The store is 35,000 square feet and has an assortment of national brands, high-quality produce, meat and seafood, as well as a range of prepared foods, including fresh-baked bread, made-to-order pizzas, rotisserie chickens and hot sandwiches. The store will also carry 365 by Whole Foods Market organic products; local brands such as Pizza Port Brewing, CoolHaus Ice Cream and Rockenwagner Bakery; regional favorites such as Duke’s Mayo, Ellenos Yogurt and Boston Chowda; and Amazon-exclusive brands such as Aplenty, Cursive and Fresh, as well as Amazon’s newly announced Fresh Plant-Based products.
Amazon Fresh has built its brand as a value grocery format, and as such, these newest store will continue to offer everyday low-price items, including 15-cent bananas, 89-cent freshly baked bread, $1.99 freshly baked pizza slices and $4.97 rotisserie chickens.
The La Verne store is at 2229 Foothill Blvd in La Verne.
Rexford Industrial Realty the local REIT announced that it added another two industrial properties in Ontario.
The first acquisition is where Prologis is building a 4.1 million-square-foot warehouse for Amazon. Rexford acquired two buildings with 124,243 square feet at 1550-1600 Champagne Avenue for $46.9 million, or $377 per square foot. Rexford estimates the 6.4-acre Class A property is leased at 50 percent below market rates. When the current lease expires, Rexford plans to re-lease for market rent.
The second acquisition is at 1154 Holt Boulevard. Rexford paid $14.2 million, or $404 per square foot, in a short-term lease-back deal. The newly constructed 35,000-square-foot building is situated on 1.7 acres of land near the Ontario International Airport. Again, when the current lease expires, Rexford intends to re-lease at market rates.
North Palisades Partners bought a 60,000-square-foot warehouse in Pomona for $43.5 million in an off-market deal.
The Newport Beach-based industrial real estate firm purchased the 11-acre property at 2000 Pomona Blvd. from a private seller, the Los Angeles Business Journal reported. The building’s tenant will lease back the property for a year.
The warehouse property is well positioned at the western gateway to the Inland Empire, one of the tightest industrial markets in the U.S. Industrial vacancy rates in Riverside and San Bernardino counties were below 1 percent in the fourth quarter of 2021.
In comparison, Los Angeles County industrial properties saw a vacancy rate of 1.3 percent during the same period, down from 3.1 percent in 2020, according to data from Jones Lang LaSalle. Markets such as the South Bay and Mid-Cities saw vacancy rates of less than 1 percent.
Also, Texas-based MAG Capital Partners has acquired Charlmont Village, a 55-unit townhome community in the city of Ontario, for $23.9 million, or about $434,545 per unit. The price is more than twice the median price per unit in the Inland Empire, which jumped 31.2 percent over the past year to $196,783 per unit, according to a recent report from NAI Capital.
Texas-based MAG Capital Partners has acquired Charlmont Village, a 55-unit townhome community located at 1625 East G Street in the city of Ontario, for $23.9 million, or about $434,545 per unit. That’s more than twice the median price per unit in the Inland Empire, which jumped 31.2 percent over the past year to $196,783 per unit, according to a recent report from NAI Capital.
The gated community was completed in 1986 with a mix of two-, three- and four-bedroom townhomes that are two stories tall with private yards and attached two-car garages. The property also includes a swimming pool and clubhouse.
The city of Rancho Cucamonga has been announced as a winner of the 2022 Sustainability Awards by the Southern California Association of Governments (SCAG).
The City was honored in the category of Efficient and Sustainable Land Use for its PlanRC General Plan Update. Each chapter of the updated plan is rooted in core values identified by the community as most important and aspirational – health, stewardship and equity – with an expectation that the future can be harnessed to improve on the past. With a focus on reducing greenhouse gases to nearly 50% of 2018 levels by 2040, the city planned infill development to align with public transportation to support new development. Additional mobility choices in the form of new bike paths compliments miles of natural trails created for recreation.
RanchHarbor, a real estate investment firm based in Newport Beach, Calif., and Manhattan West, a fully integrated real estate investment and management firm based in Los Angeles, announced their joint venture (JV) partnership in the acquisition of a five-acre multi-tenant industrial warehouse property in San Dimas, Calif. The property includes four individual buildings encompassing 91,000 total rentable square feet across 44 individual suites. The JV purchased the property 98% occupied, substantially below replacement cost and at an attractive basis through an off-market transaction from a private seller.
The San Dimas property’s four concrete tilt-up structures feature 14-foot to 18-foot clear height and 44 ground-level doors. Unit sizes range from 1,232 square feet to 6,250 square feet. The property was originally built in 1979 and renovated in 2005 and has a 10‐year historical average occupancy of 95%. The JV’s business plan is to perform deferred maintenance and capital improvements to the property including “white boxing” to improve its marketability.
The site is located at 221-299 Allen Avenue and 906-924 Cataract Avenue. Positioned along the south side of the 210 freeway at the San Dimas Avenue exit, the property offers freeway identity and efficient connectivity to major transportation thoroughfares. It is less than a mile to the 57/210 freeway interchange and is accessible to the I-10, I-605 and I-15 freeways.