Fontana plans to remake its downtown

Add Fontana to the list of cities that is undertaking a major upgrade of its downtown.

Its most recent move in that direction came June 13, when the city council approved the construction of a four-level downtown parking structure at 8491 Sierra Ave.

Council members awarded a $12 million contract to Bomel Construction Co. in Irvine. When completed, the structure will have 330 to 350 stalls, according to a staff report.

The building will have two entry-exit points, one at Wheeler Avenue and the other at Lerner Land, and have a “footprint” of 130 by 230 square feet, the report states.

Construction is expected to start in the fourth quarter of this year.

“Getting the parking lot approved was important.” Mayor Acquenatta Warren said. “If we want downtown to take off, we don’t want people having to fight over parking.”

The parking structure at Sierra Avenue and Arrow Boulevard is important for another reason: it will be close to the city-owned Center Stage Theater, which closed nearly one year ago and is also being renovated.

At the same time the city awarded the parking structure to Bomel, the council also voted to spend $133,000 to sandblast and texture coat the theater’s walls and paint its exterior.

A staff report noted that the building is “showing signs of aging and is badly in need of outside improvements.

Fontana expects to spend $3 million restoring the 300-seat facility, which was a roller rink before it was converted into a live theater. Most of that money will come from the city’s general fund, a small portion from federal pandemic relief funds, according to Warren.

“Restoring the theater is probably the centerpiece of what we’re trying to do downtown,” Warren said.

Downtown renovations can take different approaches – more office development than retail, for example – but they all have one thing in common: they want to make it easier for residents to work and shop in their own downtown, rather than be entertained and spend their money somewhere else.

“We want a downtown that people can enjoy, something that will be a community gathering place,” Warren said. “We want people to be able to have fun. Why should anyone who lives in Fontana have to drive to Temecula to eat dinner or be entertained.”

Creating a stronger economic base is one goal of downtown revitalization, but it’s not the primary objective, according to Deputy City Manager Phil Burum.

“A revived downtown will give the city a stronger tax base, but that’s not the main reason we’re doing this,” Burum said. “We’re doing it because Fontana needs an entertainment district. We’re also doing it because we’re getting bigger.

“Our population is 220,000, and it’s growing.”

Fontana’s downtown is bordered by Upland Avenue to the north, Randall Avenue to the south, Mango Avenue to the east, and Juniper Avenue to the west. Its downtown core, which is where the major upgrades will take place, runs along Arrow Avenue between Arrow Avenue and Orange Way.

In addition to the parking structure, planned downtown upgrades include, according to Burum:

• Changing the name of Center Stage Theater to “State Red” in honor of Fontana High School graduate Sammy Hagar, former Van Halen lead singer. Hagar has agreed to play one show a year at the theater for five years and persuade some of his rock music friends to play there.

“Getting Sammy Hagar involved in this is huge,” Warren said. “He’s a hometown hero. It will really help us market the theater.”

• Creation of an Arts and Historic District, which will run along the Pacific Electric trail from Juniper Avenue to the packing house building east of Miller Park;
• Major improvements to Miller Park, include a seven-foot-high wrought-iron fence that will surround the property. The park’s recreation building will also be refurbished;
• Development of The Lofts, a 29-unit apartment complex at Arrow Boulevard and Nuevo Avenue. That project will include some retail on its ground floor;
• Construction of a three-story apartment building across the street from the theater. That project, which will also have some first-floor retail, is expected to break ground in early 2024;
• Converting the former Bank of America building at Sierra Avenue and Arrow Boulevard into retail residential.

Negotiations with several downtown property owners, with an emphasis on finding more residential sites, are ongoing.

“We have to get more housing,” said Warren, who said Fontana’s downtown renovation will cost about $60 million and take roughly five years to complete. “Residential is what drives any downtown.”

Any downtown upgrade faces major obstacles, the largest of which is usually getting everyone to agree on what should be done, said Larry Kosmont, president and chief executive officer of Kosmont Cos. in El Segundo.

“A lot of California cities are upgrading their downtowns, but they’re operating in a different world than it was even a few years ago, before Covid,” said Kosmont, whose company advises public and private entities on real estate development. “Cities don’t just want retail anymore. They want retail, office and residential. That’s how you get traffic downtown.”

Fontana’s plan stands a good chance of succeeding, according to Kosmont.

“I think it’s a solid approach they’re pursuing, although I think it might cost more and take longer than they expect it to,” Kosmont said. “But I think they’re headed in the right direction. They’re trying to do what most suburban communities are trying to do, which is bring back downtown as a place to shop and be entertained.”