A 32-acre parcel of city-owned land that was snared by controversy in recent years will be split so that a pair of developers can pursue separate plans to build rental housing on one portion and a water park on the other.

The two projects – which are still in the discussion stages – would pump new life into a vacant parcel on the edge of a mushrooming industrial district.

Once known as the Northwest Sports Park, the land was the site of rodeos, tractor races and other community events before it was earmarked for a joint-use college campus plan that foundered and shifted to a Murrieta location.

"We’ve been in negotiations on both projects for nine months," Patrick Richardson, Temecula’s director of planning and redevelopment, said in a recent telephone interview. "We hope to reach agreements within the next three months."

The City Council authorized the parcel split last month without discussion. The city must formalize that process by preparing documents and recording a map that reflect such a change.

In a related action, the council also agreed to enter exclusive negotiations with a partnership that wants to build the first commercial water park in southwest Riverside County.

The site at the city’s northwest corner is one of the last large open parcels in Temecula. It flanks Murrieta Creek at Diaz Road and Dendy Parkway.

The entire site received extensive grading and dirt placement work about two years ago, when it was set become the home of the Temecula education complex.

That project, proposed by Capistrano Beach developer A.G. Kading, became mired in dispute before the council terminated a development agreement in March 2007.

City officials claimed Kading had failed to obtain the financing needed to move forward. Kading said he had secured the necessary loans, but the city lacked the patience needed for such a complicated project to come to fruition.

That development plan – which relied on city funding help – called for Advertisement
the construction of classroom buildings that would be shared by several colleges or trade schools as well as a child care center, research facilities, retail stores and apartments.

After that education project unraveled, Kading filed a $3.35 million damages claim against the city and shifted his development plan to Murrieta, where it is proceeding through the planning and review processes.

The Temecula site, which is owned by the city’s redevelopment agency, has remained dormant since then.

The emerging plan calls for developer R.C. Hobbs to build 192 apartments or townhomes on 11 acres of the site.

About 40 of the units would be rented to individuals or families who meet "very low" income guidelines, according to a city report.

In keeping with state law, the city could provide land or other incentives to the developer to assist with the project’s construction.

State law mandates that 20 percent of redevelopment revenues must be spent on affordable housing projects or programs.

The remaining 21 acres of the site could become the home of a privately owned water park that has experienced its own ups and downs in recent years.

If that plan moves forward, the Temecula Waterpark LP project would anchor the western, hillside portion of the city site.

As that plan takes shape, water park investors would pay the city a $50,000 deposit to help cover the project’s legal and escrow costs.

Plans to develop Splash Canyon on a privately owned nine-acre parcel unraveled about two years ago.

City panels approved that project’s construction, but a nearby property owner sued over potential traffic and parking impacts near the development site north of Winchester Road between Interstate 15 and Ynez Road.

Although the city rejected those contentions, a judge sided with the neighboring property owner and that development plan was shelved.

Richardson said the water park partners would pay fair market value for the city site if their development plan is approved and the project is built.

1. d smith says :

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2. rn says :

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3. wake up says :

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