(Published Feb. 13, 2019)

The Board of Supervisors at its Jan. 29 meeting approved the Toscana Village at Temescal Valley shopping center to be constructed at the northwest corner of Indian Truck Trail and Temescal Canyon Road.

Tom Chavez of Speedway Development said grading for the project should begin in the second quarter of this year.

The 27-acre commercial center is to be constructed in two phases and when completed will have a gas station, restaurants, supermarket, and 194,000 square feet of office and retail space. There will be 15 buildings and 1,138 parking spaces.

The center’s 12-acre first phase will have six buildings – including a 16-pump ARCO station with car wash, an am/pm mini-mart, and two fast-food restaurants – one of which is Jack in the Box. Also planned are 4,500- and 6,000-square-foot restaurants, and a 39,000-square-foot, two-story building for offices and retail stores.

Proposed for the 15-acre second phase, to be constructed after completion of the first phase, are nine buildings totaling 133,000 square feet. Planned are two additional restaurants, office and retail space, a supermarket, and possibly a bank and pharmacy.

Planners recommend center’s approval

(Published Jan. 11, 2019)

The county Planning Commission last month voted to recommend to the Board of Supervisors the approval of a retail center planned at the northwest corner of Indian Truck Trail and Temescal Canyon Road.

Toscana Village at Temescal Valley is a proposed 27-acre commercial center to be constructed in two phases and when completed will have a gas station, restaurants, supermarket, and 194,000 square feet of office and retail space. There will be 15 buildings and 1,138 parking spaces.

The public hearing for the center could be on the Board of Supervisors agenda for the Tuesday, Jan. 29 meeting, but a public notice for the hearing has yet to be published.

In voting to approve recommendation of the development, Planning Commission members did impose conditions to the project based on concerns raised by Temescal Valley residents attending the meeting or through emails sent prior to the hearing.

The number of oak trees to be removed along Temescal Canyon Road must be re-evaluated with the possibility that oaks will be included in landscaping plans for the center. A striped bike lane along Temescal Canyon Road is now included in the project and the color scheme for the buildings must be similar to the Terramor housing development.

Concerns over too many traffic signals placed along Temescal Canyon Road proved to be unfounded. Even though the signals  were approved, they will not be placed unless justified by traffic congestion that slows traffic flow.

Residents were told that the issue of possible gridlock on Indian Truck Trail caused by motorists exiting the freeway and making a left turn to access the center would be handled by the county and Caltrans working together to coordinate the synchronization of traffic signals.

The center’s 12-acre first phase will have six buildings – including a 16-pump ARCO station with car wash, an am/pm mini-mart, and two fast-food restaurants – one of which is Jack in the Box. Also planned are 4,500- and 6,000-square-foot restaurants, and a 39,000-square-foot, two-story building for offices and retail stores. Tenants are now being recruited by Speedway Development, the project’s developer.

Some people have concerns that the only tenants announced for the center are the ARCO, am/pm and Jack in the Box. After the meeting, Speedway’s Tom Chavez said that potential tenants do not want to be disclosed until the project is approved.

Proposed for the 15-acre second phase, to be constructed after completion of the first phase, are nine buildings totaling 133,000 square feet. Planned are two additional restaurants, office and retail space, a supermarket, and possibly a bank and pharmacy. All necessary project approvals and the certification of the Environmental Impact Report apply to both phases. Not included in the approvals is the plot plan for the second phase which will need approval prior to construction of that phase.

Questions or comments on the project can be emailed to county planner Russell Brady, rbrady@rivco.org

View the Environmental Impact Report and other documents:
https://planning.rctlma.org/Home/PlanningNotices/EIRforToscanaVillage.aspx

Public hearing set for shopping center

(Published Dec. 14, 2018)
A retail center planned at the northwest corner of Indian Truck Trail and Temescal Canyon Road has completed the planning process and is scheduled for a public hearing before the county’s Planning Commission at 9 a.m., Wednesday, Dec. 19.

Toscana Village at Temescal Valley is a proposed 27-acre commercial-retail center to be constructed in two phases and when completed will have a gas station, restaurants, supermarket, and 194,000 square feet of office and retail space. There will be 15 buildings and 1,138 parking spaces.

The 12-acre first phase will have six buildings – including a 16-pump ARCO station with car wash, an am/pm mini-mart, and two fast-food restaurants – one of which is a Jack in the Box. Also planned are 4,500- and 6,000-square-foot restaurants, and a 39,000-square-foot, two-story building for offices and retail stores. Tenants are now being recruited by Speedway Development, the project’s developer.

Proposed for the 15-acre second phase, to be constructed after completion of the first phase, are nine buildings totaling 133,000 square feet. Planned are two additional restaurants, office and retail space, a supermarket, and possibly a bank and pharmacy.

Public comments to the draft Environmental Impact Report (EIR), released in July have been included in the final EIR. Noted were concerns about the number of oak trees to be removed, the undergrounding of power lines, center signage and the lack of bike lanes planned for the project.

Several commenters opposed the addition of three traffic signals along Temescal Canyon Road between the entrance to Terramor and the signalized intersection at Indian Truck Trail. Residents stated the signals would cause congestion by slowing the flow of traffic, including the large aggregate haulers which use this route to access the freeway heading southbound from the mines.

One commenter questioned the validity of the traffic studies, stating the service station and fast-food restaurants would attract many freeway motorists. He noted that the short expanse of Indian Truck Trail, between the northbound freeway on- and off- ramps and Temescal Canyon Road, would be gridlocked by motorists making a left turn to access the center.

The 14 comments submitted and the county’s response can be viewed at:
https://planning.rctlma.org/Home/PlanningNotices/EIRforToscanaVillage.aspx

Since the Dec. 6 public release of the final EIR, the We Are Temescal Valley Development Committee has compiled a list of concerns members feel have not been adequately addressed.
https://www.wearetv.org/blog/docs/toscana.pdf

The Planning Commission’s 9 a.m., Wednesday, Dec. 19 hearing is at the county Administrative Center, 4080 Lemon St., Riverside. If you cannot attend the meeting, comments about the project can be emailed no later than Tuesday, Dec. 18 to county planner Russell Brady, rbrady@rivco.org

DEIR released for proposed retail center

(Published July, 13, 2017)
A retail center planned at the northwest corner of Indian Truck Trail and Temescal Canyon Road has completed the planning process and is scheduled for a public hearing before the county’s Planning Commission at 9 a.m., Wednesday, Dec. 19.

Toscana Village at Temescal Valley is a proposed 27-acre commercial-retail center to be constructed in two phases and when completed will have a gas station, restaurants, supermarket, and 194,000 square feet of office and retail space. There will be 15 buildings and 1,138 parking spaces.

The 12-acre first phase will have six buildings – including a 16-pump ARCO station with car wash, an am/pm mini-mart, and two fast-food restaurants – one of which is a Jack in the Box. Also planned are 4,500- and 6,000-square-foot restaurants, and a 39,000-square-foot, two-story building for offices and retail stores. Tenants are now being recruited by Speedway Development, the project’s developer.

Proposed for the 15-acre second phase, to be constructed after completion of the first phase, are nine buildings totaling 133,000 square feet. Planned are two additional restaurants, office and retail space, a supermarket, and possibly a bank and pharmacy.

Public comments to the draft Environmental Impact Report (EIR), released in July have been included in the final EIR. Noted were concerns about the number of oak trees to be removed, the undergrounding of power lines, center signage and the lack of bike lanes planned for the project.

Several commenters opposed the addition of three traffic signals along Temescal Canyon Road between the entrance to Terramor and the signalized intersection at Indian Truck Trail. Residents stated the signals would cause congestion by slowing the flow of traffic, including the large aggregate haulers which use this route to access the freeway heading southbound from the mines.

One commenter questioned the validity of the traffic studies, stating the service station and fast-food restaurants would attractA retail center planned at the northwest corner of Indian Truck Trail and Temescal Canyon Road is a step closer to reality with the completion of the development’s Draft Environmental Impact Report (DEIR).

Toscana Village at Temescal Valley is a proposed 27-acre commercial-retail center to be constructed in two phases and when completed will have a gas station, restaurants, supermarket, and 194,000 square feet of office and retail space. There will be 15 buildings and 1,138 parking spaces.

The 12-acre first phase will have six buildings – including an ARCO station with car wash, an am/pm mini-mart and two fast-food restaurants. Also planned are 4,500- and 6,000-square-foot restaurants, and a 39,000-square-foot, two-story building for offices and retail stores. Tenants are now being recruited by Speedway Development, the project’s developer.

Proposed for the 15-acre second phase, to be constructed after completion of the first phase, are nine buildings totaling 133,000 square feet. Planned are two additional restaurants, office and retail space, a supermarket, and possibly a bank and pharmacy.

The DEIR took 10 months to complete following an initial study and scoping meeting held last August to receive public comment. Environmental issues addressed in the report include the “potentially significant” areas of Air Quality, Cultural Resources, Land Use Planning, Transportation/Traffic, Biological Resources, Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Noise.

The DEIR can be viewed at:
http://planning.rctlma.org/Home/PlanningNotices/EIRforToscanaVillage.aspx

Public comments on the DEIR are now being accepted until Monday, July 9 and can be emailed to county planner Russell Brady, rbrady@rivco.org

After all comments are reviewed and evaluated, the project will be processed for a public hearing before the county Planning Commission.

Aug. 2 deadline for comments on retail center

(Published July, 13, 2017)
The county has scheduled a scoping meeting on Monday, July 24 in preparation for an Environmental Impact Report for the commercial center planned at the northwest corner of Indian Truck Trail and Temescal Canyon Road.

The 1:30 p.m. meeting will be held at the county’s Riverside Administrative Center, 4080 Lemon St., 1^st floor, Conference Room 2A.

Toscana Village at Temescal Valley is a proposed 27-acre commercial-retail center to be constructed in two phases and when completed will have a gas station, restaurants, supermarket, and office and retail space totaling 194,000 square feet. There will be 21 buildings and 1,138 parking spaces.

The 12-acre first phase will have six buildings – including an ARCO station with carwash, an am/pm mini-mart and a Jack in the Box. Another fast-food restaurant is planned, plus 4,500- and 6,000-square-foot restaurants, and a 39,000-square-foot, two-story building for offices and retail stores. Tenants for these businesses are now being recruited by Speedway Development, the project’s developer.

An environmental assessment for the property has been completed and a draft Environmental Impact Report will be created from that initial study, as well as agency and community input heard at the scoping meeting.

___________________________________________________________________________________________________

The Notice of Preparation and Initial Study can be viewed at: http://planning.rctlma.org/Home/NOPforToscanaVillage.aspx

DEADLINE FOR COMMENTS IS WEDNESDAY, AUG. 2
Comments should be emailed to Russell Brady, rbrady@rivco.org
_______________________________________________________________________________________________

Following a presentation at the meeting, the public can get questions answered and voice comments about environmental concerns they may have with the project. The draft EIR only will address areas that the initial study has found to be “potentially significant.” These are: Air Quality, Cultural Resources, Land Use Planning, Transportation/Traffic, Biological Resources, Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Noise.

Comments are now being accepted on the project and can be emailed to County Planner Russell Brady, rbrady@rivco.org. Deadline for comments is Wednesday, Aug. 2.

Once the draft EIR is prepared, including proposed mitigations to lessen/eliminate the impacts, the public again will have the opportunity to comment on the project.

ARCO ampm first tenant for center

(Published Jan. 20, 2017)

People attending the January Temescal Valley Municipal Advisory Council meeting received an update on the 27-acre shopping center planned for the northwest corner of Indian Truck Trail and Temescal Canyon Road.

Tom Chavez and Winnie Wong, representing Speedway Development, said they would be resubmitting development plans for county approval in a week or two and hoped to begin construction in the fall.

The center will be constructed in phases with an ARCO ampm and fast-food restaurants planned for the first phase. Chavez said they would soon announce who the fast-food tenants will be.

More information on the development can be found scrolling down this page and the developer has created a Facebook page for updates: Speedway Development (www.facebook.com/Speedway-Development-1593218220970707/)

Plans for retail center announced

(Published Oct. 12, 2014)

Michael Bastian of Henry-Ann Company, representing Speedway Development at the Oct. 8 Municipal Advisory Council, provided more details on a proposed commercial/retail center to be built on Temescal Canyon Road across the street from the 1,443-home Toscana community.

Bastian said the 27-acre parcel will be built in three phases. The first three-acre phase, at Indian Truck Trail’s northound on-ramp to the I-15, calls for a service station/convenience store and two fast-food restaurants. He said discussions have begun with possible tenants, but he was not a liberty to name the businesses.

The second phase of about 12 acres will be commercial/retail businesses with the possibility of fine-dining restaurants. The final phase will be light industrial — maybe used for office space.

Each phase will  be constructed as tenants sign on to keep buildings from standing vacant.

Bastian also said the earlier color scheme of the buildings in shades of green and gold have been changed to match the Tuscan theme of the Toscana project — earth tones and red-tiled roofs. The name of the center has been changed from Temescal Valley Gateway to Toscana Village at Temescal Valley.

Bastain said signage identifying the tenants will be visible from the freeway, but will be more attractive than the signs at Dos Lagos and The Crossings.

He said the center’s layout presented a challenge with all the entrances facing the freeway, leaving the rear of the buildings to face Temescal Canyon Road. He said project designers are taking that into consideration and the back of the buildings will be aesthetically pleasing.

No dates for groundbreaking could be given as the project still must be approved by the county, but Bastian said the process is moving quickly.