A drive past the site of the Regency Tower site in downtown Riverside shows work is well underway on the 3-level, underground parking garage for the $70 million office building. The past few weeks has seen the arrival of an on-site crane used for the building’s skeletal steel frame. Over the next several months, downtown…
After several months of public meetings, the 22-member Library/Museum task force held its final session this past week, producing what it calls “guiding principles” for the planned expansions of downtown’s Central Library and Riverside Metropolitan Museum. The key recommendation calls for separate expansions of both facilities, with enough space for each to meet their needs….
The past two weekends saw us at opposite ends of Riverside. Last weekend, we had the chance to take in the reopened Arlington Branch Library. While there, we took a few photos of the nearby Arlington Village commercial area. This weekend, we spent some time downtown checking in on the refurbishing of the Main Street…
After a month-long delay in receiving Planning Commission recommendations, the Riverside City Council this past Tuesday approved a portion of Fox Plaza, the large mixed-use project proposed for downtown. Phase One site of Fox Plazawill include a Hyatt Place hotelMetroPacific Properties, LLC Fox Plaza – overviewMetroPacific Properties, LLC Project siteMS Virtual Earth 2007Stalder Building Located…
A City Council-appointed task force assigned with revising Riverside’s library-museum expansion plans issued its draft recommendation this week calling for separate expansions for both institutions. The recommendation, which would reverse the city’s earlier combined expansion proposal, comes after several recent public meetings on the issue. Most critics of the original $25 million proposal — part…
After nearly 2 years of construction and renovation, Riverside’s Arlington Branch Library reopened to the public this past week following an 8,000 sq. ft. addition to the 99-year-old building. The new wing nearly triples the size of the current library to 13,000 sq. ft. The new addition mimics the original building’s Greek Revival styling, which…
In the midst of planning an expansion for the downtown branch, news surfaced recently regarding the future of another branch within Riverside’s library system, this time involving the possible relocation of the tiny, but unique, Marcy Branch. Located on Central Avenue just west of the Riverside Plaza, the Marcy Branch opened in 1958 replacing the…
Last week, two city commissions delayed for a month their votes on the much anticipated Fox Plaza development proposed for downtown Riverside. Members of both the Cultural Heritage Board and Planning Commission — comprised of city-appointed residents — said the postponement was necessary until after the public comment period for the Draft EIR is closed….
This past week saw the first meeting of the city’s newly-formed “blue ribbon” task force for the combined downtown library-museum expansion project, which stalled in recent months following public comments questioning the viability of joint-use expansion. Members of the committee, comprised of seasoned Riverside civic leaders, have been given the task of formulating a plan,…
Last week saw the beginning of the multi-phase renovation of the Main Street Pedestrian Mall in downtown Riverside. The nearly $10 million dollar project, which is currently underway on two blocks between Tenth Street and University Avenue, is the first overall makeover in the 42-year history of the pedestrian mall. Completion of the 4-block project…
